How to watch the Paris Olympics on streaming, social media and cable

The Summer Olympics are back, and rights-holder NBC is going big compared to past games.

First, it’s creating more content. The 2024 Summer Olympics will come with more programming hours on NBC than ever before, the company says. Second, it’s beefing up Peacock, NBC’s online streaming app, to include all NBC programming — a first for the Summer Games — and a variety of personalized recommendation tools. And, like most other streaming services, Peacock has raised its price to $7.99 a month, up from $4.99 at the last Winter Games. (If you want to watch with minimal ads, you’ll need Premium Plus at $13.99 a month.)

It’s a vote of confidence in the popularity of the games after relatively few people tuned in for the 2022 Opening Ceremonies and French citizens spent months protesting disruptions tied to the games, including police forcing unhoused people to stop sleeping in some public spaces.

Wondering where to find Olympic events and coverage on TV, streaming and social media? Here’s an easy rundown of your options — and if you want a quick answer, just subscribe to Peacock.

Can I watch the Olympics on a streaming service?

Yes, you can watch live events, on-demand replays and the Opening Ceremonies on Peacock. There’s no free trial that you can start and then cancel after the Olympics, unfortunately, and unlike the last Winter Games there’s no free Olympics content.

Xfinity internet or TV customers can pay $15 a month for a streaming bundle that includes Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV Plus. (Subscribers to grocery delivery app Instacart’s premium tier get Peacock at no additional cost.)

Peacock has added multiple features that should make life easier for casual and intense viewers alike. If you’re an enthusiast keeping tabs on multiple events, try what Peacock is calling Discovery Multiview, a four-way split screen that lets you watch in tandem. If you’re interested in the games but not sure where to start, use Peacock’s Olympic Hub to build a schedule of your favorite sports.

If you want to know everything about everything, check out “Gold Zone,” a live show streaming from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central time every day showing the most interesting moments from concurrent events. Then there’s Peacock’s experiment with AI-generated narration — the “Your Daily Olympic Recap” tool provides a personalized playlist of recaps and highlights from the previous day, overdubbed with the AI-generated voice of Emmy-winning announcer Al Michaels. NBC said the AI commentary will match Michaels’s “signature expertise and elocution.” We’ll see if they pull it off.

Can I borrow someone’s login?

You can try — streaming services have been cracking down on the rampant account-sharing that had you using your college boyfriend’s Netflix account years after he dumped you. Peacock, for one, says it only allows three streams from the same account.

Can I watch the games on YouTube?

The International Olympic Committee, NBC and individual sports teams run YouTube accounts, where many post teasers or updates during the games. If you cast the free YouTube app to your TV, you could watch hours of recaps and highlights free.

For full events, you’ll need to subscribe to YouTube TV, the platform’s cable alternative. The price tag is $72.99 a month, with a five-day free trial. This gives you access to NBC channels.

Can I use a cable alternative?

Yes — a variety of cable alternatives or “cord-cutter services” have popped up to replace traditional cable. The prices vary, as do the channels they offer, so make sure to check whether a given provider carries your favorites. To watch the Olympics, you’ll need one or more NBC channels.

The most affordable option appears to be Sling TV at $45 a month for its “blue” package with NBC channels. Other choices — including Hulu+Live TV, Fubo and DirecTV Stream — all cost about the same at $75 to $80 a month, but their perks and offerings differ. The price of cord-cutting services has gone up almost across the board since the Winter Olympics.

Roku users can access any of these subscriptions through their device. And NBC is offering two 24-hour Olympics channels — Paris Extra 1 and Paris Extra 2 — for cord-cutter subscribers.

What if I already pay for cable?

If you already pay for traditional cable, you’re golden. NBC affiliates including CNBC, USA Network, E! and the Golf Channel will have Olympics coverage.

Committed fans can also use their cable logins (including YouTube TV) to visit the website NBCOlympics.com or NBC Sports app, which feature more in-depth coverage of the games.

If you’re an Xfinity X1 customer, saying “Olympics” into your X1 remote takes you to a landing page with a daily events schedule, curated live events and highlights.

What can I catch on social media?

The IOC and NBC Sports have their own profiles on most social media channels, where they’ll share highlights, teasers and clips of commentary.

For a glimpse behind the scenes, your best bet is to follow individual athletes or creators. TikTok in particular has become a hub for competitors to share their travel stories, updates on their events and high jinks inside the Olympic Village. (Check out American rugby player Ilona Maher’s account.) NBC also says it partnered with a few dozen content creators on Meta, Overtime, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube to put out on-the-ground videos during the games.

Of course, there’s also pirated content that shows up on video platforms without NBC’s approval. During the last Summer Games, some big moments such as Simone Biles’s shaky vault performance before withdrawing from the competition circulated on TikTok before they even aired on NBC. Both TikTok and the IOC have said they actively look for unauthorized clips to take them down — but if you’re using the search bar or scrolling at the right time you’re likely to catch some screengrabbed or sneakily recorded videos from the Games.

What about Spanish-language coverage?

NBC’s Spanish-language network Telemundo and channel Universo will offer about six hours of daytime coverage most days and 12 hours on days with soccer matches. It’s all streaming live on Peacock, and if you miss it the first time it’s available on demand.

Can I watch remotely with friends?

Right now Peacock doesn’t have a “watch party” function to let people on different devices watch the same stream. But you can always do an old-fashioned countdown to press the “play” button at the same time — maybe spin up a Discord room for some live group-chatting.

If your friends are close by, consider grabbing tickets to Olympic events playing at IMAX and AMC theaters.