After a year of postponement caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the summer Olympics are going ahead, with the opening ceremony on Jul 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Setting opinions aside about the lingering threat of COVID or other Olympic-related controversies, the coming weeks will provide countless moments of great sport. Although we are a winter-focused publication here at FasterSkier, we’ve done a little research into how you can best view the upcoming games.
NBC is the go-to channel for primetime coverage of the Olympics and can be accessed on most major streaming services. For viewers who don’t have cable, the Tokyo Games can be streamed, like the cross-country World Cup, through NBC Universal’s streaming service Peacock. There are also a variety of other streaming services that offer NBC. The options are listed below.
Peacock is the best choice for readers looking solely for live coverage of the Olympics. With a free account, you get access to NBC’s live broadcast. For play-backs, commentary or analysis, you can move up to the premium service option. A Peacock Premium subscription costs 4.99/month and can be cancelled at any time. If you want to go ad-free you can pay 9.99/month for Premium Plus.
Sling TV gives subscribers the first month of subscription for $10 (as opposed to the normal $35/mo). The Sling Blue package provides ESPN, NBC, the NFL Network. This option remains the best choice for die-hard sports fans.
FuboTV or Youtube TV
Both a big step up in price, FuboTV or Youtube TV offer 120 and 85 channels respectively and allow greater flexibility in recording and storage options. FuboTV costs 64.99/month and Youtube TV is 54.99/month for your first three months.
The full schedule of Olympic events can be found here, with popular sports such as swimming and gymnastics kicking off July 24th, and track and field events beginning July 30th.
Ella Hall
Growing up in Washington’s Methow Valley, Ella was immersed in skiing and the ski community from a young age. From early days bundled in the pulk, to learning to ski as soon as she could walk, to junior racing, a few seasons of collegiate racing, and then to coaching, she has experienced the ski world in many forms. Now, as a recent graduate from Dartmouth College, she finds herself living in France splitting her time between teaching English at a university in Lyon, avidly following ski racing (and now writing about it!) and adventuring in the outdoors as often as possible.
