Warner Bros. Discovery has unveiled its studio for covering the Winter Olympics and confirmed plans for making the Games available via its streaming services.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be available to all HBO Max customers in Europe – including Italy and Germany for the first time – as well as discovery+ in certain territories.
And with 100 days to go on until the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, WBD Sports Europe today shared a first look at its purpose-built studios (pictured, above) that will be used to host the broadcaster’s daily live coverage of the Games.
WBD will broadcast from the Nations Village, Cortina d’Ampezzo. Housed over two floors, the studio will serve Eurosport’s pan-European production with dedicated sets for Italy, Germany, Norway and Poland primed to deliver local language shows.
An extensive virtual studio will enable deeper analysis of different sports, WBD said, adding that it will also welcome athletes and other notable guests throughout the Games – as WBD did during the 2024 Games at its WBD House studio facility at Hotel Raphael in Paris.
Last season saw WBD Sports Europe reach more than 109 million winter sports fans across all platforms while growing its cumulative linear reach by 10% year-on-year.
WBD said the growing appetite for winter sports content also increases in digital consumption with video views up 16% to 31 million and streaming minutes consumed also growing by 16%. By offering parity of coverage between men’s and women’s events throughout the season, WBD also attracted a stronger female audience compared to its channel average. Alpine skiing was the most popular sport across all markets with snowboarding attracting the youngest audience with more 0-24 year-olds watch.
treaming coverage
In addition to its linear coverage on Eurosport across Europe and TNT Sports in the UK&I, WBD also confirmed that it will provide access to the Olympic Winter Games in all HBO Max plans in Europe throughout the Olympics. HBO Max coverage includes Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Italy where fans will be able to watch live Olympics content on the platform for the first time following its launch in January 2026.
The Games will also be available on discovery+ in a number of territories, with subscribers to both services able to watch every competition broadcast live from the Olympic Winter Games.
For the first time for an Olympic Winter Games in-app innovations including key moment markers will enable users to easily scroll back so no action is missed.
Plus, gold medal alerts will ensure viewers can watch Olympic stories unfold, and additional features will allow subscribers to select up to 20 commentary languages and having the ability to follow specific sports throughout the Games.
Connecting with the kids
Aiming to connect an even larger and younger audience with the magic of winter sports, WBD will call on the help of its IP to expand its storytelling. The animated characters from the Looney Tunes universe are set to continue their Olympic journey after appearing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 last summer.
The likes of Bugs Bunny will feature in 90-second episodes that will spotlight different winter sports with episodes on WB Kids, HBO Max, Eurosport and TNT Sports YouTube channels early next year.
Winter sports build up
Following the first major winter sports event of the season, with the Alpine Skiing World Cup beginning in Sölden, Austria last week, WBD Sports Europe will continue to cover a host of winter sports events, with some 1,427 live hours across 131 days on offer this season.
WBD is working with six winter sports federations covering 13 different sports, with reporters embedded on-site across Europe with up to 15 venues covered per day at the height of the season. This includes live coverage of every World Cup event covering alpine skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering, snowboard, luge, figure skating, curling and more.
