Paris Olympic Games: How to watch and listen in Australia

Sezen Bakan
Jul 24, 2024, updated Jul 24, 2024

Two major networks will be providing live coverage of the Olympic Games to Australians. Photo: TND//Paris 2024/Isabelle Harsin

Attention couch critics: It’s about time to become deeply invested in sporting contests you bother to watch only every four years.

The world’s top athletes will go head to head in the Paris Olympics, which kicks off on Friday, July 26 local time.

For Australians watching at home, the opening ceremony begins at 3.30am AEST on Saturday.

AEST is eight hours ahead of Central European Summer Time (CEST), so if you really want to get into the swing of things, you may have to wake up at obscene hours or risk getting spoilers before you can catch up later.

Note: Although the Games officially launch on July 26 CEST, handball, archery, football, and rugby events will begin two days prior.

Where to watch

Nine Network and Stan Sport are the homes of the official broadcasts of Paris Olympics in Australia.

Nine will provide 24/7 Olympics coverage across its main TV channel, 9Gem and its streaming platform, 9Now.

There will be more than 40 channels available on 9Now, which should hopefully allow viewers to watch any event they want throughout the Games.

Channel Nine will air 22 hours of Olympics coverage every day, with one-hour news breaks at 11am and 6pm. 9Gem will be devoted to the event for a full 24 hours a day.

Stan Sport, which is owned by Nine, will show all 329 medal events ad-free, live and on-demand for subscribers.

For the first time, the streaming platform will also offer eight international Olympics channels in multiple languages through partnerships with Eurosport, Sky NZ and Viacom18.

Languages on offer include French, German, Greek, Italian and Spanish. The innovation means expat audiences in Australia will be able to catch-up on the progress of some of their favourite athletes or sports in Paris.

Stan CEO Martin Kugeler said 2024 would be the streamer’s biggest year yet.

“Due to our unique live and on demand offering we will make sure Australian sport fans can watch every epic moment from Paris 2024 when and where they want. Our fantastic lineup of some of the biggest sporting legends will provide expert commentary, insights and analysis,” he said.

“To deliver the world’s most prestigious sporting event just three years after launching Stan Sport is a testament to the ambition, passion and dedication of the team at Stan.”

Stan Sport is a $15-a-month add-on to Stan subscriptions.

How to listen

Nine will also cover the Olympics through podcasts and radio channels, including Sydney’s 2GB, Melbourne’s 3AW, Brisbane’s 4BC and Perth’s 6PR.

The network’s partnership with the ABC means coverage will also be offered by the latter.

The ABC Local Radio network will broadcast the Olympics to listeners in Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and Canberra, as well as across regional, rural, and remote regions.

ABC coverage will include every Australian gold medal chance; opening, closing, and victory ceremonies; highlights; updates of key events; general replay coverage; and Nine’s live TV/radio commentary and interviews, as well as those of the International Olympic Committee.

Topics: Nine Entertainment, Olympics, Streaming, TV