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How to Watch the 2018 Olympics Without a Cable Subscription

February 8, 2018

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The Olympic Opening Ceremonies are fast approaching and it can be hard to find live coverage when you’re a cord cutter. However, there are more options than ever this year to catch your favorite Olympic events, even if you don’t have a cable subscription.

In the U.S., broadcast rights for the Olympics are held exclusively by NBC. This means you will be able to find Olympic coverage across all NBC Networks, including NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and USA Network with extra coverage on The Olympic Channel.

There are a few options for watching these events live:

Purchase a Digital Antenna
These are generally pretty cheap, so it can be a great option if you live in the right areas with access to local channels such as NBC. NBC will be broadcasting 176 hours of live coverage, so you will be able to watch a lot of the Olympics this way. Websites such as Channel Master can give you an idea of which channels you will be able to receive, and what kind of antenna would work best for the coverage you want.

Subscribe to a Live TV Streaming Service
This option is appealing because these streaming services are typically month-to-month without a contract, so you can pay for one month to watch the Olympics and then cancel your service. It also doesn’t require any additional equipment in addition to what you’re already using to watch your Netflix or Hulu.

Hulu Live TV, DirectTV Now, YouTubeTV, Sling TV, and Playstation Vue all offer “over the top” live TV streaming options. These streaming services all offer the NBC and NBC sister stations necessary to make your Olympic experience complete. They all vary a little in price, and there are different benefits and drawbacks to each.

I really like the Hulu Live TV option. Since I already have a Hulu account, it was very easy to switch my subscription to include Live TV. Hulu also has a DVR option that makes it easy to choose the events you don’t want to miss, and records them for later consumption.

Cutting out the cable subscription saves money, so it’s nice that there are options to watch these types of live international events without a lengthy contract. Gold medals and national anthems await you!

Chart of different cable-free options

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