Sure, it may be forever tarred with the 30 Rock brush of being the “less fun” Olympics, but the quadrennial competition of sliders, skiers, and skaters that is the Winter Olympics begins this week.
Coming to the world from the requisitely snowy and icy heart of Beijing, China (because what are human rights abuses and an ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign to the IOC and NBC), the 2022 Winter Olympics is the reason your favorite NBC shows will be taking most of February off.
And while there’s always plenty of controversy surrounding any Olympics, fans of the finest winter athletes from around the world (even the traditionally non-snowy countries) will be glued to their TVs and various streaming devices from Friday’s Opening Ceremonies right through to the whittled-down pageant of the victorious on Sunday, February 20.
NBC is promising a daunting 2,800 hours of Olympic coverage across its various holdings, with everything from Peacock to MSNBC to USA Network and the NBC Sports App live-streaming events when they happen (which, in time zone terms means the wee hours of the morning in America), while the nightly prime time Olympics recap coverage on NBC proper will present some 200 hours of the Games starting at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. on Sundays).
For cord-cutters, there are various alternative methods for watching the Games (some more legitimate and/or legal than others).
Also, while top-Olympics bidder NBC is touting a record 178 commentators who will explain new Olympic sports like monobob throughout its wall-to-wall coverage, the sheer number of former Olympic champs on hand to cover everything from figure skating to luge to snowboarding and beyond should provide plenty of helpful expertise.
Of course, medal-heavy expert announcer types like Lindsey Vonn, Ashley Wagner, Brian Boitano, and Scott Hamilton will be broadcasting from NBC Sports HQ in Connecticut, owing to that whole COVID situation. (No word on whether Leslie Jones will be doing her thing in Beijing, sadly.)
Prepping for the Games is a sport in itself, with news outlets and podcasts aplenty bringing viewers up to speed on everything from individual athletes and sports, potential Cinderella stories, the spotty and often controversial history of the Olympics, and the social and political aspect of an Olympics awarded to an authoritarian country undergoing both human rights and COVID crises.
With even more controversies than usual dogging these Games, it’s left up to the Winter Olympics faithful to decide how much, if any, of this avalanche of content to watch. The World Uyghur Congress is urging a boycott, while critics of China’s human rights record are dubbing these the “Genocide Games.”
Meanwhile, countries are urging their athletes to use burner phones while at the Games, the pandemic is threatening to disrupt things, and the U.S. has ordered a diplomatic boycott. But, for those die-hard fans of the slippery arts, here is a rundown of how and where to watch.
All times are Eastern. For a full schedule of events and coverage, check out the official NBC guide.
Friday, February 4
6:30 a.m.: Live Opening Ceremonies (NBC)
12 p.m.: NBC’s Winter Olympics Preview Show (NBC)
8 p.m.: Opening Ceremonies Prime Time Coverage (NBC)
9 p.m.: Women’s Slopestyle Snowboarding Qualifying (NBC)
11:10 p.m.: Women’s Hockey Prelim—Canada vs. Finland (NBC)
Saturday, February 5
8 p.m.: Short Track Relay (NBC)
8 p.m.: Curling—U.S. vs. Czechoslovakia (NBC app)
8:30 p.m.: Figure Skating Women’s Team Short Program (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Snowboarding Slopestyle Final (USA)
10 p.m.: Men’s Alpine Downhill (NBC)
11 p.m.: Men’s Team Figure Skating Free Skate (NBC)
11 p.m.: Men’s Slopestyle Snowboarding (USA, NBC app)
Sunday, February 6
7 p.m.: Men’s Ski Jump Qualifying (NBC)
7:30 p.m.: Men’s Luge Final Runs (NBC)
8:15 p.m.: Pairs Free Skate Team Competition (NBC)
9:15 p.m.: Women’s Giant Slalom (NBC)
