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   How to Watch the 2018 Winter Olympics on Your Apple Devices in the U.S.

   Josh Centers

   The Winter Olympics have arrived once again, this time in Pyeongchang,
   South Korea. We can look forward to watching the [1]first Nigerian
   bobsled team compete for a medal and maybe inspire a sequel to the 1993
   movie '[2]Cool Runnings,' about the Jamaican bobsled team. We can also
   look forward to watching more of the Olympics live, since [3]the
   much-reviled tape delay is largely going away (some events will still
   be tape-delayed so NBC can show them in prime time).

   So how do you go about tuning in on your Apple devices? In the United
   States, NBCUniversal owns the broadcast rights, so on traditional TV,
   look to NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA, and the Olympic Channel to get your fix.
   But there will be more than 2400 hours of coverage, with a 14-hour time
   delay, so alternative methods of watching the games are more important
   than ever.

   As in 2014, [4]NBCOlympics.com is the place to watch on your Mac, and
   NBC is maintaining a [5]full streaming schedule. In iOS and tvOS, the
   [6]NBC Sports app is your portal to the games.

   Unfortunately, you'll need a subscription to a participating cable,
   satellite, or telco provider to take advantage of the NBC Olympics Web
   site and apps (here's the [7]full list). It continues to astonish us
   that NBC doesn't sell an [8]NBC Sports Gold pass to the Olympics, as
   they do with various specific sports.

   The good news is that there is now a long list of streaming TV services
   that are affordable, require no lengthy commitment, will authenticate
   the NBC Sports apps, and offer an Apple TV app. Sign up with one of
   them and you can both test the service for a month and use your
   credentials to enable live streaming in the NBC Sports apps. That's a
   fine deal for less than $40 for a month.

   In the list below, I note each service's monthly price (which may vary
   slightly by region), which support Apple's [9]single sign-on feature,
   and which we've reviewed:
     * [10]DirecTV Now ($35, see '[11]DirecTV Now Joins the Scrum of
       Cord-Cutting TV Services,' 9 December 2016)
     * [12]FuboTV ($19.99 for the first month; $44.99 afterward)
     * [13]Hulu with Live TV ($39.99, supports single sign-on)
     * [14]PlayStation Vue ($39.99, supports single sign-on, see
       '[15]PlayStation Vue Wins Cord-Cutter Option for News and Sports,'
       9 December 2016)
     * [16]Sling TV ($25 for Sling Blue, $5 for the News Extra package
       with CNBC, $10 for the Sports Extra package with the Olympic
       Channel; supports single sign-on, see '[17]FunBITS: Sling TV Is
       Made for Cord Cutters,' 20 February 2015)
     * [18]YouTube TV ($35)

   The choice of service is up to you ' the differences mostly come down
   to pricing and interface, and if you're using one of these services
   just to authenticate the NBC Sports apps, interface doesn't matter
   much. I've been partial to PlayStation Vue in the past.

   If you don't want to pay for TV at all, you're not totally out of luck.
   [19]Snapchat will be live-streaming key moments, but that means using
   Snapchat, which has an interface best described as 'brutal.' There's
   also the dead-simple official [20]Olympics app, though it doesn't seem
   to offer any video. And finally, you could download the [21]Team USA
   App, which offers information about U.S. athletes and even includes a
   minigame for the sports sensation that's sweeping the nation, curling.
   Sorry, couldn't resist.

   Have you run across other alternatives for watching the Olympics? Let
   us know in the comments, and we'll update this article as appropriate.

References

   1. http://www.bbc.com/sport/winter-olympics/42694188
   2. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106611/
   3. http://www.adweek.com/tv-video/nbc-will-air-winter-olympics-live-in-all-time-zones-katie-couric-will-co-host-opening-ceremonies/
   4. http://nbcolympics.com/
   5. http://www.nbcolympics.com/live-stream-schedule#/
   6. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nbc-sports-live-extra/id542511686?mt=8&at=10l5PW&sports-mobile-apps
   7. https://activate.nbcsports.com/
   8. https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/nbc-sports-gold-packages-prices
   9. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207035
  10. https://www.directvnow.com/
  11. https://tidbits.com/article/16941
  12. https://www.fubo.tv/welcome
  13. https://www.hulu.com/live-tv
  14. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/
  15. http://tidbits.com/article/16940
  16. https://www.sling.com/
  17. http://tidbits.com/article/15430
  18. https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/
  19. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapchat/id447188370?mt=8&at=10l5PW
  20. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-olympics-official-app-for-the-olympic-games/id808794344?mt=8&at=10l5PW
  21. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/team-usa-app/id1020273791?mt=8&at=10l5PW

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