If you've got a subscription cable service or a TV package with your internet service provider, then watching the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro on your iPad or Apple TV will be a snap. The bulk of the Olympics will be broadcast on NBC, with other events being shown on NBC's affiliates, such as *Bravo, *MSNBC, *CNBC and USA Network. Viewing the games is as simple as tuning in, either on your television, or via the free NBC apps for Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone, all of which work in conjunction with your paid subscription service. You can also watch the Olympics at the NBC website; however, by necessity, you have to watch it in a browser, and again, log in to a subscription service is required. But what about those of us who have happily cut the cord with traditional television providers? Read on to discover all of the alternatives that exist for viewing the 2016 Olympics sans TV subscription service.
For the growing legions of us who have are collectively referred to as "cord-cutters," watching the Olympics in real time is not such an easy or straightforward task. Unlike other major events, like the Super Bowl, which has been available to stream for free for years now, or concert tours, now known as "couch tours," which you can purchase on a per venue basis and watch live or later at your leisure, the Olympics on NBC are still doggedly adhering to what is becoming an increasingly archaic standard of television viewing.
Sure, there are free, official Olympic apps from both the Rio Olympic committee as well as from NBC that allow you to get updates, schedules, scores, short replays, etc., all from the convenience of your iDevice, but neither of these apps allows you to actually video stream the events live, and that is so much of what the Olympic spectator experience is all about. Unfortunately if you count yourself among the millions of cord-cutters who have managed to get by just fine without a subscription service while binge watching shows on Netflix and Amazon Video, you'll be disappointed that this major event is the exclusive property of NBC Inc., and they are not sharing.
The good news: there are several inexpensive, non-subscription, work-arounds, though if you aren't tech savvy, these may seem somewhat (or tremendously) daunting, depending on your individual constitution. These would include:
- An OTA (Over-The-Air) antennae, which is perhaps the simplest, and most practical alternative. This would allow you to pick up the publicly broadcast NBC signal and watch all of the Olympic events that NBC has to offer. These OTA antenna can typically range from $10–50 (or more) and can pull in TV signals from broadcast towers as far as 50 miles away. Do a little research before investing in one of these devices to make sure your area has enough available channels to make the investment a worthwhile one for your purposes.
- Dish's Sling allows you to subscribe to NBC for $25 a month and Sony's PlayStation Vue also lets you watch NBC on a month to month basis, for $40 a month. In either of these cases you can cancel after the Olympics are over.
While many folks obviously still subscribe to more "traditional" television packages, which is the easiest and simplest way to watch the Olympics on your Apple TV or iOS devices, there are millions of us who are steadfast in our resolution to avoid subscriptions services, what with the plethora of entertainment options currently available that do not require a bundled subscription service. Until the Olympic viewing options catch up with modern, twenty-first-century viewing practices, hopefully the alternatives included here will satisfy even the most committed cord-cutter who wants to view the 2016 Rio Olympic events live and in real time.
*Not available as Apple TV apps.
