The American channel, NBC, is broadcasting the Olympics.
NBC will "give" you 5 free minutes online. Then you must log in with your satellite or cable TV subscription info. Once you do that, if you have a subscription, you will then be told "this content is not available in your location".
Basically, if you are out of the USA, and want to watch the Olympics on NBC you cannot.
That is unless you, both:
You can skip all that by using USTVnow.com!
USTVnow was created for US Military and US Citizens living abroad. It is free.
A short aside:
You can also watch the Olympics with BBC online. This is new. Or at least new since the last time I tried. At one time I tried channels from a variety of countries to watch the Olympics. I was never successful (without a VPN). Also, it is interesting to watch the Olympics from BBC's perspective.
I will write about VPNs another time. But for now, "A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi, and more." (by how-to geek)
I like the VPN, unblock-us. It is the best of all the VPNs I have tried. It is the only one that consistently and successfully fools TV and video sites that won't let me watch their content if I am out of the USA.
Back to USTVnow. Again, it was created for US Military and US Citizens living abroad. It is free.
Well you can pay money for more channels and to record shows, but the basics are free.
We don't own a TV so we watch everything online. Which is not much of an issue, except when you want to see something live. Like the Olympics or the World Cup.
I really wish we had known about USTVnow when we first came down to Panama. The Olympics were on then. I so wanted to watch, but could not. That was before I knew about USTVnow, or VPNs like Unblock-us, and more.
The Free Plan
With USTVnow's free plan, you get all the major stations that you would normally get free in the USA
For 45 days, you will see these channels in hi resolution on you computer or other devices (iPad, iPhone, Android and Roku). After 45 days, you will only be able to watch on your computer and it will be in low resolution.
The Paid Plan
If you pay, you get more channels, the ability to watch on other devices (ipad, etc), and the option to record shows. Supposedly, you also get high-resolution. But I have been on the paid plan from time to time and have not noticed a difference in resolution.
I have paid for USTVnow at times, for various reasons.
It was worth it to watch the World Cup. It was necessary when my mom visited. But the buffering issues during the debates were so annoying that I ended up simply watching the replays on Youtube the next day.
Cost
If you want all the channels USTVnow offers, it costs $19/mo for 1st 3 months. Then $29/mo.
If you want all the channels plus the ability to record, it costs $29/mo for 1st 3 months. Then $39/mo.
To see all the channels that they offer, visit USTVnow.
The easiest way to see the Olympics live and online, is to use USTVnow or BBC. USTVnow is a good option for anytime you want a USA TV fix, commercials included.
