Tired Of NBC Delays, Watch The Olympics Online

NBC and their taped delays in my opinion is killing the Olympic spirit here in the states. If like me you are getting tired of hearing about the results hours before you get a chance to see the videos there is an answer. All you have to do is find sites in other countries that are live streaming the videos, or are showing highlights well before the NBC airings.

NBC is the games' official media outlet in the United States, and the network will be providing thousands of hours of content on the web. This does not mean that they hold the exclusivity rights to content, nor does it mean they are the only game in town. (in the USA maybe but not worldwide)

The International Olympic Committee has broadcast-rights agreements with dozens of news outlets around the world, and all of them are able to stream video to viewers in their territories. That means that several sites around the world are featuring live online content, we just have to find away around the NBC blockade and find US/English friendly sites that are easy to navigate.

Here are a few sites that are English friendly, I'm sure there are more so you might want to look around.

Eurovision is showing live coverage of all major events, which you can watch for free, if you're viewing from somewhere within the European Broadcasting Union (most countries in Europe and their various territories around the world).

Yahoo7. Australia's official online Olympics portal offers live streams, video coverage on demand, and behind-the-scenes interviews, specials and features.

CBC Olympics. Canadians can tune into the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation online for supplemental streams, video coverage on demand, and behind-the-scenes interviews, specials and features.

TSN.Ca - Canada's sports station

How to bypass the country filters

In order to watch most the videos from other countries we'll need to use a proxy server located within that country, or if you can otherwise trick the streaming server into thinking you're from a country where it's allowed. This is because in most cases, users in the United States will be blocked from viewing the footage anywhere but NBC's site. To do this we'll need to find a free web based proxy, or an IP based proxy that will allow us to bypass the country restrictions.

First thing we can try is finding a free web based proxy that works. I suggest using Google for whichever country you are searching. In this case we used Google.Ca and Google.AU. This option might take a little digging to find one that actually works. The other down fall is many web based service overlay ads or generate pop-ups.

The second option, which I like best, is to use an IP based proxy. HideMyAss.com is a site with a great list of proxies available and they offer the option to search by country, making it easier to find one that works. Proxy4Free.com is another very useful site with a great list. You could also try using a proxy service like xroxy or proxify.

Configuring Your Web Browser

If you use a web based proxy you don't need to do anything other than enter the URL on their site. For IP proxies you'll need to do the follow. Just keep in mind all your traffic will be sent through their service. So you'll want to change your settings back afterward. You might also need to try several different settings to get it to work.

For FireFox users go to (Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Connection Settings) and select "Manual Proxy Configuration", and enter in an IP and Port from our list into the text boxes.

For Internet Explorer users go to (Tools > Internet Options > Connections > Lan), select "use proxy server" and enter in an IP and Port from our list.

FireFox Proxy Add-ons

FireFox users have another option besides trying to manage their proxy connections on their own. There are a few very useful add-ons that make swtiching back and forth a breeze.

1. FoxyProxy - FoxyProxy is an advanced proxy management tool that completely replaces Firefox's limited proxying capabilities. It offers more features than SwitchProxy, ProxyButton, QuickProxy, xyzproxy, ProxyTex, TorButton, etc.
2. SwitchProxy Tool - SwitchProxy lets you manage and switch between multiple proxy configurations...
3. QuickProxy - QuickProxy adds a tatusbar button to turn the proxy on and off with a single click.