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How To Watch The 2021 Olympics & Stream Your Favorite Sport
This schedule will help you catch your must-watch sport and see some you've never even heard of.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have wreaked havoc on the world in 2020, but there’s at least one major sign that things are slowly getting back to normal: The Olympics are a-go ... just a year later than planned. The long-delayed Summer Olympics will finally take place in Tokyo, Japan, from July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021. Over the course of these two weeks, fans can watch the 2021 Olympics and their favorite athletes from around the world as they compete for the gold, whether it be in gymnastics, diving, soccer, tennis, or yes, even something called handball.
If you’re one of those people who must see gymnastics stalwart Simone Biles vie for her fifth gold medal, Team USA’s only karate kata competitor Sakura Kokumai make her Olympic debut, or Laurel Hubbard make history as the first trans person to compete in any Olympics, you’ll be able to catch all of the Tokyo Olympics action on TV or online.
Where Can I Watch The 2021 Olympics?
Your local NBC station will air major Olympic events during its nightly primetime coverage, and all the games will be streaming online on NBC Sports and the NBC Olympics website. Many sports will also be airing on CNBC and the USA Network. Times for every sport’s qualifying tournaments and finals rounds have been posted on NBC’s website. If you plan to watch live in real time, keep in mind that Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone, and 16 hours ahead for West Coast viewers. Therefore, many major evening tournaments will air in the early morning in the U.S., and vice versa for morning events.
Instead of showing every sport live, Peacock will be streaming some major events live every morning, including women’s and men’s gymnastics, Team USA men’s baskeball, and track and field competitions. On their Olympics hub, the streaming service will broadcast a highlights show from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, showing the best moments from the previous day’s events. In the evening, they will host a live studio show showcasing Olympic highlights.
When Is My Favorite Sport Taking Place?
Each sport has its own few-day period within the two-week-long Olympics that they’ll be competing on, meaning not every sport will overlap. For example, gymnastics will take place from July 23 to Aug. 3, swimming happens from July 24 to Aug. 4, artistic swimming (yes, there’s a difference) runs from Aug. 2 to 7, and trampoline will only compete on July 30 and 31.
NBC has posted streaming schedules for every Olympic sport on their website, indicating the days each sport will take place, the times of every round (in Eastern Time), and where to watch, in case you wanted to prepare for your viewing parties. In addition, they shared rundowns of all the sporting events taking place on each day, from July 23 to August 8, and how to stream them online. However, this will likely differ from the network’s TV broadcast schedule, which has not been specified and is usually reserved for marquee Team USA events and sports.
- Archery: July 23 – July 31 on CNBC, NBC Olympics
- Artistic Swimming: Aug. 2 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Badminton: July 23 – Aug. 2 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Baseball: July 27 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Basketball: July 24 – Aug. 8 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Peacock
- Basketball 3X3: July 23 – July 28 on NBC Sports,NBC Olympics
- Beach Volleyball: July 23 – Aug. 6 on CNBC, NBC Olympics
- Boxing: July 23 – Aug. 8 on CNBC, NBC Sports, Olympic Channel
- Canoe/Kayak: July 25 – Aug. 6 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Cycling: July 23 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Diving: July 25 – Aug. 7 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Equestrian: July 24 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Fencing: July 23 – Aug. 1 on CNBC, NBC Olympics
- Field Hockey: July 23 – Aug. 6 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Golf: July 28 – Aug. 6: NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Gymnastics: July 23 – Aug. 3 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Peacock
- Handball: July 23 – Aug. 8 on CNBC, NBC Sports, Olympic Channel
- Judo: July 23 – July 31 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Karate: August 4 – Aug. 7 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Modern Pentathlon: Aug. 5 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Rhythmic Gymnastics: August 5 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Rowing: July 23 – July 29 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Rugby: July 25 – July 31 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Sailing: July 24 – Aug. 4 on NBC Sport, NBC Olympics
- Shooting: July 23 – Aug. 2 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Skateboarding: July 24 – Aug. 4 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Soccer: July 24 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Peacock (Highlights)
- Softball: July 23 –July 27on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Sport Climbing: Aug. 3 – Aug. 6 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Surfing: July 24 – July 31 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Swimming: July 24 – Aug. 4 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Peacock (Highlights)
- Table Tennis: July 23 – Aug. 6 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Taekwondo: July 23 – July 27 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Tennis: July 23 – July 31 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Track & Field: July 30 – Aug. 7 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Peacock
- Trampoline: July 30 –July 31 on CNBC, NBC Olympics
- Triathlon: July 25 – July 27 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Volleyball: July 23 – Aug. 8 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Water Polo: July 24 – Aug. 8 on CNBC, NBC Olympics
- Weightlifting: July 23 – Aug. 4 on NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
- Wrestling: July 31 – Aug. 7 on CNBC, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics
When Are The Olympic Ceremonies?
The Olympics’ grand ceremonies are worth tuning in for — even if you aren’t that knowledgable in sports. They’re basically the closest thing the Olympics have to the Super Bowl Halftime Show. NBC will broadcast the Opening Ceremony live on July 23 at 7:00 a.m. ET and 4:00 a.m. PT, while the Closing Ceremony will air on Aug. 8 at the same times. It may be early, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices to witness true spectacle in its most inspiring form. However, if you refuse to not sleep in, NBC will be re-airing the Ceremony during its usual primetime broadcast at 7:30 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. PT.
Read Next: How To Watch The Olympics Opening Ceremony
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