The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan kick off in just under two weeks, and for those who have cut the cord, there are plenty of ways to catch all the action without a traditional cable or satellite TV subscription.
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Where can I watch the Olympics?
The Olympics officially open on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at 2 p.m. Eastern time -- 8 p.m. Central European Time (CET) -- in Milan Cortina with a ceremony at the San Siro Stadium. NBC will also re-air the Opening Ceremony at 8 p.m. ET for Primetime. The Games will feature 17 days of competition, ending on Feb. 22, with around 2,900 athletes from over 90 nations competing.
NBCUniversal will provide daily coverage of the Winter Games' most exciting events. Altogether, NBC says it plans to present live coverage from all 116 medal events. This will include live coverage of skiing, ice skating, luge, curling, and more. The major events will air on NBC between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET. Olympics coverage will preempt all other shows.
If you don't have a cable package, you have a couple of options to watch the Olympics: You can subscribe to Peacock for $11 per month to watch every event live. Or, you can buy an over-the-air (OTA) antenna, and watch on NBC for free. This is a great option if you live within range of a broadcast tower. You can also watch the opening and closing ceremonies, some medal ceremonies, and highlights for free on the NBC Olympics website.
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If you're outside the US and want to specifically watch NBC's coverage, you may need to use a VPN to stream the Olympic Games. NordVPN is our tested pick for the best VPN for streaming.
Milan is six hours ahead of the US Eastern Time Zone. That means most major events will happen in the morning and afternoon for US viewers. The network will also show a three-hour Olympics prime-time show every evening.
While the games will be produced in high-dynamic-range 4K video, it's unclear how much of that 4K video will be broadcast in the US, either on OTA or Peacock.
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