Olympic games begin Wed Aug 3 and end Sun Aug 21. NBC owns broadcasting rights in the US, hopefully similar time zones (1 hour difference between Rio and NY) will allow us to see more live action. Here's NBC's page on their plans to televise How to watch the 2016 Rio Olympic Games | NBC Olympics . The opening ceremony is Friday, although NBC will show it with a 1 hour delay (to allow announcers to [-]prepare crib notes[/-] add context).