Winter Olympics 2022 figure skating: How to watch, events and TV schedule

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of United States perform in Pairs Free Skating during ISU World Figure Skating Championships at Ericsson Globe on March 25, 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden
(Image credit: Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)

Toe pick! It's time to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics figure skating, as live streams are beaming in from Beijing. Figure skating is one of the most popular Winter Olympics sports and this edition should feature some heated battles on the ice. 

Team USA has already won the silver medal in the team event, while Nathan Chen earned gold in the individual men's competition. 

Olympics Figure Skating cheat sheet

• Start and end dates: Feb. 3-20
• Next event: Men's free program (Feb. 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET)
Watch anywhere: Try ExpressVPN risk-free
US: Peacock, Sling and Fubo
UK: Discovery+, BBC iPlayer

Even before you watch the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, you can see Olympics figure skating because the team event starts on February 3 (in U.S time zones). 

The team event features 10 qualifying countries, including Team USA. Each country's coach can create their own mix of skaters to compete in eight events — short and free programs for men’s, women’s, pairs and ice dance.

Team USA is represented by Nathan Chen, Mariah Bell, Karen Chen, Alysa Liu, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Jean-Luc Baker, Kaitlin Hawayek, Evan Bates,  Madison Chock, Ashley Cain-Gribble, Timothy LeDuc, Jason Brown, Vincent Zhou, Zachary Donohue and Madison Hubbell.

Check out our complete guide on how to watch figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

How to watch the Olympics figure skating for free

Gold, silver and bronze medals in front of the Olympics rings logo

(Image credit: kovop58/Shutterstock)

There are multiple ways for you to watch the Winter Olympics figure skating for free, so you don't need to pay to root for your nation's athletes to get the gold.  

In the U.S., you can watch some figure skating coverage for free on NBC if you get the local channel with one of the best TV antennas

Australia has the best way to watch the Olympics without paying, as 7Plus has most of the events (up to 16 live streams!) without paying. Australians who are vacationing abroad can use a VPN, such ExpressVPN (our #1 pick) to evade the geo-blocking walls that would stop them from watching abroad. More on how to do that below.

For those in the U.K., BBC iPlayer is the way to watch the Olympics figure skating for free. Canada's CBC and New Zealand's TVNZ also offer free Olympics coverage.

How to watch the Olympics figure skating from anywhere in the world

The 2022 Winter Olympics is a global event and can be viewed in almost every country on Earth. However, if you're not in your home country and can't watch the Beijing Olympics live stream with your usual services — or you want to watch in your native language — you're not out of luck. With a virtual private network, or VPN, you can appear to be surfing the web from your home town (or somewhere that blackouts won't hit), and access the same streaming services you already paid for. 

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We've tested many different services and our pick for the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN. It offers superb speeds and excellent customer service. But you've got other VPN options as well. Here are our top picks.

ExpressVPN

We think speed, security and simplicity make ExpressVPN second to none. During our tests, we saw fast connection times, and we're impressed by the service's ability to access more than 3,000 services spread out across 160 locations in 94 countries. Its 30-day money-back guarantee is another perk.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your website or streaming service of choice and tune in.

How to watch the Winter Olympics figure skating in the US

US flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

In the U.S. Winter Olympics figure skating will air on NBC and USA.

If you've cut the cord and don't get NBC and USA through your cable package, you can access those channels through Sling TV and Fubo TV, two of the picks on our best streaming services list. 

Sling TV:
Cheaper Live TV

Sling TV: You can get NBC and USA in the Sling Blue package, which is $35/month. The 30-plus channels in the lineup also include AMC, CNN, Food Network, AMC, Comedy Central, HGTV and many more. Right now, Sling is offering a three-day free trial.

Fubo.TV:
More Channels

Fubo.TV: The Starter Plan ($65/month) comes with over 115 channels include local networks like NBC, as well as top cable brands like USA. And you get 250 hours of Cloud DVR. Get the 7-day free trial so you can see everything Fubo has to offer.

How to watch Winter Olympics figure skating on Peacock

Peacock is streaming every event in the 2022 Winter Olympics, live and on-demand.

The service has learned its lesson from Tokyo Olympics last summer. This time, all events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, will be available on the platform. 

Peacock has created a special Winter Olympics hub and users can browse by sport, add individual events to their Must Watch list and fast-forward and rewind live events.

While Peacock has a free tier, Olympics coverage will only be available with Peacock Premium, which costs $4.99 per month or the ad-supported plan or $9.99 for the ad-limited plan.

Peacock
FREE TIER

Peacock boasts a great library, including the entirety of The Office. It's also home to a ton of sports beyond the Olympics, like WWE wrestling, the Premier League, golf and rugby. Peacock Free costs nothing, while the Premium tiers offer access to originals and more movies.

How to watch Winter Olympics figure skating in the UK

UK flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Brits have it easy when it comes to watching Winter Olympics figure skating events — they can just tune into BBC and BBC iPlayer.

However, BBC doesn't have a monopoly on Olympics coverage in the U.K. and it won't broadcast all events.

To watch every event live, you'll instead want to subscribe to Discovery Plus UK, which is offering coverage of every event in Beijing. Subscriptions are available for £6.99/month or £29.99/year. The service is available to stream through a multitude of devices include Chromecast, Apple TV, Android TV and apps for iOS and Android.

If you're traveling outside of the U.K. and have a valid U.K. TV license, you can still follow the Winter Olympics by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN

How to watch Winter Olympics figure skating in Canada

Canada flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Canadians can get comprehensive coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics on CBC, the CBC website and the CBC app.

You can also sign up for the streaming service CBC Gem, which has a 1-month free trial. After that, a subscription costs $4.99 CAD per month.

If you're traveling out of the country, you can use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.

How to watch Winter Olympics figure skating in Australia

Australia flag

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Down Under, Aussies can watch Olympics figure skating for free on or stream it on the network’s 7Plus streaming service.

Currently out of the country? Use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.

2022 Winter Olympics figure skating schedule

Team event (Feb. 4, 6 and 7)

  • Men’s short program qualification, Feb. 3 at 8:55 p.m. ET 
  • Ice dance rhythm dance qualification, Feb. 3 at 10:35 p.m. ET
  • Pairs short program qualification, Feb. 4 at 12:35 a.m. ET
  • Women’s short program qualification, Feb. 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Men’s free program, Feb. 5 at 10:50 p.m. ET
  • Pairs free program, Feb. 6 at 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Ice dance free program, Feb. 6 at 9:30 p.m. ET
  • Women’s free program, Feb. 6 at 10:35 p.m. ET

Men’s figure skating (Feb. 8 and 10)

  • Men’s short program, Feb. 7 at 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Men’s free program, Feb. 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET

Ice dance (Feb. 12 and 14)

  • Rhythm dance, Feb. 12 at 6 a.m. ET
  • Free dance, Feb. 13 at 8:15 p.m. ET

Women’s figure skating (Feb. 15 and 17)

  • Short program: Feb. 15 at 5 a.m. ET
  • Free program: Feb. 17 at 5 a.m. ET

Pairs figure skating (Feb. 18 and 19)

  • Short program: Feb. 18 at 5:30 a.m. ET
  • Free program: Feb. 19 at 6 a.m. ET

Team USA figure skating team

Team USA is sending 16 figure skaters to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: 

Men: Nathan Chen, Jason Brown, Vincent  Zhou

Women: Mariah Bell, Karen Chen, Alysa Liu

Pairs: Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc

Ice Dance: Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.

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