WINTER SPORTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS KICK-OFF WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY’S COUNTDOWN TO MILANO CORTINA 2026

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe marks the One Year to Go milestone until Milano Cortina 2026 with extensive and immersive live coverage of seven winter sports World Championships events*.  

The Home of Winter Sports, Eurosport has broadcast World Championship events since its launch in 1989. This year’s events will provide an exciting look at the emerging stars and rivalries set to define Milano Cortina 2026 where WBD’s streaming services, Max and discovery+, will present every moment of the Games live alongside television coverage on Eurosport. 

The action begins with the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria on 4 February, with 31 hours of live coverage on WBD’s platforms across Europe. Olympic Giant Slalom Champion and reigning Downhill and Giant Slalom World Champion Marco Odermatt (Switzerland) will be the man to beat as he looks to transform his impressive World Cup form into a haul of World Championship medals across multiple disciplines. Meanwhile, Italian Olympic and World Championship medallists Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone will set their sights on gold in the Downhill and Super-G.  

Eurosport has enlisted some of Alpine Skiing’s biggest stars to ensure every twist and turn in the story is covered. Boasting seven Olympic and 13 World Championship medals between them, Eurosport’s experienced team of on-site experts will take fans to the slopes and to the heart of the action, delivering unparalleled insights. The decorated roster includes: 

• Viktoria Rebensburg (Eurosport Germany and International) – German alpine skier and giant slalom Olympic champion  

• Tina Maze (Eurosport Italy and International) – Slovenian four-time World and double Olympic alpine skiing champion 

• Gauthier de Tessières (Eurosport France and International) – French alpine skiing expert and World Championship medallist 

• Francesca Marsaglia (Eurosport Italy and International) – Italian alpine skier and two-time Winter Olympian 

• Johan Clarey (Eurosport France and International) - French alpine skier and Olympic medallist 

Attention turns to Lenzerheide, Switzerland from 11 February for the IBU Biathlon World Championships. Norway’s most dominant Biathlon stars Johannes Thignes-Bø and Sturla Holm Laegreid will go head-to-head in the men’s events whilst Julia Simon (France) looks to retain several World Championship titles she won last year.  

To complement 14 hours of live coverage, fans will have the opportunity to enjoy expert analysis from Italy’s four-time World Champion and three-time Olympic medallist, Dorothea Wierer (Eurosport Italy and International), who will also be competing in the Championship.  

Eurosport will cap off its February World Championship coverage with the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, bringing 48 hours of Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, and Nordic Combined Skiing to screens starting on 26 February. German Olympic and four-time World Ski Jumping champion Martin Schmitt (Eurosport Germany and International) will provide a unique close-up look at the ski jumping competition, which will see Stefan Kraft (Austria), one of the most successful ski jumpers of all-time, go up against rising star Daniel Tschofenig (Austria), as seven-time World Champion Katharina Schmid (Germany) looks to extend her medal tally.  

Alongside these three nail-biting events, Eurosport will also broadcast the Figure Skating, Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing, Curling, and Ski Mountaineering World Championships in March. Additionally, coverage of winter World Cup and other top-class events will continue across 12 sports.

Scott Young, Group SVP Production, Content and Business Operations at WBD Sports Europe, said: “We are thrilled to showcase the defining events of this year’s winter sports season where new champions will emerge on the road to Milano Cortina 2026. Our wall-to-wall winter sports coverage will take viewers on another unforgettable journey, ensuring the epic stories from every major competition is told through the voices of our experts and the athletes competing. 
 
“With just one year to go, our commitment to uncovering the stories that will shape the next Winter Olympics is unwavering. We've brought together some of the greatest names in winter sports to deliver world-class analysis, insight, and entertainment, ensuring our audiences are immersed in every key moment ahead of the Games.  

“And after the incredible success of Paris 2024, these Games represent another opportunity to supercharge the growth of Max as WBD will once again deliver an unbeatable viewing experience combined with local content and storytelling.” 

Winter sports are central to WBD’s live content offer as it accelerates its global streaming strategy by rolling out Max in new markets, including the UK, Italy and Germany in 2026. Customer acquisition and engagement has been boosted significantly by the integration of live sports alongside the broadest range of entertainment content available on Max. 

The previous Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 saw record-breaking viewership as 156 million people watched on WBD’s channels and platforms, and fans consumed more than one billion streaming minutes, 19 times greater than during Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.  

Dates for the diary – all 2025 Winter Sports World Championship events broadcast on WBD platforms: 

• 4 – 16 February, FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, Saalbach, Austria
• 12 – 23 February, IBU Biathlon World Championships, Lenzerheide, Switzerland
• 26 February – 9 March, FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Trondheim, Norway
• 3 March – 8 March, ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Championships, Morgins, Switzerland 
• 15 March – 23 March, World Women’s Curling Championship, Uijeongbu, Korea 
• 19 March – 30 March, FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships, Engadin,
• Switzerland
• 25 March – 30 March, ISU Figure Skating World Championships, Boston, USA
• 29 March – 6 April, World Men’s Curling Championship, Moose Jaw, Canada 

​​*WBD’s winter World Championship coverage excludes the Nordics and Japan. Coverage of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships excludes the Nordics, Netherlands, Russia and the UK/ROI. Coverage of the ISU Speed Skating and Short Track World Cup excludes the Nordics, Netherlands, Russia and the UK/ROI. 

All winter sports programming in the UK and Ireland will move from Eurosport to TNT Sports from 28 February. 

Max is available in France, Poland, the Nordics, Iberia, Central and Eastern Europe. In Belgium and the Netherlands, Warner Bros. Discovery’s enhanced streaming service is branded HBO Max. discovery+ is the streaming service in Austria, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Ireland.