2022 Winter Olympics: How to Watch the Opening Ceremony & Games Online
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Athletes from around the world are gathering in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The games take place Feb. 4-20, with competitions in figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding curling, snowboarding speed skating alpine skiing and other wintery sports.
Below, find a roundup of what you need to know about streaming the Opening Ceremony and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
What Time Does the Opening Ceremony Start?
The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday (Feb. 4) at Beijing’s National Stadium. Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who helmed the spectacular 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics ceremony, will direct this year’s event.
Details behind the ceremony are being kept under wraps, of course, but Yimou noted that viewers will see smaller crowds, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 100-minute ceremony will be more technology focused, and will feature 3,000 actors. Because the Winter Olympics coincides with Lunar New Year celebrations in China, there’s a possibility that the opening ceremony might include elements of the holiday.
NBC and Peacock will air a primetime broadcast of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Live coverage of the ceremony initially aired at 6:30 a.m. ET/3:30 a.m. PT.
The Winter Olympics Closing Games Ceremony takes place on Sunday, Feb. 20, at Beijing’s National Stadium.
How to Watch the Winter Olympics Online
Coverage of the Winter Olympics will stream live on NBC and Peacock. If you’re not already subscribed to a cable or streaming plan that offers NBC, Hulu + Live TV ($69.99 a month), Philo ($25 a month) and Sling ($35 a month) are some of the better options for live television.
To watch the Olympics on Peacock, you must subscribe to the Premium package ($4.99 a month). For those who prefer commercial free-streaming, try Peacock Premium Plus ($9.99 a month).
With Peacock Premium and Premium Plus, users can stream every live event from the Olympics in addition to on-demand replays of the live competitions. Included in the Olympics content are three new documentaries: Meddling: The Olympic Scandal That the Shocked the World, American Rock Stars and Picabo.
Ever wonder how many athletes compete in the Winter Olympics? More than 3,000 athletes from roughly 90 different countries will participate in the games. Team USA is comprised of 225 people (115 men, 109 women, and a non-binary athlete). The Team USA athletes include snowboarding champion Chloe Kim, who could make history as the first woman to earn back-to-back gold medals when she competes in the Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe. The qualifying competition is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The finals will take place Feb. 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Speaking of snowboarding, Shaun White returns to Beijing for his fifth Olympics. White will compete in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe qualification run on Feb. 9, and the finals on Feb. 11. Luger Chris Mazdzer, another Winter Olympics veteran, is returning to the Winter Games for a fourth time.
Jamie Anderson, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated snowboarders in the Winter Games, will compete in slopestyle and big air events. Speed skater Maame Biney will be back at the games after making her Winter Olympics debut in 2018. Also returning to the Winter Olympics for a second time: figure skaters Nathan Chen, Karen Chen and Jason Brown; ice hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield and speed skater Erin Jackson. Newbies to include Colby Stevenson, a freestyle skier who will be making his very first appearance in the Olympics Games. Click here for the full Winter Olympics sports schedule.
More Perks of Peacock Premium
Besides Olympics content, Peacock gives you access to thousands of hit movies and TV shows and Peacock originals such as The Girl in the Woods, Departure, One of Us Is Lying, We Are Lady Parts, Saved by the Bell, Dr. Death, Paris in Love and The Real Housewives of Miami. The streaming packages includes daily news, sports and pop culture programs, kids shows, Spanish-language series, next-day access to current NBC shows and more.
Another major sports event headed to the streaming platform this month: Super Bowl LVI. The big game will air live on NBC and stream on Peacock on Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PST.