Everywhere to find coverage of the Games

 

By Catie Keck Jul 22, 2021, 4:00pm EDT

 

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games are set to begin this week in Tokyo, with the opening ceremony kicking off Friday, July 23rd. While NBC and its streaming sibling Peacock will both carry coverage of the Games in the US, the Olympics will be streamable on other services as well.

Because it begins at 8PM in Japan, live coverage of the opening ceremony will start at 6:55AM ET / 3:55AM PT in the US. It will be broadcasted live on NBC as well as streamed live on the NBC Sports app and the NBC Olympics website. NBC’s website has a full schedule of additional broadcasts of the event. A spokesperson for Peacock told The Verge that the opening ceremony will not air on the streaming service, however it will carry the closing ceremony.

Taking place July 23rd through August 8th, the Olympic Games will be streamed for free on Peacock, with one exception: US men’s basketball live coverage will require a premium subscription to the service. (Peacock Premium costs $5 per month, while going ad-free costs $10 per month.) A spokesperson for Peacock told The Verge that US men’s basketball games prior to the final game will be available exclusively on streaming services, including on Peacock, before a later broadcast on NBC. All games will be available to stream on-demand on Peacock after they are televised.

Aside from its live coverage, Peacock has a designated Olympics hub with plenty of pregames programming. The service will feature original programming, event replays, live coverage, and highlights from NBC coverage as well. NBC is the exclusive media rights holder for the Olympics in the US, so one way or another, watching the Games involves getting access to NBC content. The upside is there are quite a few ways to do that.

Eastern Time: 6:55AM – 11AM

Central Time: 5:55AM – 10AM

Pacific Time: 3:55AM – 8AM

USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel, Golf Channel, and Telemundo will each carry coverage of the Olympic Games, however NBC Sports Digital will be the premier destination for all sporting events and ceremonies. For a full list of which networks will broadcast which sports and metal events, head to NBC Sports.

Hulu’s live TV streaming service will give its users access to 7,000 hours of programming through NBC channels, including live and on-demand content and highlights of the Games. The service will also include a “tastepicker” feature for users to select their favorite sports and personalize their Olympics coverage.

Hulu with Live TV costs $65 per month.

YouTube TV will stream the Olympic Games across its supported NBC networks, including NBC, The Olympics Channel, Golf Channel, Telemundo, Universo, and more. Plus, YouTube TV will support 4K streaming of Olympics coverage on the Olympic Channel and Golf Channel for subscribers to its 4K Plus add-on.

YouTube TV costs $65 per month. Its 4K Plus add-on costs an additional $20 per month.

FuboTV will offer full coverage of the Games through a partnership with NBCUniversal. The service will also support 4K HDR streaming in five markets:

FuboTV costs $65 per month.

Sling TV’s will carry coverage of the Games, including a live broadcast of the opening ceremony through NBC Sports Network and NBC in select markets. For additional access to the other cable networks that broadcast the Games — USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel, and the Golf Channel — Sling users can subscribe to the service’s Sports Extra or News Extra add-on packages.

Before subscribing to these packages, however, Sling told The Verge that all Sling TV subscribers will have free access to the Olympic Channel and NBC Universo during the duration of the Games. No additional action is necessary to see the channels; they will appear automatically beginning today.

Sling TV’s Blue package costs $35 per month. Its Sports Extra package costs an additional $11 per month, and its News Extra package costs $6 per month. However, new subscribers to Sling who sign up now will pay only $10 for the first month.

AT&T TV will have coverage of the Games through its supported NBC channels. For a full list of packages and their supported channels lineups, head here.

The service’s Entertainment package starts at $70 per month.

Roku and NBCUniversal have teamed up to offer coverage of the Games on Roku and Roku TV devices. Roku users will be able to access 5,500 hours of Olympics coverage directly from their homescreens and through the NBC Sports and Peacock channels.

Additionally, the NBC Sports app is supported across most major streaming devices, including iOS, Apple TV, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, select Samsung devices, Win10, and Xbox.

 

 

By OlympicTalkJun 7, 2021, 7:31 PM EDT

 

 

NBCUniversal announced plans to present 7,000 hours of programming surrounding the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

The unprecedented coverage, making the 17-day event “the biggest media event ever,” according to the release, begins Tuesday, July 20, with six hours of live softball coverage on NBCSN, which includes the gold-medal favorite U.S. team against Italy in the sport’s return to the Olympics for the first time in 13 years.

It continues Wednesday, July 21, when the U.S. women’s soccer team takes on Sweden — the country that took the U.S. out of contention for an Olympic medal in the quarterfinal round in Rio — on USA Network.

Then builds in earnest with NBC’s first-ever live morning broadcast of an Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 23, followed by a full day of Olympic content.

NBC’s first coverage of an Olympic Games was the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. This year’s Tokyo Games marks the 11th consecutive Olympics presentation and ninth consecutive Summer Games for NBC, both records for a U.S. media company.

The wall-to-wall programming will service both English- and Spanish-language viewers, spanning two broadcast networks, six cable networks and multiple digital platforms.

“After a devastating year, the world comes together again, finally, in Tokyo this summer,” Molly Solomon, Executive Producer and President, NBC Olympics Production, said in the release. “We are going to deliver the most comprehensive — and accessible — coverage for any sports event in history.  The depth and breadth of our broadcasts will be unprecedented, showcasing once-in-a-generation athletes and storylines that will capture the incredible uniqueness of these Games and our times.”

The NBC broadcast network will air 250 hours of the biggest stories of the Games, including 17 consecutive nights in primetime with host Mike Tirico. “TODAY” and “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” will be on site with live coverage from Tokyo.

Five cable networks — USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA and GOLF Channel will present more than 1,300 hours between July 20 and the Closing Ceremony on Aug. 8.

NBC Sports Digital will stream all 41 sports and 339 medal events on the Olympic program — plus all ceremonies — on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app for 5,500 hours of streaming. Peacock’s full plans are forthcoming.

Telemundo Deportes will present the most extensive Olympic coverage ever in Spanish-language media focusing on those stories and disciplines that are relevant to the U.S. Hispanic audience, with over 300 hours of programming across Telemundo and Universo.

Additional highlights of the unparalleled programming include: