The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China are here and that means we’re getting two-plus weeks of incredible sporting competition (and just a year after the last pandemic-delayed Summer Olympics). With so many events and sports on tap, it can be tough to figure out what’s on when and where to watch your favorite competition (ice skating, obviously). NBC is offering several ways to watch from broadcast channels, to cable, to streaming, and Peacock, but all those channels can get confusing.
To help make sense of how exactly you’re supposed to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics, we put together a guide of websites, streaming services, and subscriptions so you know how to catch the best events this year.
How to watch and stream the 2022 Winter Olympics
The Olympic Games this year are going to be on a few different TV channels: NBC, CNBC, USA, and the Olympic channel — as well as Telemundo and Universo for Spanish-language coverage. These channels will have live coverage of certain events, as well as tape-delay coverage in prime time that will show edited highlights of several different events that have happened throughout the day. If you’d rather access those channels through streaming, you can sign into the NBC Olympics website, or the NBC Sports app with your cable subscription.
This year, NBC will also be offering a streaming option for the games through Peacock. Peacock, NBC’s in-house streaming service, will carry every single live event from the games, as well as replays of all the events after they happen. Peacock subscriptions are $4.99 a month, or $9.99 a month for the service without ads.
How to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony will begin on Feb. 4, at 6:30 a.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock. The event is expected to last about an hour and a half. If you can’t make the official opening, NBC will air a special version of the ceremony later that same night starting at 8 p.m. ET. The Opening Ceremony will also be available to replay in Peacock.
How to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics for free
Trying to watch the games for free will lead to a much more limited experience, but it still possible.
- You can watch NBC for free over the air if you have a TV with an antenna. You can buy a fairly inexpensive antenna online if you own a modern television.
- You can stream highlights of Olympic events on Peacock without a paid subscription.
- The NBC Olympics website offers 30 minutes of free coverage before you have to log in with a cable provider.
- Fubo offers a 7-day free trial.
- Services like YouTube TV and Hulu TV offer free trials that often last as long as a month, which is plenty of time for the entirety of the Winter Games.
How to watch figure skating at the Winter Olympics
Figure skating is easily the most popular sport at the Winter Olympics, so we’re going to guess that it’s the one you might most want the schedule for. Here’s NBC’s full 2022 Winter Olympics figure skating schedule:
*Please note that times are subject to change. Beijing is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone.
Thursday, February 3 (Friday in Beijing)
- Team Event – Men’s Short Program
When: 8:55 p.m. ET (Thursday – Feb. 3) - Team Event – Rhythm Dance
When: 10:35 p.m. ET (Thursday – Feb. 3) - Team Event – Pairs’ Short Program
When: 12:15 a.m. ET
Saturday, February 5 (Sunday in Beijing)
- Team Event – Women’s Short Program
When: 8:30 p.m. ET (Saturday – Feb. 5) - Team Event – Men’s Free Skate
When: 10:50 p.m. ET (Saturday – Feb. 5)
Sunday, February 6 (Monday in Beijing)
- Team Event – Pairs’ Free Skate
When: 8:15 p.m. (Sunday – Feb. 6) - Team Event – Free Dance
When: 9:30 p.m ET (Sunday – Feb. 6) - Team Event – Women’s Free Skate
When: 10:35 p.m. ET (Sunday – Feb. 6)
Monday, February 7 (Tuesday in Beijing)
- Men’s Short Program
When: 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday – Feb. 7)
Wednesday, February 9 (Thursday in Beijing)
- Men’s Free Skate
When: 8:30 p.m. ET (Wednesday – Feb. 9)
Saturday, February 12 (Day 8)
- Rhythm Dance
When: 6:00 a.m. ET
Sunday, February 13 (Monday in Beijing)
- Free Dance
When: 8:15 p.m. ET (Sunday – Feb. 13)
Tuesday, February 15 (Day 11)
- Women’s Short Program
When: 5:00 a.m. ET
Thursday, February 17 (Day 13)
- Women’s Free Skate
When: 5:00 a.m. ET
Friday, February 18 (Day 15)
- Pairs’ Short Program
When: 5:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, February 19 (Day 15)
- Pairs’ Free Skate
When: 6:00 a.m. ET - Gala
When: 11:00 p.m. ET (Saturday – Feb. 19)
Peacock
Much of Peacock’s library is free with ads, but NBCUniversal also offers a paid tier that unlocks the full content library (including live sports) at $4.99/month, with an ad-free version available for $9.99/month.