4 free apps to help you keep tabs on Rio 2016
The action in Brazil is underway, with athletes from more than 200 nations competing to bring glory and gold home with them. In the U.S., the networks of NBCUniversal are providing extensive coverage of all kinds of sports through August 21, while other countries have similar arrangements when it comes to their television networks.
Still, we're not always around TV screens, even in this day and age. If only there were some mobile apps to help track everything going on in South America this month ... Oh wait, there are!
Not surprisingly, a number of free apps are around to download to your phone or tablet, perfect for watching or at least staying up to date on how your team is doing in Rio. We'll tilt our list of four toward the U.S. since that's where most of our readers reside, but some of these may come in handy for people anywhere around the globe, so be sure to check them out.
FREE!
For viewers and fans in the United States, this is the place to start if you're also a cable subscriber. The NBC Sports app allows viewing of all the action from Rio that is airing on NBC, NBC Sports Network, and the other cable networks that NBCUniversal is using to air coverage from Brazil. While the Games are going on, the app can also give you alerts for 'Must See' events, Team USA competitions, medal events, and more. It also features live streams of events you won't see much of on TV, like table tennis.
Olympics: Live Sports & News
FREE!
The official app of The Olympics seems like it would be a pretty great resource, and it is. However it's more useful for historical information than it is about the current event, although it does offer a news stream with the latest from Rio. One plus is that it's just as useful for users in other countries as it is for those living in the U.S.
NBC Sports Scores
FREE!
I appreciate the way this app is named, as it doesn't mislead you into thinking it's for live streams of any competitions. And it's not, because the NBC Sports app is the place to go for those. Still, this app may actually be more useful in situations where live streaming isn't possible (for instance, if you're at work) and you simply need to get news and results. Those are here in spades, and easy to access.
FREE!
This is the official app of these particular Olympics -- as opposed to the earlier entry on our list, which is the official app of the Olympics in general -- and is a handy guide for people lucky enough to actually be in Brazil this month. For the rest of us, it's not without its selling points, but other apps here are likely to more precisely fill your needs for following the action from home.