Watching the Olympics - Obscure sports edition
July 21, 2021 8:56 PM Subscribe
I saw this question about watching the Olympics this summer from a month ago, but I have a more specific follow-up. I want to watch obscure sports / events online on a live feed (or more likely on a 13 hour delay as I am in NY). What subscription do I need to do that?
I would like to watch most specifically the throwing events for track and field, and also swimming prelims, weightlifting, waterpolo, etc. I want to see more than just the TV highlights. I remember the last Olympics, I really enjoyed watching the stream of the weightlifting events while I was working from home. I don't remember how I did this. Since there are even more things to subscribe to now, I'm sure I will need some sort of paid subscription to watch these events. I usually get Hulu Live for college football season. If I restart my subscription early, will it give me access to the things I want to watch? I've been trying to read up on how to watch these events on various Google search results, but it's still unclear how to watch the events that aren't big draws for TV. Maybe I just need to wait until the Olympics actually start and click on a non-televised event on NBCOlympics.com and see what happens.
I would like to watch most specifically the throwing events for track and field, and also swimming prelims, weightlifting, waterpolo, etc. I want to see more than just the TV highlights. I remember the last Olympics, I really enjoyed watching the stream of the weightlifting events while I was working from home. I don't remember how I did this. Since there are even more things to subscribe to now, I'm sure I will need some sort of paid subscription to watch these events. I usually get Hulu Live for college football season. If I restart my subscription early, will it give me access to the things I want to watch? I've been trying to read up on how to watch these events on various Google search results, but it's still unclear how to watch the events that aren't big draws for TV. Maybe I just need to wait until the Olympics actually start and click on a non-televised event on NBCOlympics.com and see what happens.
As wsquared says, you should be able to get everything on Peacock. If you are a Comcast subscriber (tv and internet), you get Peacock at no cost, including the premium tier. There is also the NBC Sports cable channel.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:24 AM on July 22, 2021
posted by Thorzdad at 5:24 AM on July 22, 2021
I believe Youtube TV has everything broadcast, along with a DVR interface to "record" things for later. They also have a VOD system that might let you just watch everything without setting it up in advance, although that contains unskippable ads. Youtube TV's free preview is only a couple of days, so you probably have to pay $65 once.
That will record everything on any US cable or broadcast channel. For that matter probably all the cord cutting services will have that same ability. If you want to watch stuff not available on US TV I'm much less clear about it. I'd consider pirating video with NZBs off Usenet but that's complicated and unlicensed.
posted by Nelson at 6:44 AM on July 22, 2021
That will record everything on any US cable or broadcast channel. For that matter probably all the cord cutting services will have that same ability. If you want to watch stuff not available on US TV I'm much less clear about it. I'd consider pirating video with NZBs off Usenet but that's complicated and unlicensed.
posted by Nelson at 6:44 AM on July 22, 2021
Best answer: To confirm, I was able to log in to the NBC Olympics site with my Hulu Live TV subscription to watch the live stream of gymnastics last night. When it asks to log in with a cable provider, you may have to search for Hulu or YouTube or whatever service you use. Now that I’m logged in, I see access to all replays of events that have already happened (mostly soccer games and gymnastics training).
posted by wsquared at 7:12 AM on July 22, 2021
posted by wsquared at 7:12 AM on July 22, 2021
I haven’t tried this yet, but it seems like SlingTv is the cheapest on the list (first month as low as 25$) plus it has a 7-day free trial before that.
Other services which seem to work (they come up in a search when you try to log in on The NBC Olympics site ) and may have free trials of varying length are YoutubeTv, FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, and AT&T TV.
posted by nat at 8:36 AM on July 22, 2021
Other services which seem to work (they come up in a search when you try to log in on The NBC Olympics site ) and may have free trials of varying length are YoutubeTv, FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, and AT&T TV.
posted by nat at 8:36 AM on July 22, 2021
YoutubeTV will allow you to DVR just about everything and access it for 11 months. Their menu allowed me to select different Olympic categories that I wanted to record. I've missed stuff in years past because of the tape-delay so I thought that was pretty nice.
posted by zerobyproxy at 12:22 PM on July 22, 2021
posted by zerobyproxy at 12:22 PM on July 22, 2021
As nat mentioned, I found Sling TV to be the cheapest option, but that price is wrong - I booked a 1-month subscription today for $10. I believe the price after that first month goes up to $25 or perhaps more, but it doesn't matter to me as I'll cancel by then.
