After a five year wait, none of us want to miss a second of the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The 13 hour time difference between Japan and US Eastern time may mean most events are happening overnight here in the States, but there is a solution. Peacock TV is providing free streaming of some action from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics so you can watch all the highlights without losing sleep.
Peacock TV is NBCNational’s own streaming service that is going to allow those in America without cable to watch the action from Tokyo. Whether it is Caeleb Dressel in the pool, Trayvon Bromell on the track or Simone Biles on the bars, Peacock TV will cover the highlights from the 33 sports at this year's Olympics.
Keep reading to find out how to get the most out of Peacock TV and the different subscription plans it has to offer. As well as information on how to watch the coverage using a VPN service if you're going to be abroad.
Olympic 2020 coverage on Peacock TV
Owners of Peacock TV, NBC, have the rights to all Olympic coverage in America. So it seemed only right that they offered viewers without cable an alternative way to watch. However, don't be fooled. NBC aren't just going to give you all of the same Olympic coverage for free on Peacock TV, so there are some caveats.
Peacock TV is showing live coverage every morning, daily recaps and in depth Olympic documentaries for the 17 day duration of the 2020 Olympics. The best part? It is all FREE when you sign up for Peacock TV. The streaming service has a number of channels that the coverage will be spread across, each of which will be explained on this page.
Now for the not so good part. Despite the multiple Olympic channels on offer, Peacock TV is only showing early-morning live coverage of gymnastics and track and field, as well as the Team USA men's basketball if you have paid for Peacock Premium. Keep reading to find out exactly what Peacock TV has to offer and other options for streaming the 2020 Olympics.
FREE Tokyo NOW channel on Peacock TV
The Tokyo NOW channel will keep you up to date with the Olympic action. The channel has a standardised daily schedule throughout the games that will offer you a bit of everything:
- Tokyo Live 6-11am ET - live action from the games
- Tokyo Gold 11am-12pm ET - daily round up of highlights and must-see moments from the day (repeated hourly until 7pm or 6pm on Sundays).
- On Her Turf at the Olympics 7-7.30pm ET (or 6-6.30pm on Sundays) - Lindsay Czarnial, MJ Acosta-Ruiz and Lolo Jones discuss the top female performances.
- Tokyo Tonight 7.30pm-12am ET - top global and breaking Olympic news.
FREE Olympic always-on channels on Peacock TV
Great Moments is for those viewers that want to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on past Olympic games. This channel streams content on previous Olympic games, so you can relive a specific moment or set the scene for an upcoming event.
Sticking to the theme of past Olympic games, Must-See Moments is providing coverage of the most memorable moments from previous years. Whether they be record breaking or epic fails, it will cover them all.
To get to know your favorite Olympians a little better, Tokyo Meet the Olympians is the channel for you. Here you can find profiles and documentaries on top athletes both past and present.
Only interested in the home athletes? Team USA is focussing on the American athletes out in Tokyo. This channel will cover the highlights of the team USA athletes on their quests’ for Olympic glory.
Finally, Tokyo Flame is a 24 hour stream of the Olympic flame for those who want to feel they are out there in Tokyo whilst we cannot travel.
Does watching the 2020 Olympics on Peacock TV cost anything?
Every single one of the channels above are completely FREE when you sign up for Peacock TV. Just hit the yellow ‘get started’ button on the Peacock TV website and create an account. The only downside is putting up with five minute ad breaks every hour - a small price to pay when you’re getting free Olympic coverage.
But (and there's always one!), if you're are looking to watch Olympics basketball featuring the men's US team, you’ll need to get Peacock Premium for a small cost of $4.99 a month. This subscription has the added benefit of watching in 4K, compared to the HD streaming available with the free service. Make the most of the 7-day free trial and remember you can cancel your subscription at any time.
Looking for an ad-free live stream? Peacock Premium Plus is the only subscription that cuts out the ads. For $9.99 a month you can watch uninterrupted Olympic coverage, including the men’s basketball. Don’t forget to make use of the 7-day free trial to ensure it is the subscription for you.
What devices can I watch Peacock's Olympics coverage on?
The simple answer? Pretty much any device you choose!
If you’re streaming through a web browser, anything from Chrome to Safari will work. Both IOS and Android devices are compatible with Peacock TV. So any mobile and tablet devices with these operating systems, as well as Apple and Android TVs, let you live stream through Peacock TV.
Last month the streaming service became compatible with Amazon devices, just in time for you to watch the 2020 Olympics on Fire TV and Fire tablets.
For a more extensive list of compatible devices take a look at the list Peacock TV has put together.
Other ways to watch 2020 Olympic coverage
On the surface it looks like Peacock TV's coverage has a lot to offer, however it isn't just going to give you the same NBC coverage for free. Therefore, the Peacock TV coverage is limited to the early morning gymnastics and track and field events. So if you want more extensive coverage take a look at these alternatives.
Other free live streams that you might want to check out include NBCOlympics.com, NBCSports.com and the NBC sports app. But for the most in-depth coverage, the NBC live broadcasting has the best offering. This does require a cable package or one of the streaming services listed below, but for unprecedented coverage it is worth it.
Another OTT streaming service providing Olympic coverage is Sling TV. Subscriptions are $35 a month but you can get the first month for $10 at the time of writing this. This subscription gets you access to the full cable experience, including the NBC 2020 Olympic coverage, without the long contracts of a cable package. So you could get Sling TV whilst the Olympics are on without having to worry about cancellation fees at a later date.
Fubo TV plans is another OTT streaming service that offers you more extensive coverage of the 2020 Olympics than Peacock TV. This service is a little more expensive at $64.99 a month but you can get a 7-day free trial so it is worth checking out. With this streaming service you get access to all six channels that are showing the Olympics: NBC, USA, NBCSN, CNBC, Olympic Channel and Golf Channel.
We compared all of the best streaming services so you don't have to get cable.
What else do I get with Peacock TV?
Peacock TV has more to offer than just 2020 Olympic coverage. With the free Peacock package you can access more than 7,500 hours of movies and TV. This includes daily news, pop culture and sports, with kids shows thrown in too. You can also access exclusive Peacock channels, but remember you will have those five minute ad breaks every hour whatever you are watching.
By upgrading to Peacock Premium for $4.99 a month, you get everything included in the free package and much more. One of the big sellers with this package is live sport coverage, including the Premier League, and live events coverage, such as WWE. The number of TV shows and movies you can access is more extensive but you still won't have escaped those pesky ad breaks.
The final Peacock package is Peacock Premium Plus for $9.99 a month. Along with everything in the previous two packages, you can finally get rid of those ads and have uninterrupted streaming with Peacock Premium Plus. On the go a lot? This package gives you the option to watch some titles offline so you can watch on your daily commute.
Watching 2020 Olympics on Peacock TV outside the USA
You may have noticed that when you’re out of your own country you cannot access your usual webpages - this is called a geo-block. Employers and educational institutes can also block you from seeing some sites. As annoying as this can be, there is an easy solution. Simply download and install a VPN to your device to keep watching Peacock TV from outside the USA.
If you’ve never heard of a VPN before, all it does is trick your device into thinking it is in another location so that you can access your usual streaming services whilst abroad. There is the added benefit of increased security for your personal data too.
