How to watch 2012 Olympics online in Africa?

July 27, 2012 1:28 AM

Help me watch the Olympics on my computer. In Africa.

(related)

Same setup as the guy above - I have no TV or cable subscription, I've only got a computer and iPhone with a decently stable internet connection (relatively speaking).

I can't access any of the major network's coverage because I'm in Kenya. As far as I can determine from the cable providers here, nobody is going to have any kind of live coverage on any kind of cable connection I could get here anyway, so that's out.

I'm basically looking for the best of what is freely available online with no access restrictions based on my location. There are no laws in this country around torrenting / etc. so I could potentially download coverage if its posted post-broadcast, but I'd ideally just like somewhere I could stream decent mainline event coverage from.

Google-fu leads me to a nightmare of useless information. Please halp.

posted by allkindsoftime to sports, hobbies, & recreation (11 answers total)

I imagine that you're looking for a free option but if one doesn't present itself, could you have someone elsewhere buy and set up a Slingbox type product to share their TV with you?
posted by XMLicious at 1:35 AM on July 27, 2012

I would be willing to pay for live viewing and ease of access. You get a best answer.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:43 AM on July 27, 2012

In that case, what about using a VPN service? This one comes with a 3 hour free trial and a discount for the Olympics.
posted by rhythm and booze at 1:53 AM on July 27, 2012

some options here: http://www.olympic.org/content/broadcaster-home/#africa

and possibly http://www.youtube.com/user/olympic?feature=results_main which content is geoblocked for me - but I understand isn't going to be in many smaller countries.
posted by dripped at 3:00 AM on July 27, 2012

also I just set this up, and it is streaming bbc channels to me through TOR here in Canada.
tres cool.

http://bbc-player.com/
posted by dripped at 3:59 AM on July 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Youtube.com/Olympic will have over 2000 hours of free live streaming for residents of Asia and Africa. I'm in the US but I've purchased a VPN service with servers in Asia specifically so I can watch the Olympics. It turns out my DISH plan doesn't qualify for access to live coverage on the NBC Olympics site.
posted by COD at 5:07 AM on July 27, 2012

DSTV not an option? Or just no have a dish? Was under the impression that SuperSports were covering the whole thing. I'm just opposed to the $80 a month or whatever it's at now...

I can't recommend a specific service - but there's plenty of solutions for expat Brits for getting around the BBC iPlayer limitations - Expat Shield used to be big one, may be a place to start. Essentially just a VPN/proxy, so it looks like you are in the UK. You would of course be using the BBC without paying a licence fee... so it depends how murky you are happy to go.

Further down that path - and basically straight forward pirate solutions - there's plenty of websites that normally offer sports live on the 'net - odd Russian commentary aside, they normally work fine on my line. Not sure of the legitimacy of linking directly from MeFi though - anyone know the answer?

Main issue for me is the speed of the net - my Zuku line really isn't fast enough with the silly bandwidth throttling they employ.
posted by Hobo at 7:18 AM on July 27, 2012

BBC News live stream is here. And BBC World News can be streamed here. Both will air some Olympic events, but you can check the listings here.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:12 AM on July 27, 2012

Not sure what the heck is happening with those links. Yesterday I was able to paste them as URLs into my address bar and the video played in my browser. Oh well, try this link to watch BBC UK on a somewhat cluttered page and this one for BBC World News. (Requires Flash)
posted by HotPatatta at 10:06 AM on July 27, 2012

related AskMe
posted by XMLicious at 1:25 AM on July 28, 2012

COD wins it, although I found the youtube.com/olympics (duh??) through dripped's link originally. The IOC's coverage you can watch live on youtube and you pick the event. Plus no sappy Bob Costas personal interest stories. This is great.

Hobo, unrelated but FWIW, we have an Orange USB stick for when our Zuku isn't fast enough for online streaming. We've been watching Olympics all afternoon on it. Problem is you pay by the gig.
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:07 AM on July 28, 2012