The United States not only returns 193 Olympians this year, but also is sending a reported 621 athletes to Tokyo, which includes alternates for women’s soccer, men’s and women’s rugby and water polo. That’s a lot of different teams and athletes to keep an eye on during the two-week Olympic Games.
NBCUniversal, which will provide all broadcast and streaming coverage of the Tokyo Olympics — live and delayed — has several ways for Americans to tune in and watch the red white and blue go for gold. The sheer volume of coverage — a dizzying 7,000-plus hours of programming — can be daunting to keep up with.
Luckily, Sporting News has already broken down everything you need to watch Team USA during the Tokyo Olympics. That includes what channels to watch, what streaming services to look into and the entire schedule for every U.S. athlete. Here’s everything you need to know:
MORE: Watch the 2021 Olympics with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
How to watch Olympics in the USA
NBCUniversal has no shortage of options for audiences who want to watch the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on TV. Below are all the channels across the NBC family of networks — all available on fuboTV — that will broadcast Olympic coverage:
NBC NBC Sports Olympic Channel CNBC USA Golf Channel fuboTV (7-day free trial)
Olympics live streams
NBC offers several avenues for cord-cutters to watch the 2021 Olympics. NBC Sports Digital will also offer a “Team USA Tracker” stream select competitions as well. Below is the full rundown of streaming options:
NBC Sports app NBC Olympics Peacock fuboTV (7-day free trial)
What time is it in Tokyo?
Tokyo, which operates out of Japan Standard Time, is 13 hours ahead of the U.S.’s Eastern Time and 16 hours ahead of Pacific Time. That will create a few irregularities as it pertains to NBC’s broadcast schedule.
NBC will broadcast major events in primetime (on tape delays) while also broadcasting some late-night and early-morning live coverage. Likewise, USA, NBCSN and CNBC will focus on airing other major events, both live and delayed; the Golf Channel will take care of coverage of both the men’s and women’s golf competitions; the Olympic Channel will focus on tennis and wrestling.
As for streaming options, Peacock will be the main way to watch the Summer Games. The streaming service will air some events live — including the team gymnastics competitions and the U.S. men’s basketball team’s games — and will have tape-delayed coverage as well. NBC Olympics and the NBC Sports App will provide similar services.
