Despite most never having strapped on skis or skates, Aussies are keen for some ice and snow action
Sydney February Thursday 5, 2026 - With the Milano Winter Olympics almost here, Nielsen has released new Consumer & Media View (CMV) data highlighting which Australians will likely be watching, what sports peak their interest, and how strongly winter sports fandom rises with household income..
The Nielsen CMV survey data shows that interest in the sports at the heart of the Games' is strong among Australians, with an estimated 4.9 million (21.66%) saying they're interested in ice skating, followed by snow skiing at 4.29 million (18.9%), and snowboarding at 3.87 million (17.1%).
They're big numbers considering just 1.07 million Australians (4.7%) actually participate in skiing at least once a year, compared with the 4.29 million who say they're interested in the sport. Meanwhile snowboarding participation sits at about 0.76 million (3.4%) and ice skating at 0.88 million (3.9%).
Age plays a big factor in interest levels, with one-third (33.4%) of 14-17-year-olds saying they're interested in ice skating, along with strong levels for skiing (23.8%) and snowboarding (23.8%). For 18-24s, interest also remains high, with 29.6% for ice skating and 23.0% for snowboarding. Meanwhile, over-55s are less likely to engage, particularly for snowboarding, at just (7.9%).
Interest in winter sports also goes up with income, with households earning more than $250,000 strongly exceeding the national average. In that bracket, 29.2% are interested in skiing and 23.1% are interested in snowboarding.
Additionally, Australians who watched 9Now in the past month show higher interest across key winter sports (including 23.7% for skiing and 27% for ice skating), reinforcing the role of digital video and catch-up viewing in how Australians follow major sporting events.
Social also plays a role, with TikTok users showing higher interest than the national average in ice skating (26.9%) and snowboarding (21.4%), aligning with the way highlights, athletes and behind-the-scenes content,in short-form, engages audiences during global sporting events.
Scott Gillham, Nielsen's Executive Director of Audience Measurement, Pacific, said: The Winter Olympics gives advertisers that rare mix of scale and premium audience, especially younger Australians and higher-income households. Events like this require media plans that cover live TV, streaming, catch-up, and social, with creative tailored to those different fans.
Glenn Channell, Nielsen's Pacific Product Solutions Lead added: In Australia, the interest in Winter Olympics is more about the stories and aspiration than participation, and that's why it cuts through with younger, more lifestyle-oriented viewers. This CMV data shows that interest in winter-sports overlaps with high-engagement and viewers interested in travel, outdoor recreation, apparel, automotive and tech, making the Winter Olympics a safe bet for brands wanting high-attention and premium consumers outside the usual sports calendar, providing they align their creative to the consumer. That's where CMV comes in.
About the research Findings are based on Nielsen's 2025 S08 National Survey (Australia), n=30,572 (unweighted), weighted to population (Australians aged 14+). Figures reflect reported interest in winter sports aligned with Winter Olympics viewing and conversation, plus participation frequency for snow skiing, snowboarding and ice skating.
About Nielsen Consumer & Media View (CMV) Nielsen Consumer & Media View, with its extensive breadth and depth of data, lets you access consumer research that is vital to achieving strong business and marketing goals.
Nielsen CMV is an essential tool for understanding the constantly evolving consumer landscape. With rich demographic and lifestyle data, and information on purchasing behaviours and intentions alongside extensive media habit reporting, CMV helps you shape successful brand, advertising and marketing strategies.
CMV provides an invaluable resource for identifying priority audiences to inform the planning, buying, or selling of advertising media, to inform business and consumer strategies, and to build a comprehensive market/category landscape view.
About Nielsen Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).
Media Contact Dan Chapman
Assoc. Director, Communications, Nielsen APAC
dan.chapman@nielsen.com
+61 404 088 462
More from Nielsen
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
28/04/2026
Triton Digital's Podcast Metrics Demos+ Data Integration Enables Comprehensi...
27/04/2026
Available for current Nielsen ONE Ads customers, this new capability predicts sa...
22/04/2026
The nation unites around football team's World Cup dream
Warsaw, Poland, 20.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and media intell...
22/04/2026
Warsaw, Poland, 22.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data...
22/04/2026
New market intelligence offering gives businesses a clearer view of local consum...
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
18/04/2026
The first signs of spring in March led to Poles spending significantly less time in front of their screens, leading to a sharp 22-minute drop in average viewing...
