Full list of times, channels, live vs. delay and more

The most recent Olympic Games were one of the most important for volleyball in the United States. After three previous silver medals, the US women’s team surprised the world by defeating Brazil to secure their first ever Olympic gold medal in the event.

In the three years since the Tokyo Games, volleyball’s domestic profile has only increased. More eyes than ever will be on the men’s and women’s Olympic tournaments as the United States tries to win a second consecutive gold.

Both the men’s and women’s tournaments feature 12 teams competing in the century-old Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Given the sheer size of the Olympics and the time difference between Paris and the United States, knowing the TV schedule is essential to following volleyball, as with any team sport.

This article will help you watch volleyball. Let’s take a look at the history of volleyball at the Olympics before we dive into this year’s courts.

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Mass.—just 10 miles from where James Naismith invented basketball. The sport gradually grew and in 1947 the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), its governing body to this day, was founded in…Paris, by the way.

In 1964, after years of debate, volleyball was introduced to the Olympic program for the Summer Games in Tokyo. The USSR won the first men’s gold medal, while Japan won the first women’s gold medal. An attempt to withdraw the event for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City failed, and volleyball was here to stay (with beach volleyball eventually added to the program in 1996).

Nine different countries have won gold medals in men’s volleyball, led by Brazil, the Soviets and the United States with three. Six have won gold in women’s volleyball, led by the USSR with four; Cuba is also a historic women’s power, having won gold in 1992, ’96 and 2000.

At the last Olympic Games, France, Russia and Argentina won a medal in the men’s event, while the Americans, Brazilians and Serbia won a medal in the women’s event.

Rules and format

From a rules perspective, Olympic volleyball is fairly simple. Each team has six players, and teams are allowed to touch the ball a maximum of three times in a row during the game. Matches are best-of-five: the first four sets are played to 25 points, and the fifth set is played to 15 points if necessary. Teams must win each set by two points.

However, this year’s format is different from previous years. After nine consecutive Olympic Games where qualifying teams were divided into two round-robin groups of six, this year’s Olympic volleyball tournaments will be divided into three round-robin groups of four.

The top two teams in each group advance, along with the teams with the two best records below the third-place finishers. A single-elimination knockout stage then determines the gold, silver and bronze medal winners.

Live broadcasts

As usual, the Olympics will be broadcast this year on NBC, the many television networks and on Peacock. The live broadcasts of the volleyball tournament will be divided between NBC, CNBC, E!, USA and Peacock.

Without further ado, below you will find the schedules for this summer’s men’s and women’s Olympic volleyball tournaments.

Men’s Olympic Volleyball Program

Women’s Olympic Volleyball Program

Tape Delay Broadcasts

As is customary at Olympic Games not held in the United States, NBC will air some volleyball matches on delay (often in encore packages with other sports), primarily on NBC, USA and E!.

Cable and satellite providers

Use this link to check if your cable package carries NBC and its affiliated networks (it probably does). If so, check the local listings for your channels.

Streaming services

This is a particularly streaming-friendly Olympics; all the volleyball matches are available on Peacock. Here are two handy ziplines to help you fill up on the sport this summer.

Peacock

Peacock is available for $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year via this link.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV, an alternative to cable TV, costs $72.99 per month and includes a five-day trial.