NBC gears up for Olympics with exhaustive coverage plan

There are few sportsperson who are to be looked out for at the Rio Olympics 2016.

NBC, which likes to use the Olympics as a laboratory for new technology and ideas, will also distribute 83 hours of coverage in the 4K Ultra HD format. It’s also integrating voice search into the system.

The broadcaster is still planning to air the opening ceremony on Friday on a tape delay, however, which has generated criticism on social media. On the weekend, the daytime NBC broadcasts will feature some live events, but most of the medal races and competitions will fall in prime time. Intended only for use with the Samsung Gear VR headset, NBC is blocking the virtual reality content for those without Samsung phones; Cardboard users on iPhones and other headset early adopters are out of luck here. But live events like the Olympics are increasingly the kind of coveted property that advertising executives know viewers will actually tune into, rather than relying on their DVRs so they can skip through the commercials.

But you’re going to need a cable subscriber email and password to get it all – so hit up a good friend for theirs, or maybe an ex if you have to.

You can follow the official Rio Olympics Instagram account (@rio2016) to stay up to date with what’s happening in Rio. NBC is also setting up speciality channels for both basketball and soccer, although those sports will also be shown on other networks. There will be other channels also like Telemundo and NBC Universo which will also offer about 275 hours of coverage from Rio. Which you would think would take more than an hour, right? But as the costs of Olympic rights rose, NBC started borrowing its cable channels to make more room for events it has already paid for. The Opening Ceremony promises drama, fireworks, and flag-wearing, but how can you tune in to the big event if you don’t have a contract with a cable provider?

CBC is live-streaming all events and broadcasts on their Rio 2016 website. Some TiVo models give you online access to your recordings. If you log on to one of the NBC sites to stream but don’t have a cable login, you’ll still be able to stream for 30 minutes on your first visit, but only for five minutes on each subsequent visit.

The NBC Sports app, however, requires a pay-TV membership for full access.

Telemundo will stream Spanish-language commentary through its website as well as its Telemundo Desportes apps on Android and on iOS. It offers a seven-day free trial – meaning you could strategically watch a more than a third of the Olympics at your leisure, entirely for free. “We will put all of the video streaming (for mobile) on the NBC Sports app”. But there’s no cable to install – or disconnect after the Olympics.

ESPN, including their flagship highlight show “SportsCenter”, can not air any highlights from the Rio Olympics until after NBC’s broadcast on the west coast ends.

Users in the United Kingdom will be able to get live streams via BBC apps, and in Canada the CBC has broadcasting rights.

SPECIALTY CHANNELS • There will be one channel devoted to basketball and another to soccer, covering most days of the Olympics. Viewers can catch up on the day’s biggest highlights from 8 p.m.to midnight every day, presented by hosts including Bob Costas, Ryan Seacrest, Al Michaels, Rebecca Lowe, and Dan Patrick.