The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris officially kick off this Friday, July 26, with the opening ceremonies in Paris. Across the country, millions of Americans—myself included—are preparing to glue ourselves to the television to watch every javelin throw, ping pong smash, and tear of joy or disappointment between now and the closing ceremonies on August 11.
But oh, what a dizzying amount of events to watch! Throughout the Paris Games, there will be 39 sports to follow and 329 different competitions to watch—that equates to approximately 7,000 hours of live coverage across 17 days. Every single event will be televised in some way by the the Olympics’ American broadcaster, NBC, which will show a glut of coverage across network TV, cable channels and online streaming.
Catching every minute of the action is a tall order, even for the most diehard Olympics aficionado. So, to help you figure out your viewing strategy, I have created a helpful guide below.
I Want to Watch Everything Live. What Platform Should I Choose?
If you’re an Olympics diehard who wants to have live access to each and every single sport, you’re going to have to stream the action online. There are two ways to do this. If you already pay for a cable TV subscription, you can login to NBCOlympics.com or NBC.com (or download the NBC app or the NBC Olympics app) with your account information and simply stream via your web browser, or via your phone, tablet, or connected TV.
If you don’t have a cable TV subscription, you will need to download the . It’s also your cheapest option—the monthly plan starts at $7.99, or you can update to $13.99 if you don’t want to see advertisements. The annual plan gives you greater savings. Those of us who follow the Tour de France already know and love the app.
Peacock will beam 5,000 hours of Olympics coverage. Yep, that equates to every single Olympic live event, and it will also allow you to watch replays of competitions after they’ve happened. There will be curated highlight videos, plus three different studio shows. One program, called Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson, will blend comedy and recaps. The other, Gold Zone, is described by NBC’s PR department as a “whip-around show that guides viewers to the best and most exciting live moments throughout the games.” The final show, Watch with Alex Cooper, is hosted by host of the popular podcast, Call Her Daddy, who will offer her own take on the action.
Long story short: If you’re the hardest of hardcore Olympics fans, Peacock is your best bet.
I Want to Watch the Big Events Live
If streaming isn’t your jam, you can still watch an abundance of live Olympics coverage on TV and cable—but you’re going to have to wake up early. Since Paris is six hours ahead of the United States’ Eastern time zone, the television coverage for live events will kick off in the mornings. NBC will broadcast nine hours of daily coverage of the Olympics—including live broadcast of finals for popular sports like swimming, track and field, and gymnastics—on NBC Network starting at 7 A.M. EST on weekdays. On weekends the coverage will begin as early as 5 A.M. EST.
NBCUniversal, NBC’s parent company, will also air coverage of preliminary rounds and finals of less-popular sports on its cable networks USA Network, E!, CNBC, Golf Channel, and Spanish language networks Telemundo, and Universo.
Give Me the Traditional Primetime TV Coverage
For those Olympics viewers who still love the traditional coverage from yesteryear—you know, highlights mixed with heartstrings-pulling athlete profiles—don’t worry, NBC Network (you know, the free TV channel) has you covered. NBC will again beam its primetime coverage called Primetime in Paris every night starting on Saturday, July 27 at 8 P.M. EST. In a press release, the network described the show as “enhanced storytelling” around the Games. This is where you can see the medal ceremonies, athlete interviews, and analysis of the biggest moments of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
There’s also a pretty fun collection of hosts for Primetime in Paris: veteran sports broadcaster Mike Tirico will lead the show, and the cast includes singer Kelly Clarkson, retired NFL great Peyton Manning, comedians Leslie Jones and Kevin Hart, and rapper Snoop Dogg, among others. Saturday Night Live stars Kenan Thompson and Colin Jost will also be on air.
How Can I Find My Sport to Watch?
NBC has that provides viewing options for every day of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. This should help you identify the sport you want to watch and the viewing options across television, cable, and streaming.