I wish it were otherwise because I’d really looked forward to the 2026 Winter Olympics, but it has been unrelenting frustration. For starters, it was three or four days before I figured out that I could watch on NBC, NBC Sports, Peacock, and/or USA. At least, those are the sources I’ve found so far.
At the same time, I was trying to find a useful schedule of events. I found several, in various formats. All were chopped up with live events, tomorrow’s events, the week’s events, replays, highlights, etc. And the daytime telecasts inevitably seem to make up a good part of the prime time NBC telecast, meaning that the vaunted prime time telecast is usually a rerun of what I might or might not have already seen.
One day I was watching men’s ice skating, one of my favorite events, and had seen all but the last skater when the feed suddenly ended and a message popped up saying something like “replay coming soon.” I kept checking back but never found the rest of it.
(I just looked up at the tv, and I’m pretty sure the speed skating that’s on now is something I watched yesterday. They could at least put a note in the corner saying it’s a replay of yesterday’s event.)
Complicating it all last Sunday was the Super Bowl, also on NBC. The game was a yawner but I wanted to see the ads and the halftime show, so kept flipping back and forth from the Super Bowl to one or another of the Olympics telecasts, while never really enjoying either one.
Part of the problem, of course, is the time difference between here and Italy. Italy is 8 hours ahead of Denver (Milan and Cortina are in the same time zone). And all the times shown on the Olympics schedules for the US are in Eastern Standard Time, two hours earlier than Denver.
Bottom line, mostly the schedules just give me an idea of what I might be able to watch if I can find the right place and time.
I feel obliged to mention the drones. NBC is mighty proud of them (they said it requires three humans to operate each one) but most of the time I find their high-pitched whirring annoying and distracting. In past years I enjoyed the events without the drones and never wished I had a better, closer, noisier view of some kind. The regular cameras and their operators did and still do a fine job of showing all the action, IMHO.
With all the great technology we have these days, surely sound engineers or somebody can figure a way to eliminate that annoying drone sound. I’d much rather hear and enjoy the natural sounds of the event I’m watching. Immersion is part of the experience.
That’s been my Olympic experience so far. Yet frustrating as it is, I can’t not watch. Maybe I’ll get the hang of it before the whole thing is over.
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Header: The 2026 Winter Olympics logo. Not until the middle of this week did I realize the cryptic hieroglyph is a 26. D’oh.
I’ve had a very similar experience and it’s been hit or miss for me, a lot of whatever I could find whenever and wherever
LOL. If I’d said it that succinctly, I wouldn’t have had a post. But it is extremely frustrating when there’s a particular person in a particular event that you want to see (e.g. Ilia Malinin, Lindsay Vonn, Chloe Kim, Chock and Bates).
That sounds like the worst coverage I’ve ever heard of, Colorado – associated with NBC’s drive to squeeze in as much advertising as possible ?
I’m happy not to be a winter sports fan: my only rivetted watching is of top-grade cricket. I did recently follow some of the Australian Open tennis, and found the coverage good but the ads vile, as ever. It’s such a shame, the setup you describe; as watching it on your home screen is the best way to see that kind of vast, sweeping vista sport.
Oh, you are quite right about the ads. They’ve got it set up in such a way that even if I choose to join a (hopefully) live event, they’ll run one or two ads first. (And then after I get in I may discover it’s something I’ve already seen.) Grrrr. I suppose I could be generous and assume they are just trying to make sure I get to see everything, but I have my doubts. (Of course it’s all complicated by my having a “smart” tv that’s just as bad as trying to master a new computer.)
I very rarely watch tennis and there’s no coverage of cricket here in the states. Maybe once I saw part of a match, probably being played in England.
I didn’t even try to watch this time. I don’t have cable — just streaming services and trying to figure out how to watch is just too much so I just went to my quilting room.
Oh, I understand all too well. But I keep thinking I’ll figure it out in time to relax and enjoy myself.
(My “quilting room” is my computer, or maybe other options on my tv, like my Xbox.)
Yes, I can relate. I hadn’t noticed the whirring of the drones until this morning, but once I did, I found it so irritating. The duplication of watching throughout the day only to repeat it in the evening (already knowing the outcome) is a bit annoying as well. Yet, I am glued to the TV regardless. I hope you enjoy the rest of the Olympics, whatever you get to watch. ~Nan
As I said, I can’t not watch. Besides, it is or is supposed to be my escape from mainstream news. But thanks. I’ll keep trying, and meanwhile it’s nice to know someone else shares some of my frustration.