How to watch Winter Olympics live stream free online for in 2022: best channels, networks and trials available

Beijing 2022 is here to blast those February cobwebs away, with just over a week remaining of the packed schedule of winter sports. Wherever your loyalties lie, we've got all the details on how to watch a Winter Olympics live stream for free, with many broadcasters bringing down the paywall for the occasion.

The Winter Olympics are much more condensed than the Summer Games, featuring 109 events across 15 disciplines, most of which require specialist equipment you wouldn't know whether to wear or launch at your worst enemy!

Even if you're not familiar with the intricacies of biathlon (skiing with pistols - no, seriously) or ski jumping (three words: Eddie the Eagle), it's a whole lot of fun, and we've got all the info on how to live stream Beijing 2022 for free from anywhere. And if you're out of the country and can't access your preferred domestic broadcaster, you can always use a VPN to bypass any geo-restrictions.

When are the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics?

With a busy schedule stretching just over two weeks, the 2022 Winter Olympics officially started on Friday, February 4 and end with the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 20 in Beijing, China. 

How to watch a Winter Olympics live stream for free: what streaming services offer a free trial?

One of the best ways to get a free Winter Olympics live stream is by finding the streaming services offering trial periods to new customers. While action from Beijing takes place across a fortnight, some of the below platforms offer up to a week, while others are completely free without the need to hand over any payment details at all.

• BBC iPlayer - Free to UK viewers (with a TV licence)
• Sling TV - US viewers can access NBC coverage with a 3-day free trial
• 7Plus - Down Under you can watch free-to-air Channel 7 and its on-demand service
• CBC - In Canada you can watch CBC coverage via its website and apps
• CBC Gem - For CBC coverage ad-free, get a 1-month free trial
• Sky Sport Now - New Zealand spectators can benefit from a 7-day free trial
• ARD and ZDF - In Germany you have the option of two free-to-air channels
• TF1 - Watch the free-to-air broadcaster in France

• Going to be out of the country? Find out how to use a VPN to access your chosen streaming service

What free-to-air channels can you watch Winter Olympics on?

In some countries, you'll be lucky enough to benefit from watching every discipline at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics through free-to-air channels based in your country. Put up your feet and see if you're one of the lucky ones with our list of TV channels airing events for free below.

• BBC One and BBC Two - UK
• Channel 7 - Australia
• TF1 - France
• ARD - Germany
• ZDF - Germany

How to watch the Winter Olympics for free if you are outside of the country

If you're out of the country at any point during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, you can still get access to a live stream of every sport and discipline by making use of our best VPN to get past those geo-restrictions. 

With most domestic broadcasters locking streaming services to their country, you may hit a wall when it comes to accessing the likes of BBC iPlayer, 7Plus and CBC when overseas. 

However, by getting yourself a handy streaming VPN, you can hop on a server within the US or UK (or anywhere else for that matter depending on where your online content is geo-restricted to), and this will switch your IP address to make it appear as if you're browsing right from the comfort of your own home.

ExpressVPN is our pick of VPN providers with its excellent speed, plethora of security features, and, of course, its ability to unlock geo-restricted content and get you the best seat in the house for the Winter Olympics.

Better still, it offers new customers a 30-day money back guarantee, allowing you to give it a go and find out if it's actually the service for you before you well and truly part with your hard-earned money. Right now you can save 49% and receive an additional 3 months with your plan for free.

- Try out ExpressVPN 100% risk free to live stream Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

• New to VPN? Find out how to use a VPN to unlock geo-restricted content

How to watch Winter Olympics for free in the UK with no ads

In the UK, the BBC is covering Winter Olympics for free and without ad breaks. 

Unlike in previous years, the Beeb doesn't have comprehensive rights to the event, but you'll still be able to get stuck into hundreds of hours of key events from Beijing 2022 without spending a penny across BBC One, BBC Two and via the Red Button on your TV.

Not in front of the telly? You can watch the Winter Olympics for free online without missing a moment thanks to BBC iPlayer, which works across a number of devices, including:

• Smart TVs: JVC, Philips, LG, Polaroid, Panasonic, Samsung 
• Desktop: Windows, Mac
• Mobile: iOS, Android
• Media streamers: Amazon Fire TV, Now TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku
• Consoles: Xbox One, PS4

Not in the UK for the Winter Olympics? Don't miss out on the free, no-ads coverage on the BBC. Residents can simply download and use a VPN to change their location to appear as if they're in the UK and watch BBC iPlayer as usual.

How to live stream Winter Olympics online for free in the US

While NBC's dedicated streaming service Peacock will be the place to get coverage of every single event at Beijing 2022, you will be able to enjoy Olympic scheduling on the regular NBC TV channel, too.

This is good news for cable cutters looking for a free option, as you can access NBC through Sling TV's Sling Blue package. Costing $35 a month for access to 42 live channels, new customers can benefit from a 3-day free trial.

While the Winter Olympics does span across a 14-day schedule, this gives you a chance to stream at least some of it without paying a dime. Time your free trial right and you may be able to catch the disciplines and events you're most keen to watch.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics schedule

• Opening ceremony - Feb 4
• Alpine skiing - Feb 6-19
• Bobsleigh - Feb 13-20
• Biathlon - Feb 5-19
• Cross-country skiing - Feb 5-20
• Curling - Feb 2-20
• Freestyle skiing - Feb 3-19
• Figure skating - Feb 4-20
• Ice hockey - Feb 3-20
• Luge - Feb 5-10
• Nordic combined - Feb 9-17
• Snowboarding - Feb 5-15
• Ski jumping - Feb 5-14
• Skeleton - Feb 10-12
• Speed skating - Feb 5-19
• Short track speed skating - Feb 5-16
• Closing ceremony - Feb 20

How to use a VPN to unblock restrictions

If you're away from home, you can use a VPN to unblock any geo-restrictions and watch a Winter Olympics live stream as if you were right at home. Here's our step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

• VPN - standing for virtual private network - offers security and anonymity as you browse online, using set protocols to encrypt your data and make it unreadable to outsiders.
• As a part of that, you can also switch your IP address, which identifies your location.
• Most VPNs offer a list of locations where its servers are based to join. Connecting to them switches your IP to appear as if you're browsing from that country/city. In turn, you can then access content locked to that country.
• When it comes to finding a VPN, you should make sure you find the best one that's suitable for your chosen device, with VPN providers offering compatibility for a ton of devices, including VPN for Mac, and there's even a range of fairly nifty free VPNs.
• Once you've made the decision for the most suitable VPN for your device and your means for using a VPN, sign-up and install it. 
• To watch Beijing 2022, all you need to do is select a country/city from its list of available servers and connect. You'll then be able to hop over those geo-restrictions, with streaming services proceeding to open their online gates to you.
• We'd recommend doing a test run before the start of the Winter Olympics to ensure it does work so you don't miss a moment.
• We also want to ensure your money is well spent, too, so would recommend going for a VPN that offers a risk free trial. ExpressVPN is one of many providers that has a 30-day money back guarantee.

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