Go for gold: Your checklist for optimizing campaigns for the 2026 winter games in Milan

This winter, all eyes are on the winter games in Milan, Italy. Audiences who aren’t cheering from the Alps will be tuning in on NBCUniversal and Peacock, the most comprehensive destination for all the action. For advertisers, it’s not too late to reach these highly engaged live sports audiences through The Trade Desk. 

While iconic sports like alpine skiing, figure skating, and hockey continue to draw large viewership, the 2026 winter games will introduce something new — ski mountaineering (skimo). Skimo makes its debut, bringing a fast-growing endurance sport to the global stage and appealing to younger, outdoor-focused audiences. Combined with women’s events and mixed-gender competitions, this season’s games reflect how the moment continues to evolve. 

All the action is accessible to advertisers programmatically through private marketplace (PMP) biddable access thanks to The Trade Desk’s partnership with NBCUniversal. 

Advertisers can bid on live, replay, and shoulder content for the games primarily through Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform. 

Read on for recommended practices to help you optimize your campaign. Want to get in on this historic moment? Here’s how. 

The following recommendations apply explicitly to the “Olympics NBC PMP.” 

Plan your campaign with a smart approach to scale

As you begin campaign planning, you’ll want to determine your campaign’s flight dates, placement, and parameters. The 2026 winter games run from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22, followed by additional sports and matches from March 6 to March 15. To help you maximize scale and deliver flexibility, it’s best to set the longest campaign flight possible, ensuring your advertising runs from opening ceremony through marquee medal events. 

In our platform, you can set up a dedicated campaign with a budget specifically for the NBCUniversal Olympic PMP. To make the most of your buy: 

1. Activate seamlessly: You can target and activate across the entire season with a single flight, eliminating the need for manual curation. Our recommended flight window is Feb. 4 to Feb. 24 to capture the opening and closing ceremonies as well as early and late medal events. 

2. Win more impressions: Our proprietary live sports pacing technology reacts to real-time attention spikes, which helps your campaign capture more impressions when engagement is at its highest. 

3. Optimize for scale: Because a large portion of the programming streams on connected TV (CTV), an omnichannel approach is essential to maximize moments across the funnel. Fans are engaged in content leading up to the sporting events, post-events, and everything in between. One of the main benefits of buying live sports on The Trade Desk is the ability to utilize robust audience targeting tools that can help you drive deeper engagement and reach new potential customers. 

4. Check your creatives: Upload creatives as early as possible to allow sufficient time for NBCUniversal review and approval before the bidding begins. If a creative is rejected, troubleshoot quickly by reviewing issue descriptions and action guidance in the Creative Library (CL). 

Meet the moment — it’s not too late 

There’s nothing quite like the cultural energy and collective viewing experience the winter games deliver. With programmatic access on our platform, that moment is more accessible than ever for brands of all sizes. Whether your campaign is already in-flight or you’re just starting to plan, live sports on CTV offer powerful ways to connect with highly engaged viewers during moments that matter. 

With thousands of hours of live and on-demand coverage, the 2026 winter games can help you deliver both scale and impact. 

To get on air in time for the games — or for help optimizing an existing campaign — contact us or reach out to your account manager at The Trade Desk today.  

This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance.