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The Winter Olympics don’t officially start until Friday (Aug. 6), but a few events have already started with preliminary, qualifying and group play rounds. One of the sports that starts ahead of the Games is ice hockey.
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Ice Hockey takes place at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in PalaItalia and Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy. Check out a complete schedule of the event here.
Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, At a Glance:
When Does Winter Olympics: Ice Hockey Events Start?
Women’s ice hockey starts on Thursday, Feb. 5 with the preliminary rounds and group play, while men’s ice hockey begins on Wednesday, Feb. 11 on Peacock. Meanwhile, NBC’s Primetime in Milan coverage, highlights and replays daily during The Games has a start time of 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Men’s and women’s ice hockey are available to watch live and stream on demand. The events broadcast across NBC, USA Network and CNBC, as well as streaming on Peacock.
Can you stream ice hockey on Peacock? Yes, Peacock goes for $10.99 per month for the Premium plan and $16.99 per month for the Premium Plus plan, both plans include coverage of all Olympic sports.
There is no free trial for new subscribers, but the streaming platform does come with various plans starting at $10.99 per month. However, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial for Walmart+, which comes with access to Peacock as part of the service. Learn more about Walmart+ here.
Outside of the Winter Olympics, Peacock comes with its own collection of original TV shows and movies, as well as programs from NBC, CNBC, USA Network, Bravo and others. TV Shows you can look forward to watching includes Poker Face, The Traitors, Couple to Throuple, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Bel-Air, Love Island, Love Island Games, One of Us Is Lying, Dr. Death, Yellowstone, Suits, The Office, Modern Family and Parks & Recreation.
The streaming service is also the home to exclusive music programming, such as Girl You Know It’s True, Toby Keith: American Icon, When Metal Ruled the World, America’s Got Talent and others.
Where to Watch the Winter Olympic: Ice Hockey Online for Free
If you’re a cord-cutter, then there are a number of ways to watch ice hockey without cable — especially if you want to watch for free. DirecTV has afive-day free trial, while Hulu + Live TV offers a free trial too. This is a good way to watch NBC, USA Network and CNBC without spending money up front.
Keep reading for more details on how to watch Winter Olympics: Ice Hockey on NBC, USA Network and CNBC with DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV and others.
You can watch NBC, USA Network and CNBC on DirecTV. New users are eligible for a five-day free trial through DirecTV when you sign up for one of its packages. The streamer’s “MySports” streaming package goes for $69.99 per month.
Sling TV offers the Blue + News Extra package, which goes for $60.99 per month and comes with NBC, USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW, Bravo and others. Blue is one of the most affordable options and comes with more than 40 channels and can be streamed on up to three devices at a time. Please note: Pricing and channel availability varies from market-to-market.
Hulu + Live TV
The networks NBC, USA Network and CNBC are available to watch with Hulu + Live TV too. Prices for the cable alternative start at $89.99 per month, while each plan comes with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited at no additional cost.
Hulu + Live TV might be best for those who want all of these streaming services together in one package. It features many other networks, like CBS, ABC, FOX, BET, CMT, Disney Channel, ESPN, Hallmark Channel and more.
More Ways to Watch
Viewers who want to stream the Winter Olympics internationally can use ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN to access several streaming platforms.
Winter Olympics: Ice Hockey broadcasts on NBC, USA Network and CNBC starting on Thursday, Feb. 5. Peacock and DirecTV are the best ways to watch events.
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