64 Nations Can Watch the Olympics Free and Live on YouTube, and the U.S. Isn't One of Them

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is freely broadcasting the Olympics to sixty-four Asian and sub-Saharan African countries on YouTube. Ghanaians, or Indians, or Basotho can tune in, without paying, to watch some 10 different live streams, which run from 9am to 11pm London time.

They can also watch the 24-hour Olympic News channel. There are a few caveats. All the broadcasts are in English. Internet availability throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa remains scarce. Why does an East Timorese get to watch the Olympics online, for free, while Americans don't? Because the US (and Canada, and most South American and European countries) have large media companies which will happily bid for the right to show the Games. In most of the territories that receive free YouTube access, there just isn't a big media company which could air the Olympics and turn anything close to a profit (yet). So the IOC steps in.