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.
Also: The best live TV streaming services
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.
Also: The best TV antennas
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 .
Here's 's comprehensive guide to watching the 2026 Winter Olympics, ensuring you don't miss a moment of the excitement.
Best live TV streaming services for the Winter 2026 Olympics
Peacock
Best service for streaming the Olympics overall
The best way to watch the Olympics is to stream on Peacock Premium for $11 per month (with ads). It's important to note that the base plan, Peacock Select for $8 per month, does not include live sports coverage like the Olympics.
With Peacock, you can stream all 116 events live. To help you watch, Peacock will offer features such as Live Actions, which lets you set prompts to jump to new activities, and Discovery Multiview, which allows you to stream four sports simultaneously. You can also create a viewing schedule, search by sport or athlete, and keep updated with all the medals and awards.
New for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Peacock will offer a Rinkside Live feature that delivers a dynamic vertical view of ice skaters on your phone, plus live highlights and multiple camera angles, alongside the traditional broadcast. If you're watching on your TV, tablet, or laptop, you can see all camera angles simultaneously via Rinkside.
NordVPN
Best VPN for streaming the Olympics
If you want to stream the US coverage of the Olympic Games outside of the country, you'll need to use a virtual private network (VPN). Our tested pick for the best VPN for streaming is
DirecTV
Upscale your games watching from HDTV to 4K
You can watch all the Olympic channels you need to watch the games -- CNBC, NBC, NBCSN, Olympics Channel, and USA -- on DirectTV, even on its lowest-price level, the $90 Entertainment package.
In addition, DirecTV includes unlimited cloud DVR storage. With it, you can keep as many DVR recordings as you'd like for up to nine months.
You can watch the game or any other show on up to 20 streaming devices simultaneously on your home network. Away from home, you can share your stream with up to three other devices.
Hulu + Live TV
All the stations you need for $90 a month
Hulu + Live TV offers an attractive combination of on-demand video and live TV for $90 per month after a three-day free trial. For Olympics watchers, it offers your local NBC channel, CNBC, NBCSN, the Olympics Channel...