So far, it has allowed me to login to the NBC sports app on my Firestick and I've been able to see a few live feeds. Some of the live feeds are giving me errors, but this might not be a general problem and instead related to me tuning in at the wrong times or perhaps some early kinks in the system (since the Olympics I guess technically kick off more broadly tomorrow).
posted by unid41 at 4:01 PM on July 22, 2021
So far, it has allowed me to login to the NBC sports app on my Firestick and I've been able to see a few live feeds. Some of the live feeds are giving me errors, but this might not be a general problem and instead related to me tuning in at the wrong times or perhaps some early kinks in the system (since the Olympics I guess technically kick off more broadly tomorrow).
posted by unid41 at 4:01 PM on July 22, 2021
I just signed up for Peacock premium plus (the highest tier, $9.99/mo), and went looking for the Rowing replays. Because NBCOlympics.com said there were rowing replays available. Nothing on Peacock right now for rowing (or I can't find it). So don't assume EVERYTHING will be on Peacock...
Edited to add: From the NBC Olympics.com FAQ:
"Can I watch the Tokyo Olympic Games on Peacock?
Peacock will show Tokyo Olympics highlights, including must-see moments from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on NBC, as well as original documentaries and docuseries. To watch more extensive coverage, such as the full Opening Ceremony, please tune in to the live broadcast on NBC."
So, Peacock isn't the place to go for all day viewing of prelims of some obscure sport. Find one of the NBCOLYMPICS.COM providers you can sign up for.
posted by bluesky78987 at 10:51 AM on July 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Edited to add: From the NBC Olympics.com FAQ:
"Can I watch the Tokyo Olympic Games on Peacock?
Peacock will show Tokyo Olympics highlights, including must-see moments from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on NBC, as well as original documentaries and docuseries. To watch more extensive coverage, such as the full Opening Ceremony, please tune in to the live broadcast on NBC."
So, Peacock isn't the place to go for all day viewing of prelims of some obscure sport. Find one of the NBCOLYMPICS.COM providers you can sign up for.
posted by bluesky78987 at 10:51 AM on July 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
We successfully watched some rowing replays last night, via our brand new sling account. Indeed, just 10$ for a month. (We couldn't find the archery though, which supposedly had some events already too).
posted by nat at 11:24 AM on July 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by nat at 11:24 AM on July 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Nat, do you need sling blue or sling orange?
posted by bluesky78987 at 11:35 AM on July 23, 2021
posted by bluesky78987 at 11:35 AM on July 23, 2021
We got blue. I don't know if orange would also work.
posted by nat at 11:46 AM on July 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by nat at 11:46 AM on July 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
SlingTV Orange doesn't seem to work, but I was able to switch to Blue without any fuss from the account page.
posted by john hadron collider at 6:36 PM on July 25, 2021
posted by john hadron collider at 6:36 PM on July 25, 2021
If you are streaming via nbcolympics, you might also want a tip for their app. At least on an Apple TV, the only reasonable way to fast forward is actually to hit pause first, then try to scrub forwards. Otherwise you will be very annoyed when watching long event playback; if you don’t pause then you can only go forward 10 seconds at a time. (I did want to watch some of the men’s triathlon. I did not want to watch *all* of it.)
posted by nat at 1:22 AM on July 26, 2021
posted by nat at 1:22 AM on July 26, 2021
Response by poster: I waited until Track and Field started to sign up for Hulu Live. I am able to watch the throwing qualifier replays just like I want by logging in to NBCOlympics.com with my Hulu account. I wanted to stick to Hulu because I know it has the football I want, which will start within a month. Thank you for your advice!
posted by DEiBnL13 at 7:55 AM on July 30, 2021
posted by DEiBnL13 at 7:55 AM on July 30, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wsquared at 9:38 PM on July 21, 2021