Service members, veterans and their families will have free access to more than 2,500 hours of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics through a partnership with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and NBCUniversal, AAFES officials announced.
The Winter Olympics will begin with the opening ceremony on Feb. 6 through Feb. 22, with more than 2,900 athletes from 92 countries and territories competing across 116 events.
Those eligible can stream the full coverage if they have an active ShopMyExchange.com account. Live streams of some practice and warm-up sessions and additional video content including event recaps, highlights, viral moments, interviews and more are included, officials stated in their announcement.
For those who don’t use the free service verified through ShopMyExchange.com, the streaming service through Peacock costs $10.99 per month, with advertising, or $16.99 per month, without advertising, according to the Peacock website.
To access the free streaming from computers or personal devices, viewers can visit NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports App, in the U.S., and choose the Exchange as their service provider. The ShopMyExchange.com site will verify those with an active account.
Content rights restrictions will apply to overseas locations where on-base residents must subscribe to internet service through an authorized provider, officials stated.
For more information on the free viewing, visit the Exchange’s Olympic Hub page, and the NBCOlympics information page.
This partnership between AAFES and NBCUniversal began in 2016, and has alternated between the summer and winter games every two years, with the exception of the Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said AAFES spokesman Chris Ward.
In the announcement, AAFES director and CEO Tom Shull described the free offering as a “quality-of-life multiplier so the games can be viewed wherever service members and their families are called to serve.”
“We believe moments like the Olympic Games have a unique power to connect people across the world,” Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, added.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.