How to watch the Tokyo Olympics

After a year of delay due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the games of the XXXII Olympiad are expected to start in Tokyo this week. Despite containing the virus and inside the Olympic Village, the event is still ongoing. The amount of action that takes place each day during the first week of August means you’ll have to plan ahead to attend all the events you want to see, especially if you’re halfway around the world.

When do the Olympic Games start?

The official start of the Olympics is the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 23 at 7 a.m. ET, but a few events will kick off before that. The women’s softball and soccer competitions begin Wednesday (Tokyo time), but the first games were broadcast Tuesday night on the East Coast. Softball, men’s football and rowing are scheduled to take place on Thursday with women’s rowing, cycling, tennis and water polo scheduled after the opening ceremony on Friday and Saturday. This weekend is when things really kick off, with a packed list of events starting on Saturday. The closing ceremony will air at 8 p.m. ET on NBC on Sunday, August 8.

How to watch

For those of us in the United States, NBC has been the official broadcaster of the Summer Olympics since 2000. The network’s current deal runs until 2032, so you won’t have to search for the games on new ones. channels anytime soon. . Due to the volume of events, NBC itself is not enough to show all the action, so you can also find live coverage on NBCSN, USA, CNBC, Golf Channel and Olympic Channel – subscription to cable or to streaming television required. Following the controversy over tape delays in previous Olympics, NBC began broadcasting live events in 2012 despite the huge time differences. During prime time in the United States, the network will broadcast early-of-the-day highlights in addition to any live action.

At least some of the flagship events – including Opening / Closing Ceremonies, Women’s Football Finals, Basketball, Track and Field – will air on NBC. A lot of the events taking place in the middle of the night Eastern Time (which is the bulk of the action) will be broadcast on other networks and. NBC Sports announced that Peacock will host “major live events every morning,” including women’s and men’s gymnastics, track and field and basketball. The streaming service will also offer six themed channels as well as three flagship shows throughout the day, Eastern Time, as well as a spotlight series focusing on the women of Team USA. Coverage of the Olympics will be available for free on Peacock, with the exception of men’s basketball. You will need a $ 4.99 subscription to watch these games.

If you’d rather watch from your computer, phone or tablet, NBC says “every single event” will be available through NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. Twitch will also offer Olympic content, but no live events. There you will find interviews, highlights and, of course, contests. The platform will also host streams and co-streams with the creators of Twitch during some prime-time broadcasts.

Several TV services and providers have tools to help you keep up with all the action. YouTube TV, for example, lets you select the events that interest you and the app will automatically record them to its cloud DVR. Here’s to watch Swimming at a normal time and not stay up until 2 a.m. YouTube TV has also added a medal table for quick reference and its ‘Jump To’ feature lets you easily browse specific events and times. Cable companies (owned by parent company NBC) offer Olympic hubs on their services for easy access. There is some degree of customization between Xfinity Tiers, for example, as well as ‘must-see’ notifications and highlight playlists.

For a full schedule, to find information on all the events you are looking for.

Fans in the UK don’t have to deal with all the jet lag that those of us in the US have, but they will still be able to watch as much action as they want. The BBC is the official broadcaster in the UK and that is until the beginning of August. BBC One and BBC Two will broadcast live events while an additional livestream will be available on BBC iPlayer. The network will offer daily highlights and recap shows in the morning and evening with everything airing on BBC One or Two, available on demand via iPlayer. Coverage is also available via BBC Radio 5 Live and The Olympics Daily podcast.