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Do you need Peacock to watch the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics games?
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
At long last, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris are here. Starting on Friday, July 26, 2024, athletes from all around the world will unite in the City of Lights, each athlete hoping to bring a gold medal home.
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Game feature some of the world’s top athletes, including LeBron James, Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Coco Gauff and more, which means every Olympic event offers a chance to witness the world’s best go head-to-head.
The NBC family of channels will air select Olympic events with the most popular sports airing in the morning on NBC. Peacock subscribers will have the most access to the events at the 2024 Summer Olympics, with Peacock being the only way to watch every Olympic event this summer.
That’s good news for fans looking for one place to find all the terrific Olympic competitions happening in Paris. The streamer will offer “multi-view” options in which fans can curate their own Olympic journey, choosing which events to watch on the streamer.
A Peacock subscription costs $8 per month. An annual plan is available for $80 per year (best value). You can cancel anytime.
How to stream the Summer Olympics without Peacock
There’s a lot to like about a Peacock subscription. In addition to major sporting events like the 2024 Paris Olympics, Peacock offers its subscribers live-streaming access to NFL games that air on NBC and sports airing on USA Network, plus hit movies and TV series such as “The Office.”
That said, you don’t need a Peacock subscription to watch the best and most interesting events of the 2024 Summer Olympics. NBC and Telemundo will broadcast at least nine hours of Olympics coverage daily, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. Some events will air on the USA Network, Golf Channel, CNBC and E!.
For streaming the Paris Olympics — and for streaming all the must-watch college football and NFL games to follow this fall — we like Sling TV. The cable TV replacement option offers packages that include your local NBC station starting at $45 per month, or $70 for two months (special prepay offer). You also get access to E! and USA Network (including 400 hours of Olympics programming on USA in 4K resolution). We like that there’s a $11 per month sports add-on plan called Sports Extra and the option to add on Paramount+ if you want to catch even more sporting events this fall.
Tap the button below to sign up for Sling TV.
Note: Paramount+ and CBS Essentials are both subsidiaries of Paramount.
Peacock vs. Sling TV vs. cable: Which is best for watching the 2024 Summer Olympics?
Still having trouble deciding between your Olympics streaming options? Here’s what the experts at CBS Essentials recommend.
Do you want to stream the Olympics at the lowest cost? Then you’ll want to grab a subscription to Peacock, starting at $8 per month (or $80 per year). The NBC-affiliated streamer will offer access to every Olympic event, so you won’t miss a moment of the action. The only catch is that you won’t be able to watch a wide range of sports via Peacock, only those aired on the NBC family of networks.
Do you want to watch more live sports than just the Olympics? Then we think a streamer like Sling TV is your best bet. You’ll be able to watch all the top Olympic events, plus get access to NASCAR and NFL on Fox, and Monday Night Football on ABC. The Sling TV Blue plan ($45 per month or $70 for two months when prepaid) features 46 channels in total, including CNN, HGTV and Nick Jr., so there’s something for everyone to watch. (Other Sling TV plans are available as well, so you can customize your subscription.)
When are the 2024 Summer Olympic Games?
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from Friday, July 26, 2024, through Sunday, August 11, 2024. The opening ceremony is on Friday, July 26.
2024 Summer Olympic Games schedule: Key dates
Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
Below are key dates for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. For a full broadcast schedule of all events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, tap here.
Key dates for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games
- Olympic Village Opens: July 13
- Torch Relay in Paris: July 20 – July 26
- Gymnastics: July 27 – August 5
- Swimming: July 27 – August 4
- Track and Field: August 1 – August 11
- Breaking: August 9 and 10
- Basketball: July 28 – August 9
- Soccer: July 24 – August 10
- Cycling (Track): August 1 – August 5
- Volleyball: July 28 – August 11
- Closing Ceremony: August 11
What new sports are included in the 2024 Summer Olympics?
Paris will play host to 32 sports at the 2024 Summer Olympics, including new additions breaking (or go totally 1980’s and call it breakdancing), and kayak cross. Sport climbing (also known as indoor rock climbing), skateboarding and surfing (taking place in Tahiti, French Polynesia) will also return after making appearances at the Tokyo Games.
