How to Watch the Olympics Online

Four Methods: Watching in the US  Watching in the UK, Canada, and Australia  Watching Elsewhere or Without Cable Service  Watching Other Material

The Opening Ceremony for the 2014 Winter Games will be on Friday, February 7. All eyes will be on Russia as athletes from around the world compete in these historic events. If you want to tune in, you're in luck - it's not hard to watch the events online, though you may also need to work around time differences and work schedules. Just follow the instructions for your country from the outlined methods and you'll be watching the Olympics online in no time !!

> Method 1 of 4: Watching in the US

1. Have a valid cable subscription that includes NBC.

In order to stream live video from the NBC website, you will need to log in with your cable subscription information. The NBC website supports nearly every cable provider in the States. If you don't have cable, see Method 3.

2. Visit NBC's Live Extra website.

Go to NBC's Olympic coverage site to start the process of watching their online material. Click the "Verify Now" button and select your cable service provider.

• You will need to login in with your cable username and password. In some cases, NBC will automatically detect your cable service if you are on the same network. If this happens, you won't need to log in with a username and password.
• Install the Silverlight plugin before watching any streams. If you've ever used Netflix, you most likely already have Silverlight installed.

3. Watch events.

NBC will provide online streaming for all events this year, EXCEPT the opening games. If you want to watch the opening games live, you'll need to use an alternative method (such as following the cable-less method or just watch it on television).

• Use the Schedule link to keep tabs on what events are coming up.

4. Get it on your big screen.

If you have the right kind of TV (one with HDMI inputs) and the right kind of computer (outputs for visual and audio, preferably an HDMI output), then you can connect your computer to your television and watch the Olympic coverage on your big screen. Follow general instructions here and get Mac instructions here.

5. Get extra NBC coverage.

You can get even more NBC coverage through social media like Twitter and Instagram (handle for both is NBCOlympics). You can also get NBC's Live Extra App, which will give you Olympic-level Olympic coverage on your mobile device. You will still need to log in with your cable's username and password.

 

> Method 2 of 4: Watching in the UK, Canada, and Australia

1.> Watch in the UK.

The BBC will be streaming The Olympics on their website. Use the Schedule on the right side of the page to select what you would like to watch.

• You don't need to log in to watch, you just need to be visiting from a UK IP address.

2.> Watch in Canada.

You can watch in English here or in French here.

• Click the "Watch Online" (English) or "Diffusions Web" (French) button in the red menu bar. You will be shown a list of events that are currently broadcasting. Select the webcast that you want to watch, and the video player will open.
• Download Microsoft Silverlight, if you haven't already. Silverlight is required to watch coverage via CBC.

3.> Watch in Australia.

Watch Network Ten's coverage of the games. Visit the Sochi 2014 page on Tenplay for Australian coverage.

• Click the "Watch Live" button.
• Use the schedule on the right side of the page to see what events are currently happening. You can then click them to start watching the livestream.

 

> Method 3 of 4: Watching Elsewhere or Without Cable Service

1.> Install a VPN browser extension.

One of the easiest ways to watch The Olympics from a country without online coverage or when you don't have a cable provider is to install a VPN extension for your browser. This will allow you to visit another country's broadcasting website (Canada's CBC or UK's BBC, for example) and trick it into thinking you're visiting from within the country.

• You can install VPN extensions for both Firefox and Chrome. These extensions are available for free, but may be ad-supported. Popular extensions include Hola, MediaHint, and ZenMate.
• Use this method if you live in the US but don't have a cable subscription, or if you live in a country that doesn't have official streaming broadcasting of the games.

2.> Switch your browser to the target country.

If you plan on watching through the CBC player, click the extension icon in your browser and select a Canadian server. Your traffic will be routed through that server on the way to the CBC site, making it think you are visiting from within Canada.

• If you want to watch through the BBC site, use a UK server.

3.> Watch the streaming video.

You should now be able to access the streaming content as if you were normally accessing the site. You may experience some delay and slow connections as data is transferred between the proxy server, the website, and you.

4.> Try a TV streaming site.

There are a variety of sites that will stream live events. These are not official sites, and finding a working stream can be a little difficult. The plus side, however, is that you don't need to install any browser plugins in order for them to work. Some of the more popular sites include:

• FirstRowSports
• Stream2Watch
• SportLemon
• WiZiWiG
• AllSport Live

> Method 4 of 4: Watching Other Material

1.> Watch replays on NBC's YouTube feed.

Both the IOC and NBC are offering video highlights of the games on YouTube. In the case of the IOC YouTube channel, they are also offering videos of historic moments in Olympic history.

2.> Follow the Olympics on social networks.

Neither Facebook nor Twitter will be offering live feeds, but both will be constantly updated by NBC, fans, and every news source in the world.

• Facebook offers the NBC Olympics page, including exclusive content, fan commentary, and more.
• Follow NBCOlympics on Twitter to keep up with events, moment by moment.

3.> Get an app.

Apps can be installed on your iPhone, Android, or Blackberry, and include in-depth information and guides for the games. Find an official app from the IOC, NBC or other reputable source.

4.> Download the Official Results app.

The Results app will give you instant access to Olympic scores, as well as information for all the athletes participating in the games.

5.> Access the IOC archive.

To view the highlights of previous Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee has an "archive" of previous Olympic Games from which videos of highlights can be accessed.

• Go to the Olympic Games section of the IOC website at: http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp .
• Click on the Olympic Games that you wish to view in the "Past Olympics" section of the page.
• Locate the "Videos" section.
• Choose the video you wish to view.

Tips

• Pay attention to time differences when choosing to watch live coverage. Sochi's timezone is four hours ahead of Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time Zone). This means that the games that are on in the afternoon there, is happening in the middle of the night in certain locations.

Warnings

• Be careful of unreputable websites. You don't want to get a virus!
• In the U.S., they do not always show live coverage of the Olympics. You may need to watch from one of the Canadian stations/websites.