The $4.38 billion reason it’s so hard for US cord-cutters to watch the Olympics online

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics start Feb 6. But if you're among the 9 percent of US households who have broadband but don't subscribe to paid television, it will be nearly impossible to (legally) watch the games online. That's because while NBC is streaming all of the events live online, full access to the livestream will only be available to paying cable subscribers. And thanks to a $4.38 billion exclusive deal NBC struck with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in 2011 for the privilege of broadcasting the Olympic games in the US through 2020, cord-cutters don't have a lot of options.