What is the Difference Between Watching the Olympics on the NBC Sports App and Peacock?
There are two different NBC-owned digital platforms where you will be able to watch the Olympics — the NBC Sports App and Peacock. Both offer a viewing experience for the Olympics but, depending on what you want to watch, you will have to decide on which app you’ll do the majority of your viewing. Read on to learn more about what the NBC Sports App and Peacock will offer during the Olympics, and which makes sense for you to watch.
Peacock
You will be able to watch every single second of Olympics coverage on Peacock. This includes the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, NBC’s nightly primetime show, full replays of all competition available immediately upon conclusion, exclusive daily studio programming, medal ceremonies, extensive highlight clips, and more. All 2,800 hours are available in one app.
Starting February 5, NBC will also offer four different studio shows with additional coverage:
- The Olympics Show (8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET) is a live studio show that will highlight the biggest, must-see moments, feature athlete interviews, and preview upcoming events.
- Olympic Ice (10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET) will be essential viewing for figure skating fans, featuring in-depth analysis of one of the Winter Games’ most popular events, including competition highlights, interviews with Team USA athletes, practice reports, and scoring breakdowns
- Winter Gold (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET) will provide a comprehensive look at the most compelling performances of the day so that fans never miss a minute of action.
- Top Highlights (8:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m. ET) will give fans even more memorable moments and highlights throughout the day.
However, unless you’re an Xfinity subscriber, you’ll have to pony up for access to the Olympics. You must have at least Peacock Premium (valued at $4.99 per month) in order to watch the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Xfinity subscribers can get Peacock Premium for free.
The NBC Sports App
NBC Sports app (and NBCOlympics.com) will live-stream 2,100+ hours from Beijing, which will include live coverage of all events and competition across desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs for authenticated users, TV simul-stream coverage of the three television networks broadcasting the Games, and an enhanced viewing experiences for select sports. In addition, fans will be able to access live streams of select practice and warm-up sessions, plus extensive video content including event recaps, highlights, viral moments, interviews, and more.
The difference here is that the NBC Sports App is available at no additional cost — assuming of course you have a cable or streaming subscription of some kind. You’ll use your TV Anytime credentials to log into the app and view your favorite sport.
If you don’t have a cable subscription and just want to watch the Olympics, consider signing up for a live TV streaming service. Most available services offer a monthly plan that allows you to cancel anytime. Each of the major services including DIRECTV STREAM, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV include NBC cable channels. Both fuboTV and Sling TV offer free trials of their services.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Get $10 Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| NBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| USA Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| CNBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | + $6 | ✓ | |
| Olympic Channel | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
The Most Affordable Live TV Streaming Option: Sling TV
The most affordable option to stream the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in the U.S. is Sling TV. You can get nearly all the Olympic coverage you need, as it has NBC (in select markets), USA Network, and the Olympic Channel with a 3-Day Free Trial.
The base Sling Blue plan covers all the live sports broadcasts except those on CNBC - that can be added via the News Extra add-on for $6/month.
You will be able to get Olympic coverage inside of Sling TV, but you can also use your TV Everywhere credentials on the NBC Sports App and NBCOlympics.com as we mentioned above. Sling TV is available to stream on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, Xbox, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV.
Enjoy the Games!
Sling TV
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service that helps users save money with the option of two distinct plans. The $40/month “Sling Orange” plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $40/month “Sling Blue” plan offers about 40 channels, including Fox and NBC local channels.