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Handball is among the handful of Olympic sports to kick off early, with the women's portion of the tournament beginning ahead of the official Olympic start date. We'll show you everything you need to know about where to watch Olympic handball, including free streaming options.
Since debuting at the Olympics in 1936 and becoming a regular fixture in 1972, handball has slowly gained traction at the Summer Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics saw France dominate the sport, with both the men's and women's teams returning home with gold medals. For the women's competition, the ROC won silver, and Norway won bronze. For the men's portion of the tournament, Denmark won silver, and Spain won bronze.
Women's handball kicks off on July 25, one day before the Opening Ceremony, with several early-stage matches, including a game between France and Hungary. The men's competition will pick up on July 27 with an early game between Spain and Slovenia. The women's and men's competitions will conclude with final matches on August 10 and 11, respectively.
No matter who you're rooting for, we'll show you how to keep up with handball at the 2024 Olympics. And make sure to bookmark our Olympics streaming guide for additional info and notable daily events.
American fans' best bet to see every single handball match is through Peacock in the US. The streaming service is one of the most comprehensive hubs for all things 2024 Olympics. Subscriptions start at $7.99 a month.
People seeking out a live TV option beyond just the Olympics (who don't mind missing some matches) can follow select handball matches and Olympic events through NBC and USA broadcasts in the US. For example, women's Slovenia vs. Denmark, Netherlands vs. Angola, and Hungary vs. France will all air live on USA on July 25. If you don't have cable, you can access these channels through live TV packages like Sling TV and Fubo.
The Sling Blue plan carries NBC (in select regions) and USA (in all regions). A subscription includes access to over 40 channels, including FS1, FX, and the new USA 4K for top-tier Olympic viewing. Plans start at $40 a month, but new users can get their first month for just $15 right now. Fubo offers more than 180 channels, including broad NBC and USA coverage. Subscriptions start at $79.99 a month, but new users can try the service free for one week.
In the UK, select Olympic coverage is available for free through the BBC and BBC iPlayer. For comprehensive coverage, viewers will need to subscribe to Eurosport through Discovery+, with subscriptions starting at £3.99. While later handball matches might be available through BBC, early coverage will only be found on Eurospot.
France.TV is the streaming home of the Olympics in France, and the host country's coverage is impressive. The service is free to use, and viewers just need to create a free account to sign up. If you're not in France right now, you can access the channel via a VPN.
9Now is the Olympic streaming home in Australia. The free service only requires account creation to use. Australia's handball team doesn't usually qualify for the Olympics, so there's not a ton of coverage of early handball matches, but later stages will most likely be available here.
Handballs fans who will be away from the above countries during matches can keep up with the free streaming options using a VPN. VPNs, short for virtual private networks, enable people to temporarily alter their device's virtual location so they can keep up with their usual websites from anywhere. They're often used by those looking to add an extra layer of online privacy or hoping to access their usual apps while traveling.
Our go-to recommendation for the VPN-curious is ExpressVPN, a straightforward and user-friendly option with a 30-day money-back guarantee policy. You can find all the details in our ExpressVPN review, and see below for highlights.
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.
