How to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics online

From February 4, some of the world’s most talented athletes will gather in Beijing to take part in the 2022 Winter Olympics (also known as the Beijing 2022 Olympics or the XXIV Olympic Winter Games). The competition will run for more than two weeks and will highlight 15 different sports including luge, speed skating, and ice hockey. Best of all, you can stream the whole Winter Olympics online; take a look below to find out how.

First off, you should know that we advise against watching unofficial streams. These are unreliable and often only provide the bare minimum in terms of video quality. The good news is that the Winter Olympics will be broadcast in dozens of countries, often by services that are free, or that offer a free trial. In other words, there’s no need to resort to shady sources at all.

The 2022 Winter Olympics will only be shown on geo-restricted services. This means that if you’re traveling abroad and looking to watch on your usual channels, you’ll need a Virtual Private Network (VPN). 

How to stream the Winter Olympics online from abroad

VPNs route your data through servers elsewhere in the world, concealing your true location and improving your privacy. Of course, this can also be used to regain access to geo-blocked services while traveling.

Here’s how to stream the Winter Olympics online from anywhere:

1. The first step is finding a suitable VPN. We recommend NordVPN but Surfshark and ExpressVPN are two high-speed, security-conscious alternatives.
2. Next, just install the VPN app onto any device you use for streaming. Usually, you’ll be allowed to connect around five devices at a time.
3. Sign in and choose a server in your home country. This changes your IP address, preventing the sites you visit from realizing you’re actually somewhere different.
4. Finally, visit your preferred streaming service and try watching something. Videos should load immediately, with no errors. If you run into any issues, clear your cookies and try again or get in touch with your VPN’s customer service team for one-on-one support.

The 2022 Winter Olympics will be broadcast live, which is why we recommend testing your VPN with your local broadcaster’s website ahead of time. Most will provide on-demand replays, but it’d be a shame to miss a live event due to unexpected technical problems.

How to watch Winter Olympics 2022 online on US TV

NBC is the sole broadcaster of this year’s Winter Olympics. It’ll be broadcasting more than 2,800 of coverage across NBC Olympics, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports, but the easiest way to watch is with Peacock.

Every single event, award ceremony, and preview will be available, provided you have a premium Peacock account. These cost $4.99 per month with ads or $9.99 monthly without. Additionally, events will be made available on-demand immediately after they finish. In other words, there’s no need to worry about missing any of the action.

Peacock, like the rest of NBC’s services, is geo-blocked. This means that if you’re traveling outside of the US, you’ll need a VPN to access it. NordVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try it out completely risk-free. If you’re not satisfied, just cancel within this window to claim a full refund.

Where else can I watch the Winter Olympics online?

As you might expect, there’s plenty of international interest in this event. Here’s the good news: this year’s Winter Olympics will be available for streaming in most of the world! Read on to find out which networks are showing the event in your country:

Canada

CBC will carry more than 2,400 hours of free-to-watch Winter Olympic content, with coverage 23 hours per day. Fans can watch live on the CBC website or on-demand using the network’s free streaming service, CBC Gem. Premium services TSN and Sportsnet will also be broadcasting events, but there’s no reason to use these given the extent of the free coverage.

All of the above services are region-locked. If you’re currently traveling outside of Canada, you can access them using one of your VPN’s Canadian servers.

Australia

Seven Network will be showing this year’s Winter Olympics on three channels: Channel 7, 7mate, and 7Two. This is great news for sports fans, since all of these channels can be watched online for free using 7plus. You will have to create an account first, but this is easy and only takes a minute.

Better still, because the 2020 Winter Olympics will be held in China, Australian fans don’t have to stay up all night to watch their favorite events. In fact, with just a three-hour time difference, it’s easier than ever to fit the Olympics into your schedule.

7plus is only available in Australia. It is possible to access it from other countries, but you’ll need an Australian VPN server to do so.

UK

Around 300 hours of live coverage will be available via the BBC, which means you can follow all of the biggest moments for free on BBC iPlayer. Note that you’ll have to create an account beforehand, though.

Meanwhile, Discovery is showing around 3,000 hours of coverage on Discovery+. You can subscribe for £6.99 per month, and this provides access to Eurosport Player as well. Note that the Discovery+ channel on Amazon Prime Video does NOT include coverage of sporting events. 

These services are all geo-restricted, so you’ll have to use a British VPN server to access them from outside of the UK.

Other locations

Don’t worry if we didn’t mention your country above; it’s almost certain that there’ll be a suitable local broadcaster for the Winter OIympics where you are. In fact, the only countries that aren’t showing this event are Cuba, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. You’ll find a quick rundown of the main international broadcasters below, but you can always check the Winter Olympic website for a full list.

• Caribbean: Sportsmax
• Europe: Eurosport
• Middle East and North Africa: beIN Sport
• Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport

Are the 2022 Winter Olympics still happening?

Yes, the Winter Olympics will begin on February 4 and conclude on February 20. The Chinese government had previously said that only mainland residents could attend, but has since stopped selling tickets entirely as the Covid-19 situation continues to worsen. Athletes will have to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in China and will not be permitted to mingle with the general public during their stay.

Which sports are featured in the Winter Olympics?

This year, there’ll be fifteen different disciplines featured in the Winter Olympics. These are:

• Alpine skiing
• Biathlon
• Bobsleigh
• Cross-country skiing
• Curling
• Figure skating
• Freestyle skiing
• Ice hockey
• Luge
• Nordic combined
• Short track speed skating
• Skeleton
• Ski jumping
• Snowboard
• Speed skating

Additionally, there are several new categories in these categories, including mixed team events in short-track speed skating, ski jumping, and snowboarding.

2022 Winter Olympics schedule

There are well over 100 separate events taking place during the 2022 Winter Olympics, which can make deciding which ones to watch a daunting experience. Luckily, the Olympic website has a clearly labeled schedule explaining exactly which events are happening, what stage of the competition they are, and what date they’ll be on. Although this doesn’t provide exact times, it’s a great first step for planning out your viewing.