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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 kicked off her Paris run on Saturday morning with an early women’s 400m freestyle heat. She came in first and advanced to the afternoon finals, where she’ll compete for the medal against top competitors, including Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh. The trio are at the top of their game and have been competing against each other for some time now, so it’s shaping up to be a fierce competition for the gold medal and a possible new world record.
In addition to this weekend’s race, Ladecky is scheduled to compete in the women’s 1500 freestyle and the women’s 800 freestyle next week (and possibly some 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.
- See also: Where to watch Olympic football | Where to watch Olympic rugby | Where to watch Olympic handball
How to watch Olympic swimming in the US
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.
Peacock is a convenient streaming source for hit NBC TV shows, Universal movies, and select sports like Sunday Night Football. Prices start at $8 a month, with additional discounts on annual plans.
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.
For just the essentials without any extra fluff, Sling TV is the streaming service you’re looking for. It’s more customizable than other plans, with three options you can choose from, so you pay for only what you need. New members get their first month for $25 off.
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.
Fubo is the streaming service for sports fans. Its huge library of channels includes regional and international sports leagues, setting it apart from the competition. You can also tack on additional programming to your plan, but it’ll cost you extra.
How to watch Olympic swimming in the UK
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.
How to watch Olympic swimming in Australia
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).
How to watch Olympic swimming in France
Olympic swimming will be available to watch and stream for free through France.TV in France. The service just requires account creation to use.
How to watch Olympic swimming from anywhere
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.
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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.
Lillian Brown
Associate Editor of Streaming
Lillian Brown is the Associate Editor of Streaming for Business Insider. She joined the company in early 2024 as a Fellow before joining us full-time a few months later. She focuses on ‘how to watch’ guides for streaming services and live events for the Reviews team. She also covers VPN usage.Her entertainment writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Vulture, TV Guide, Time, Esquire, and The Daily Beast, among others. She specializes in writing about film and television. Previously, she worked in the Living/Arts department of The Boston Globe.When not teaching people how to stream the best live sports and TV shows, Lillian can be found long-distance running, watching the latest season of For All Mankind, or playing through The Last of Us Part II on her PS4 yet again.
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