CollinsThe 2020 Summer Olympic Games will take off this week in Tokyo, with the opening ceremony slated for July 23rd. The Olympics will be broadcast on NBC and its online companion Peacock in the United States, but they will also be available on other platforms.
Because the opening ceremony occurs at 8 p.m. in Japan, live coverage will begin at 6:55 a.m. ET / 3:55 a.m. PT in the United States. The event will be aired live on NBC and streamed live on the NBC Sports app and the NBC Olympics website. A comprehensive schedule of further broadcasts of the event may be seen on NBC’s website. According to a Peacock spokeswoman, the opening ceremony will not be broadcast on the streaming service, but the closing ceremony will.
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The Olympic Games, which run from July 23 through August 8, will be streamed live on Peacock for free, with one exception: live coverage of US men’s basketball will need a premium subscription to the service. (Ad-free Peacock Premium is $5 per month, while ad-free Peacock is $10 per month.) According to a Peacock spokeswoman, prior to the final game, US men’s basketball games will be available exclusively on streaming sites, including Peacock, before being televised on NBC. Following the telecast, all games will be available for on-demand viewing on Peacock.
Peacock has a dedicated Olympics center with plenty of before programming in addition to its live coverage. Original programming, event replays, live coverage, and highlights from NBC coverage will all be available on the service. Because NBC holds the exclusive media rights to the Olympics in the United States, watching the Games requires access to NBC material in some form. The good news is that there are a lot of options.
WHAT TIME DOES THE OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY START?
Eastern Time: 6:55AM – 11AM
Central Time: 5:55AM – 10AM
Pacific Time: 3:55AM – 8AM
HOW TO WATCH THE OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY
CABLE
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 WITH LIVE TV
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.
YOUTUBE TV
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
FuboTV will offer full coverage of the Games through a partnership with NBCUniversal. The service will also support 4K HDR streaming in five markets:
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
- Boston, MA (Manchester, NH)
FuboTV costs $65 per month.
SLING TV BLUE
Sling TV’s Blue package 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
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 APPS
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 home screens 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.
Collins