Important Warning for Cord Cutters: If you don’t have NBC you’re not going to be able to watch Olympic Handball. This is because access to the NBC web streams will include an authentication process to verify that you are an authorized NBC viewer. This means that you will either need to “borrow” access from a friend or break down and pay for a package that includes NBC. There are several options to include Fubo TV which offers a 7 day free trial.
TV Broadcasts
NBC has the rights to all Olympic handball content and they currently plan to broadcast 32 matches, mostly on a tape delay basis. Matches will be shown on the NBC Sports Network, the USA Network and CNBC.
- NBC Schedule Page: Link
- Compilation of all matches that will be shown on Cable/Satellite TV Networks: Link
With Tokyo 13 hours ahead of US ET NBC has decided to show most broadcasts on a tape delay basis. There are some pros and cons to this decision. Handball devotees would probably prefer to watch matches live on TV, but they can simply take advantage of the web streams that can be seen both live and on a tape delay basis. The current schedule for TV broadcasts, while mostly taped should attract a bigger audience, particular on the weekends where handball has some decent time slots.
After the Olympics start I will be publishing a daily summary of the upcoming matches and when and where they can be seen.
Web Streaming
It appears that NBC (like they did for 2016) will be streaming every handball match live and on demand. Here are the relevant links both for live streams and on demand replays:
At the 2016 Olympics, NBC simply used the Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) feed for its online streams. Long time handball commentator, Paul Bray, informs me that he will be in Tokyo and will likely call 2-3 matches daily.
Commentators
- Dawn Allinger Lewis (NBC Color/Expert): Lewis was a member of the 1996 U.S. Women’s Olympic Handball squad and this will be her 4th Olympics with NBC
- NBC Profile: Link
