The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games are almost here and although there are multiple ways to stream the event, Peacock makes it possible to watch the Beijing Olympics without having access to a live TV package. When it comes to existing live TV subscribers, whether they have access to the 2022 Winter Olympics will depend on the channels included with their current package.
This year’s Winter Olympics are being held in Beijing. The games are officially set to begin on February 4 and will continue through until February 20, providing consumers with more than two weeks of Olympics coverage. Technically, some events take place from February 2nd, but the 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony starts at 7:00am ET on February 4th, with coverage beginning from 6:30am ET. Similar to the 2020 Summer Olympics that were held in 2021 in Tokyo, the 2022 Beijing Olympics are being broadcast by NBCUniversal, and this directly affects where the games can be watched in the United States.
One of the easiest ways to watch the Winter Olympics is through Peacock. Owned by NBCU, Peacock is a streaming service that requires a standalone subscription. While this does mean consumers will need to sign up through the Peacock website and pay a monthly fee for the service, it is an easy and affordable option for those without a live TV subscription. For reference, Peacock does actually offer a free tier, but those wanting to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics will need to be signed up to one of the two Premium plans. Still, with the Premium plans starting at just $4.99 per month, and Peacock providing access to every live event, the streaming service is going to be the best option for comprehensive coverage of the Winter Olympics.
In addition to access to every minute of every live event, Peacock will also be a full Olympics streaming hub in general. For example, subscribers will be able to watch additional clips and exclusive studio programming each day, as well as full-event replays that become immediately available to stream as soon as the live events have ended.
Watch through a live TV service
Although Peacock is the best choice overall, it is not the only option. With the Winter Olympics being broadcast by NBCUniversal, the various channels owned by the media company will also be showing substantial live coverage of the games. Specifically, consumers will want to make sure their current live TV package includes NBC, CNBC, the Olympic Channel, and USA Network.
For those without an active live TV streaming plan, and not planning to go down the Peacock route, then one of the cheapest options to stream NBC is Sling TV. With plans starting at just $35 per month, this can be an affordable way to access many of the NBCU channels needed to watch the games. However, it is worth being aware that NBC is not available in all markets through Sling TV, so miles will vary depending on the location.
For those currently not in an area where Sling TV provides access to NBC, consumers might want to consider either DirecTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV or YouTube TV. All of these live TV streaming services do vary in price, and all of them are considerably more expensive than Sling TV. At the same time, they all do tend to offer more channels so some consumers may find the higher price acceptable if the channel lineup better suits their Winter Olympics and non-Olympic streaming needs.
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