How to Watch the Olympics for Free: Over-the-Air and Streaming Online

Every two years, except during rare global health crises, I get to witness the Olympics unfold. It’s a special moment when people across the globe unite to watch elite athletes compete in numerous sports that typically live in the shadows of major professional leagues.

In a hurry? All of these services provide excellent coverage of the Olympics — and a lot more:

Why You Need a VPN Today

However, first you need a VPN to unblock US streaming services from . Our favourite is ExpressVPN. It’s definitely not the cheapest option at $6.67/month, but it just works – and across all your devices.

They have servers in 25+ US cities/states and 105 countries, which unblock access to premium streaming platforms available only in the US, as well as free “on demand” TV services worldwide.

You’ll have access to local platforms as if you were in the country, meaning you can watch BBC iPlayer as if you were in the UK, CBC Gem as if you were in Canada, plus hundreds more worldwide.

Sign Up for ExpressVPN

Hotdog users get three months free at ExpressVPN, so it’s a “no-brainer” for us. Decide for yourself with their 30 day money-back guarantee.

IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

See All the Summer Olympics on Fubo (free trial)

Our upcoming games are (with complete viewer’s guides):

• Winter Olympics 2026: February 6 — 22 in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
• Summer Olympics 2028: July 14 — July 30 in Los Angeles, USA

See All the Summer Olympics on Fubo (free trial)

Olympics History

The modern Olympic Games started in 1896 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which itself was founded in 1894.

The first event took place in April of 1986 in Athens, Greece. Roughly a dozen countries competed in nine sports: Athletics, Cycling (Road, Track), Fencing, Gymnastics, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Weight Lifting, and Wrestling. Women did not start competing at the Olympics until the 1900 Games.

The first winter sport was added to the Summer Games in 1908. That was figure skating. The Winter Games themselves didn’t begin until 1924. It featured 5 sports (9 disciplines): Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Skating (Figure Skating, Speed Skating), and Nordic Skiing (Military Patrol, Cross-Country Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping).

The Olympics have grown enormously since these early years. There will be over 200 National Olympic Committees (roughly the equivalent of countries) represented at the 2024 Paris Summer Games. And they will compete in 329 events in 32 sports (45 disciplines).

The Winter games are smaller. The 2022 Beijing Games featured 109 events in 7 sports (15 disciplines). Roughly 90 countries were represented.

See All the Summer Olympics on Fubo (free trial)

Olympics Broadcasting

The 1936 German Summer Olympics were the first to be televised and one of the first broadcasts ever. That was right before the start of World War II and the following four Olympics (1940, 1944) were canceled.

CBS was the first to broadcast the Olympics to a US audience — showing both the Winter and Summer Games that year. In 1964, ABC presented the Winter Games and NBC presented the Summer Games. ABC dominated broadcasting from then through the 1988 Winter Games.

In recent years, NBC has been the home of the Olympic Games. They have broadcast every Summer Game since 1988 and every Winter Game since 2002. This will continue through the 2032 Games in Brisbane, Australia.

In the United Kingdom, the BBC has been broadcasting the games since 1956 with ITV doing so some years. RTÉ has mostly been the home of the Olympics in Ireland.

In Canada, the CBC has been the primary Olympics broadcaster but things have been spread around in more recent years. At the 2024 Games, broadcasting was shared by CBC, TSN, Sportsnet, and RDS.

The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) brought the first several Olympics to viewers in Australia. But in recent years, it has bounced around between Network 10, Seven Network, and Nine Network. In 2024, it was featured on Nine.

TV New Zealand (TVNZ) was the home of the Olympics for many years. These days, it is mostly on Sky Sport (sometimes along with TVNZ). Sky Television had exclusive rights to the 2024 Games.

Wrapping Up

Viewers around the world can watch the best sports every two years — often for free. For fans in the United States, we recommend Fubo. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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