9:30 pm.: Pairs Free Dance Skating (NBC)
10:15 p.m.: Women’s Freestyle Skiing—Big Air (NBC)
10:35 p.m.: Women’s Team Free Skate (NBC)
11 p.m.: Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final (USA)
Monday, February 7
8 p.m.: Women’s 500m Short Track Final (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s 1500m Speed Skating (NBC)
9 p.m.: Women’s Freestyle Skiing—Big Air Final (NBC)
10 p.m.: Women’s Hockey—U.S. vs. Canada (USA)
10:05 p.m.: Men’s Super G (NBC)
11 p.m.: Men’s Figure Skating Short Program (NBC)
Tuesday, February 8
8 p.m.: Women’s Luge (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Snowboarding Halfpipe (NBC)
9:15 p.m.: Women’s Alpine Slalom (NBC)
10 p.m.: Men’s Freestyle Skiing Final (NBC)
Wednesday, February 9
8 p.m.: Short Track Skating (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Halfpipe Final (NBC)
10 p.m.: Men’s Alpine Combined Downhill (NBC)
10:40 p.m.: Men’s Free Skate (NBC)
11:45 p.m.: Men’s Skeleton (USA)
Thursday, February 10
8 p.m.: Freestyle Aerial Mixed Team Skiing (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final (NBC)
10 p.m.: Women’s Super G (NBC)
Friday, February 11
8 p.m.: Men’s Ski Jump (NBC)
8:20 p.m.: Men’s 500m Short Track (NBC)
8:40 p.m.: Men’s Skeleton (NBC)
9:15 p.m.: Snowboarding—Mixed Team Cross Final (NBC)
10 p.m.: Women’s Alpine Downhill (NBC)
10:15 p.m.: Women’s 1000m Short Track, Men’s Relay Semifinal (NBC)
11:10 p.m.: Men’s Hockey—U.S. vs. Canada (USA)
Saturday, February 12
8 p.m.: Women’s Skeleton Final (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Bobsled (NBC)
8:45 p.m.: Figure Skating—Rhythm Dancing (NBC)
9 p.m.: Women’s Freestyle Skiing—Slopestyle (NBC)
9:15 p.m.: Men’s Giant Slalom (NBC)
Sunday, February 13
8:15 p.m.: Ice Dancing—Free Dance (USA)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Bobsled—Monobob (NBC app)
10:45 p.m.: Figure Skating Free Dance (NBC)
11:10 p.m.: Women’s Hockey Semifinal (USA, NBC app)
Monday, February 14
8 p.m.: Women’s Aerial Freestyle Skiing (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Snowboarding Big Air Final (NBC)
9:35 p.m.: Men’s Two-Person Bobsled (NBC)
10 p.m.: Women’s Alpine Downhill (NBC)
10 p.m.: Men’s Big Air Snowboarding (USA)
11:10 p.m.: Men’s Hockey (CNBC, USA)
Tuesday, February 15
7 p.m.: Men’s Hockey (USA)
8 p.m.: Men’s Two-Person Bobsled Final (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Figure Skating Short Program (NBC)
9 p.m.: Men’s Biathlon (USA)
9:15 p.m.: Men’s Alpine Slalom (NBC)
9:45 p.m.: Women’s Speed Skating Team Pursuit (NBC)
10:15 p.m.: Women’s Figure Skating Short Program (NBC)
11 p.m.: Men’s Hockey Quarterfinal (USA, NBC app)
Wednesday, February 16
8 p.m.: Men’s Freestyle Aerial Finals (NBC)
9 p.m.: Women’s Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe (NBC)
9:30 p.m.: Women’s Combined Downhill (NBC)
11 p.m.: Women’s Hockey Gold Medal Game (NBC, NBC app)
11 p.m.: Men’s Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe (USA)
Thursday, February 17
8 p.m.: Women’s 1000m Speed Skating (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Women’s Figure Skating Free Skate (NBC)
9 p.m.: Women’s Freestyle Skiing—Halfpipe Final (NBC)
10 p.m.: Women’s Figure Skating Free Skate (NBC)
11:10 p.m.: Men’s Hockey Semifinal (USA, NBC app)
Friday, February 18
7 p.m.: Men’s Biathlon Mass Start (USA)
8 p.m.: Women’s Two-Person Bobsled (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Figure Skating Pairs Short Program (NBC)
9 p.m.: Men’s Halfpipe Freestyle Skiing Final (NBC)
10 p.m.: Alpine Downhill Skiing Team Team (USA, NBC app)
Saturday, February 19
8 p.m.: Women’s Two-Person Bobsled Final (NBC)
8:30 p.m.: Pairs Figure Skating Free Skate (NBC)
9 p.m.: Men’s Four-Person Bobsled (NBC)
9:30 p.m.: Pairs Figure Skating Free Skate (NBC)
10:40 p.m.: Men’s Four-Person Bobsled Final (NBC)
11:10 p.m.: Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game (USA, NBC app)
Sunday, February 20
8 p.m.: Closing Ceremony