How Active-Duty Personnel, Veterans and Their Families Can Watch the Tokyo Olympics for Free

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service has partnered with Comcast NBCUniversal to give active-duty military members, veterans and their families a chance to stream the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics for free.

Originally scheduled for last summer, the games were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and now will be held July 23 through Aug. 8 in Japan. Even now, access to the games will be limited because Japan hasn’t made sufficient progress in getting its citizens vaccinated. There will be no tourists, and everyone is crossing fingers in hopes visiting athletes won’t bring a new wave of infections.

Tokyo has invested billions in the games and television broadcasters around the world also have massive investments, so the show must go on.

How can you watch for free?

First, go to the NBC Olympics website: www.nbcolympics.com.

Find an event you want to watch. When you click on the viewing button, the site will ask you to log in and you’ll go to a login page that’s full of TV providers.

You’ll want to click the Exchange button in the bottom right corner. Even though the Exchange isn’t a cable or satellite TV provider, that’s going to be how this works.

Here’s the catch: You’ll need to have your own shopmyexchange.com account to log in. If you’re eligible, that's a pretty simple process if you’re not already signed up.

One more thing. NBCUniversal only has the broadcast rights to stream the Olympics online in the United States and U.S. territories. If you’re stationed elsewhere in the world, you’ll have to be on a military base and using a previously approved internet range to access the content.

That’s it! NBC has been expanding its online Olympics coverage aggressively over the past few games, and you’re now able to watch almost any event live if you’re so inclined. Get your logins sorted out and enjoy the games.

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