Everything you need to know to watch the Olympics on television, including a viewing schedule and ways to watch the Olympics without needing a cable subscription.
The 2024 Summer Olympics are here, with athletes from more than 200 countries descending upon Paris for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad.
The Olympics run from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, Aug. 11, and will air live on NBC, with at least nine hours of coverage each day, followed by recap shows in the evening and into the night. Want to watch the Paris Olympics on TV? Here’s everything you need to know, including a channel guide, viewing schedule and ways to watch the Olympics on TV without needing a cable subscription.
At a Glance: How to Watch the 2024 Olympics on TV
Want to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics on TV? This year’s Summer Games will be airing exclusively on NBC and on Telemundo for the Spanish-language feed. Certain events will also air live on NBCUniversal-owned channels including USA Network, E!, CNBC, GOLF Channel and Universo.
USA Network will air the Olympic events in 4K HDR and 5.1 surround sound, with some carriers offering the coverage in Dolby Vision and Atmos.
You can watch the Summer Olympics on TV with any basic cable package that includes NBC, USA and the aforementioned channels above. Here are a few other ways to watch the Olympics on TV without cable.
If you just want to watch the Olympics on TV through the main NBC feed, your cheapest option is to purchase a digital antenna, which will pick up your local NBC affiliate station (in addition to all the other major networks). This Amazon option has up to 1000 miles of range and gets you a live feed of NBC in full HD quality. Setup is super simple and the slim design helps the indoor antenna tuck easily behind your TV set or on a shelf. Buy the digital antenna once and get “free” cable for life. Bonus: apply the on-site Amazon coupon to save an additional 5 percent at checkout.
Peacock is the official streaming home of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it will also have a live simulcast of the NBC broadcast that you can watch through your smart TV. Sign up for Peacock here, then use the Peacock app to watch live Olympics coverage on television. Don’t have Peacock? A subscription starts at just $7.99 and will let you watch the Paris Olympics live on TV in addition to streaming every event online.
Want to watch the Olympics on TV without cable? Try an OTT service like DirecTV Stream, which gets you 90+ live TV channels that you can watch through your internet connection (including NBC, USA, CNBC, E! and more). Download the DirecTV Stream app on any streaming device and use it to watch the Olympics live on TV. DirectTV Stream is currently offering a five-day free trial that you can use to watch the Olympics without cable for free.
Another way to watch live TV coverage of the Paris Olympics is through Fubo, which lets you watch NBC and USA Network on TV through the Fubo app. Fubo is currently offering a seven-day free trial for you to test out the service with no commitment. Fubo’s free trial includes free DVR, so you can record your favorite Olympic events live and watch a replay on-demand later. Fubo just recently inked a deal with NBCUniversal to offer multiplatform coverage of the upcoming Paris Olympics to its subscribers.
Your best value is to sign up for Hulu + Live TV. As its name suggests, the service lets you watch the Olympics live on TV on all the NBCUniversal channels. You also get access to the entire Hulu library of on-demand movies, shows, documentaries and specials (think shows like The Kardashians and buzzy docs like Perfect Wife). Hulu + Live TV currently offers a three-day free trial that you can use to watch the Summer Olympics on TV from home without cable.
NBC will have coverage of the Olympics throughout the day, beginning at midnight PT/3 a.m. ET to 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET every day, followed by a nightly three-hour Olympic primetime show at 8 p.m. PT/ET with behind-the-scenes interviews and highlights from the day’s events. Coverage continues after local news with a late-night recap show.
Telemundo, meantime, will have a two-hour recap show in Spanish, each weekday at 9 p.m. PT/12 a.m. ET.
Keep in mind that Paris is six hours ahead of New York (ET) and nine hours ahead of Los Angeles (PT), hence the early start times.
As mentioned, NBC will be the main TV network for Olympics coverage, and will have all the major events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, swimming finals, track and field, gymnastics finals and more.
USA Network will be home to U.S. team sports and swimming heats, track and field, soccer, basketball and 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, rugby, cycling, volleyball, water polo, and more.
CNBC will feature boxing, cycling, rugby, skateboarding, and more.
E! will feature coverage of track & field, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, canoeing, diving, equestrian, artistic (synchronized) swimming, breaking, fencing, water polo and more.
GOLF Channel will be the place to watch the Olympics golf tournament on TV.
Though the opening ceremony is July 26, several sports have already begun regular events. See the start and end dates for the games below, and see the full Paris Olympics schedule here.