16/04/2026
The integration accelerates demographic audience delivery across local markets a...
15/04/2026
NBCU-Versant notches 13.1% of TV viewing in February, its best since August 2024...
15/04/2026
New data reveals older Kiwis are financially resilient, loyal to local products,...
14/04/2026
Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision.
He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...
08/04/2026
New Gracenote study finds behavioral change well underway, but trust in AI-gener...
03/04/2026
New York April 2, 2026 TelevisaUnivision, the world's leading Spanish-la...
31/03/2026
Rebel Sport leads ad investment as brands compete for a large, active and qualit...
25/03/2026
The company expands leadership team under Chief Revenue Officer Amilcar Perez
S...
25/03/2026
Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony features in top 10 programmes of the month...
20/03/2026
After a series of increases, February brought the first slowdown in time spent in front of TV sets in a long time. While traditional television was losing viewi...
16/03/2026
NEW YORK - March 16, 2026 - A E Global Media and Nielsen today announced a new,...
12/03/2026
Cost pressures, switching intent and demand for savings and credit products are ...
12/03/2026
For the first time, Nielsen breaks out demographic information about FAST and AV...
06/03/2026
Nielsen Highlights Women's Sports Viewership Milestones Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8
New York March 5, 2026 According to Nielsen&#...
03/03/2026
Nielsen's DMA data gives Magellan AI users a standardized way to measure th...
02/03/2026
Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages surge Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...
27/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 26, 2026 - An estimated 32.6 million people watched President Donald J. Trump deliver the 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday, Februa...
25/02/2026
This new offering helps solve for the need to move beyond traditional audience d...
25/02/2026
Gold-standard Gracenote content metadata will power Samsung's LLM-enabled entertainment search discovery experiences and more
NEW YORK February 25, 202...
24/02/2026
Disney Captures 11.9% of TV in January, Boosted by ESPN's ( 82%) College Foo...
20/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 10, 2026 - An estimated 125.6* million viewers watched Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8, according to Nielsen's Big Data Panel meas...
20/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 19, 2026 - Nielsen today shared updated and final Super Bowl...
19/02/2026
WBD edges above Polsat in only change in the top 10 content distributor rankings...
19/02/2026
Airlines and cruise operators ramp up spend as New Zealanders plan, compare and book online
Auckland, February 19, 2026 - New Nielsen Ad Intel data shows adver...
19/02/2026
The beginning of the new year brought a clear revival in front of television screens. The winter aura meant that Poles spent an average of 5% more time watching...
19/02/2026
New data also shows news content on FAST channels up 58% as streaming catalogs c...
17/02/2026
Cable Surges 9% on Strength of College Football Playoffs and News, while NFL Delivers Top 15 Broadcast Telecasts
ESPN (+82%) and FOX News Channel (+17%) Combin...
11/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 10, 2026 - An estimated 124.9 million viewers watched Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8, according to Nielsen's Big Data Panel measu...
10/02/2026
NEW YORK February 10, 2026 Nielsen's Gracenote, the global leader in entertainment metadata, today announced the continuation of its partnership with Go...
09/02/2026
Harvey Norman tops Australia's biggest ad spenders as finance and travel surge
Sydney February 9, 2026 - Nielsen's Biggest Ad Spenders of 2025 Report...
06/02/2026
Despite most never having strapped on skis or skates, Aussies are keen for some ...
05/02/2026
During this period, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (45.6%),...
04/02/2026
Pilot To Launch with Super Bowl LX on February 8 and Continue with High Profile Live Events, Entertainment and Sports
Nielsen to Use State of the Art Wearable...
29/01/2026
Bluey' Wins Second Consecutive Top Streaming Title of the Year with 45 Billi...
28/01/2026
Airlines, cruise and tour operators double down on ad spend as Australians' prioritise travel
Sydney January 28, 2026 - New Nielsen Ad Intel data shows a...
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
23/01/2026
Multi-year deal utilizes Nielsen's full suite of local audience marketing in...
23/01/2026
New York, NY January 21, 2026 - Neptune BidCo US Inc. (the Issuer or the Co...
22/01/2026
Strategic hire marks latest milestone in Gracenote's continued expansion into CTV advertising & monetization
New York - January 21, 2026 - Nielsen's Gr...
21/01/2026
The Living Room Remains Central: Nielsen Highlights Growing TV Screen Dominance ...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
Despite most never having strapped on skis or skates, Aussies are keen for some ice and snow action
