Getty Denmark's pivot Magnus Saugstrup (L) attempts a shot as he is challenged by Spain's pivot Gedeon Guardiola (R) during the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship semifinal match between Spain and Denmark at the Cairo Stadium Sports Hall in the Egyptian capital on January 29, 2021. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP) (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
One of the most entertaining–and perhaps underrated–sports of the Olympics, handball takes center stage at the 2020 Olympics starting Saturday (Friday night in the US) in Tokyo.
In the United States, some Olympics handball will be televised on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC or USA, but not all matches will be on TV, and most of them will be on a tape delay.
Instead, you can watch every match of both the men’s and women’s tournaments live or on-demand via NBCOlympics.com or the NBC Sports app.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch through the NBC digital platforms, so if you don’t have cable or don’t have a cable log-in, here are some different ways you can still watch a live stream of every Olympics handball match online:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA and all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) through FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch every Olympics handball match live or on-demand via the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch matches this way, but you can do that with your FuboTV credentials.
You can also watch any televised matches live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC, NBCSN, USA and all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) via Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” bundle, while CNBC is in the “News Extra” add-on. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with these channels, and you can get your first month (which will cover the entirety of the Olympics) for just $10 (Sling Blue) or $16 (Sling Blue + News Extra):
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch every Olympics handball match live or on-demand on the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch matches via the NBC platforms, but you can do that with your Sling credentials.
You can also watch any televised matches live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
AT&T TV
AT&T TV has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” You can watch a live stream of NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA and all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) via any of them, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for AT&T TV, you can watch every Olympics handball match live or on-demand on the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch matches via the NBC platforms, but you can do that with your AT&T TV credentials.
You can also watch any televised matches live on the AT&T TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the AT&T TV website.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA and all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) via Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch every Olympics handball match live or on-demand on the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch matches via the NBC platforms, but you can do that with your Hulu credentials.
You can also watch any televised matches live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
Olympics Handball Preview
There will be 12 teams competing in both the men’s and women’s competitions. The men of Denmark took home Olympic gold at Rio in 2016, while Russia took home the top spot for the women the last time around. France, Denmark and Norway are the top teams to beat on the men’s side, while Norway, France and Russia are expected to do well on the women’s side.
Here’s a preview of the schedule for both men’s and women’s events, along with a look at which countries will be competing in the tournament for both men and women:
Preliminary Groups:
- Saturday, July 24 – Monday, August 2 Men’s Quarterfinals
- Tuesday, August 3 Women’s Quarterfinals
- Wednesday, August 4 Men’s Semi-finals
- Thursday, August 5 Women’s Semi-finals
- Friday, August 6 Men’s Bronze Medal Match
- Saturday, August 7 Men’s final
- Saturday, August 7 Women’s Bronze Medal Match
- Sunday, August 8 Women’s final
Countries Competing in Men’s Tournament:
- Group A : Norway (qualified at the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament) France (qualified at the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Germany (qualified at the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Brazil (qualified at the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Spain (2020 Men’s EHF EURO – Champions) Argentina (2019 Pan American Games – Champions)
- Group B: Denmark (2019 IHF Men’s World Championship – Winners) Sweden (qualified at the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Portugal (qualified at the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Japan (qualified as hosts) Egypt (2020 CAHB Men’s African Championship – Winners) Bahrain (2019 AHF Men’s Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament – Winners
Countries Competing in Women’s Tournament:
- Group A: Netherlands (2019 IHF Women’s World Championship – Winners) Montenegro (qualified at the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Norway (qualified at the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Japan (qualified as hosts) Republic of Korea (2019 AHF Women’s Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament – Winners ) Angola (2018 CAHB Women’s African Championship – Winners)
- Group B Spain (qualified at the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) (qualified at the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Hungary (qualified at the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament) Sweden (qualified at the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament) France (2018 Women’s EHF EURO – Champions) Brazil (2019 Pan American Games – Champions)