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The 2024 Summer Olympics are officially underway in Paris, and swimming kicks off today. All heats and medal competitions will take place in the first half of the Olympics, from July 27 to August 4. We'll show you everything you need to know about how to watch Olympic swimming, highlighting options from around the world.
The Olympic swimming schedule is absolutely packed, with multiple medal events each day through August 4. The days begin with early heats and conclude with finals. American Katie Ledecky returns for her fourth Olympics, where she's attempting to add to her impressive collection of seven Olympic gold medals.
Ledecky begins her Paris run on Saturday, July 26, at 5:24 a.m. ET in Heat 3 of the Women's 400m freestyle. If she qualifies again, she'll compete for the medal later that day at about 2:52 p.m. ET. She's slated to compete in the women's 1500 freestyle and the women's 800 freestyle. She'll also possibly participate in group relays.
Keep reading to learn how to watch swimming at the Olympics, including free streaming options. And don't forget to bookmark our Olympic streaming guide, which we'll keep updated throughout the coming weeks.
Swimming, along with the rest of the Olympics, will be available through various NBCUniversal fixtures in the US. Peacock will be the most comprehensive option, featuring every single swimming heat and medal event. Subscriptions start at $7.99 a month.
NBC will be the main Olympics coverage channel in the US, with the USA network providing additional coverage. If you don't have cable, you can stream both through a live TV package like Sling TV or Fubo.
Sling TV's Sling Blue plan will be the cheapest option for you today. Local channel coverage, including NBC, varies from region to region, so you should look up your zip code before subscribing to ensure you can access the channel. Subscriptions cost $40 a month, but new users can usually shave a few dollars off their first month thanks to the service's frequent introductory offers.
Fubo has broad coverage of NBC and USA, in addition to more than 180 other channels. It's a bit more expensive, at $79.99 a month, but first-time customers can try the service free for one week.
Select Olympics coverage, including events like the swimming finals, is available for free through the BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK. Viewers just need to create a login to use the service if they don't already have one. For complete Olympic coverage, including early heats, British fans must subscribe to Eurosport through Discovery+, where subscriptions start at £3.99 a month.
Olympic swimming coverage will be available for free on 9Now in Australia, and viewers just need to create a login to use it. While the coverage is fairly broad, Australian fans who want to see absolutely every part of the Olympics will need to subscribe to Stan Sport, which covers every single part of every event at the 2024 Olympics. A Stan base plan and the Stan Sport Add-on costs $27 a month in total, but new users can try the base plan free for 30 days (although they'll still need to pay $15 up-front for the Sport Add-on).
Olympic swimming will be available to watch and stream for free through France.TV in France. The service just requires account creation to use.
If you'll be away from the above countries during any event and still want to access the free options, you can do so using a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs let users change their device's location on a temporary basis so that they can still use their usual websites from anywhere. These tools are often utilized by people hoping to upgrade their online security and keep up with their go-to apps while traveling.
We recommend ExpressVPN due to its beginner-friendly nature and 30-day money-back guarantee. Our ExpressVPN review covers everything you might want to know about the service.
Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.
