Rio Olympics TV Schedule, Live Stream: How To Watch

The 2016 Olympic Games kicked off Wednesday with women's soccer and now the schedule begin in earnest following Friday night's opening ceremony.

NBC has the broadcast rights to the games and will be using its full power to bring nearly 7,000 hours of Olympic programming to viewers scheduled on the many channels it owns and through online outlets.

How can you watch all of the action from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro? Here's what you need to know.

How to watch the 2016 Olympic Games on TV

After the opening ceremony, the Olympic competition will begin in earnest, with events happening every day throughout the day. Many of the medal rounds for the most popular sports don't begin until after the weekend, swimming being a notable exception; track and field events don't begin until Friday, Aug. 12.

Golf lovers welcoming their sport to the Olympics will see the men plan first, beginning Thursday and ending Sunday, and the women take to the links the following Wednesday, Aug. 17.

According to NBC, the most popular events will air in prime time on NBC:

On most days, NBC primetime programming will air from 8 p.m. – midnight ET/PT; daytime from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET/PT; late night from 12:35 a.m. – 1:35 a.m. ET/PT; and replays from 1:35 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. ET/PT.

Otherwise, competitions will be airing on Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, NBC Universo (Spanish language) and USA Network.

You can click here to see the day's Olympic TV schedule.

How to watch the 2016 Olympic Games online

You'll be able to watch "all Olympic competition" through the NBC Sports app and NBCOlympics.com, according to NBC. But you'll have you authenticate through your current TV provider to get access. Sorry cord-cutters, you're out of luck.