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The 2026 Winter Olympics are upon us, and there are some notable changes coming for ice hockey. This will mark the first tournament in over a decade in which NHL players will participate, following previous disputes between the League and the Olympic Committee. This year, the U.S. men’s team will be made up of players from across the NHL.

Team USA will look to make a medal push after the men’s team won at the Ice Hockey World Championships — if they win gold, it’ll be the first time since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” that saw the USA triumph over the Soviet Union.

At a Glance: How to Watch Hockey at the Olympics

On the women’s side, Team USA has long been one of the most dominant teams, having medaled at every event since its creation in 1998, including gold in 1998 and 2018. Four-time Olympic medalist Hilary Knight, who currently plays for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL, will captain Team USA’s Olympic women’s team.

Peacock

sign up now

If you’re looking to stream the Olympics, every event will air on Peacock. Select events will air on USA and CNBC, with later rounds airing on NBC. Peacock does not offer a free trial. Plans start at $10.99/mo.

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DirecTV

get free trial

NBCUniversal networks are also available on DirecTV with a five-day free trial. However, not every game will be carried on network television.

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Milan is six hours ahead of New York, and many of the preliminary rounds start early in the day. Later rounds air in the early afternoon, Eastern Time.

Women’s hockey begins with preliminaries on Feb. 5, while the men’s preliminaries begin on Feb. 11. You can check out key dates for the men’s and women’s competitions below.

Men’s Hockey Schedule:

Preliminaries: Feb. 11 – Feb 15
Qualification playoff: Feb. 17
Quarterfinal: Feb. 18
Semifinal: Feb. 20
Bronze medal game: Feb. 21
Gold medal game: Feb. 22

Women’s Hockey Schedule

Preliminaries: Feb. 5 – Feb. 10
Quarterfinals: Feb. 13 – Feb. 14
Semifinals: Feb. 16
Bronze medal game: Feb. 19
Gold medal game: Feb. 19

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While the Winter Olympics doesn’t start until Friday (Aug. 6) with the opening ceremony, events have already started with preliminary and qualifying rounds, ahead of the games. One of the three sports that starts early is curling, the fan-favorite ice and stone competition.

Curling takes place at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Check out a complete schedule of the event here.

When Does Winter Olympics: Curling Events Start?

Curling starts on Wednesday, Feb. 4, but Team USA begins competition on Thursday, Feb. 5, with a start time of 4:05 a.m. ET/1:05 a.m. PT on Peacock, or during NBC’s Primetime in Milan coverage daily during the games starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Men’s, women’s and mixed curling are available to watch live and stream on demand. The events broadcast across NBC, USA Network and CNBC, as well as streaming on Peacock.

Peacock

Get Peacock

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Can you stream curling 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: Curling Online for Free

If you’re a cord-cutter, then there are a number of ways to watch curling 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: Curling on NBC, USA Network and CNBC with DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV and others.

DirecTV

Get 5-Day Free Trial

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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

Get Sling Blue

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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

Get 3-day Free Trial

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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: Curling broadcasts on NBC, USA Network and CNBC starting on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 4:05 a.m. ET/1:05 a.m. PT. Peacock and DirecTV are the best ways to watch events.

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