When is the 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony?
The 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony is scheduled for July 26, 2024. For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony won’t take place in a stadium. Instead, this summer’s opening ceremony will bring sports to the heart of Paris via the Seine River.
The 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony will consist of boats for each national designation traveling up the Seine through the center of Paris. Going from east to west, 10,500 athletes will cross through Paris before finally landing in front of the Trocadéro, where the remainder of the opening ceremony will take place.
Who is competing for Team USA?
Not only is Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James scheduled to compete for Team USA, but the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will reunite former Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns).
Other famous faces fans can expect to see on the basketball court competing for Team USA include Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), James Harden (Los Angeles Clippers), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) and Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves). Edwards’ teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t be on the court for the U.S. this summer but will be competing for the Greek national team.
Team USA’s women’s basketball roster is equally star-packed. Though Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark didn’t make the team this year, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu will be representing the U.S. alongside Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces).
Other notable athletes who have punched a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics include track star Sha’Carri Richardson, golf star Scottie Scheffler, No. 1- ranked Nelly Korda, 20-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff and No. 5-ranked tennis ace Jessica Pegula.
Who are the Team USA opening ceremony flag bearers?
LeBron James was announced as the Team USA men’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, while tennis ace Coco Gauff will don the flag bearer’s white jacket as the women’s flag bearer for Team USA.
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Paul Whelan, freed in prisoner swap with Russia, tells other American detainees: “We’re coming for you”
Washington — Nearly seven weeks after the Russians handed over Paul Whelan on a tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, the Marine veteran stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with a message for other Americans who are held abroad.
“We’re coming for you,” he told reporters Tuesday night after he met with lawmakers. “It might take time, but we’re coming.”
Whelan said he spoke with lawmakers about how the government can better support detainees after they’re released.
“We spoke about how the next person’s experience could be better,” he said. “What the government could do for the next person that’s held hostage and comes home — the care and support that other people might need, especially people that are in a worse situation. There are people coming back that lived in the dirt without shoes for three years, people that were locked up in hideous conditions for 20 years. They need support.”
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The U.S. secured Whelan’s release in August in one of the largest prisoner swaps since the end of the Cold War. The complex deal came after months of sensitive negotiations between the U.S., Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway.
As part of the deal, Russia released 16 prisoners while the Western countries released eight Russians. Whelan was released alongside Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. green card holder and Kremlin critic.
Whelan, who had been the longest-held American detainee in Russia, was arrested in December 2018 when he traveled to the country to attend a friend’s wedding. He was convicted of espionage in a secret trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan, his family and the U.S. government vehemently denied that he was a spy and accused Russia of using him as a political pawn. The U.S. government considered him to be wrongfully detained, a rare designation that put more government resources toward securing his release.
But a deal to secure his freedom was long elusive. He remained behind bars as Russia freed Marine veteran Trevor Reed and women’s basketball star Brittney Griner — both of whom were detained after Whelan’s arrest — in prisoner swaps with the U.S.
The U.S. said it pushed for his inclusion in both exchanges, but Russia refused. It led to Whelan advocating for his own release from a remote prison camp, calling government officials and journalists to make sure that he wasn’t forgotten.
When the plane carrying Whelan, Gershkovish and Kurmasheva landed in Maryland on Aug. 1, Whelan was the first to disembark. He was greeted by President Biden, who gave Whelan his American flag pin, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Whether he likes it or not, he changed the world,” Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, told reporters Tuesday.
Whelan’s case and his family’s constant pressure on the U.S. government brought more attention to the cases of Americans who are wrongfully detained by foreign governments.
Haley said Whelan is a reminder to other Americans considering traveling to Russia that “you have a target on your back.”
Whelan said it’s been an adjustment acclimating to life back in the U.S., especially learning the latest technology like his iPhone 15.
“I was in a really remote part of Russia,” he said. “We really didn’t have much. The conditions were poor. The Russians said the poor conditions were part of the punishment. And coming back to see this sort of thing now is a bit of a shock, but it’s a good shock.”