Olympic Indoor Volleyball TV Schedule: Full List of Times, Channels, Live vs. Delay & More

Patrick Andres | Jul 15, 2024

Aug 8, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; USA reacts after beating Brazil in the women's volleyball gold medal match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Ariake Arena. / Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

The most recent Olympics was a banner one for volleyball in the United States. After three past silver medals, the American women's team stunned the world by beating Brazil and securing their first ever Olympic gold medal in the event.

In the three years since the Tokyo Games, the domestic profile of volleyball has only increased. More eyes than ever before will be on the men's and women's Olympic tournaments as the United States attempts to win its second straight gold.

Both the men's and women's tournaments will include 12 teams duking it out at the century-old Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Given the sheer sprawl of the Olympics and the time difference between Paris and the United States, knowledge of the TV schedule is essential for following along with volleyball as is the case with any team sport.

This article will help guide you in your volleyball-watching endeavors. Let's take a look at the history of volleyball at the Olympics before delving into this year's fields.

Overview of Volleyball

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Mass.—just 10 miles away from where James Naismith invented basketball. The sport gradually grew and in 1947 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), its governing body to this day, was founded in... Paris, incidentally.

In 1964, after years of discussions, volleyball was introduced to the Olympic program for the Summer Games in Tokyo. The USSR won the inaugural men's gold medal while Japan won the inaugural women's gold medal. An attempt to discontinue the event for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City failed, and volleyball was here to stay (with beach volleyball eventually joining the program in 1996).

Nine different nations have won gold medals in men's volleyball, led by Brazil, the Soviets and the United States with three. Six have won gold in women's volleyball, led by the USSR with four; Cuba is also a historic women's power, having won gold in 1992, '96 and 2000.

In the most recent Olympics, France, the Russians and Argentina medaled on the men's side, while the Americans, the Brazilians and Serbia medaled on the women's side.

Rules and Format

From a rules standpoint, Olympic volleyball is fairly straightforward. Each team has six players, and teams can touch the ball a maximum of three consecutive times during play. Matches are best-of-five—the first four sets are played to 25 points, and the fifth set is played to 15 points if necessary. Teams are required to win each set by two points.

The format, however, is different this year than in years past. After nine consecutive Olympics in which the qualifying teams were divided into two round-robin groups of six, this year's Olympic volleyball tournaments will be divided into three round-robin groups of four.

The top two teams in each group will advance, along with the teams with the two best records among third-place finishers. A single-elimination knockout stage will then determine the gold, silver and bronze medalists.

Olympic Volleyball TV Schedule

Live Broadcasts

As is usually the case, this year's Olympics will air on NBC, its numerous television properties, and on Peacock. Live broadcasting duty for the volleyball tournament will be split between NBC, CNBC, E!, USA and Peacock.

Without further ado, here are schedules for the men's and women's Olympic volleyball tournaments this summer.

Men's Olympic Volleyball Schedule

GAME	DATE	TIME	CHANNEL
Japan vs. Germany	July 27	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Italy vs. Brazil	July 27	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/USA after 7:45 a.m. ET
Poland vs. Egypt	July 27	11 a.m. ET	Peacock
United States vs. Argentina	July 27	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/USA
France vs. Serbia	July 28	11 a.m. ET	Peacock/E! after 1:45 p.m. ET
Slovenia vs. Canada	July 28	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/E! after 5 p.m. ET
Italy vs. Egypt	July 30	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
United States vs. Germany	July 30	7 a.m. ET	Peacock
Slovenia vs. Serbia	July 30	11 a.m. ET	Peacock
France vs. Canada	July 30	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/USA
Poland vs. Brazil	July 31	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Japan vs. Argentina	July 31	7 a.m. ET	Peacock
Argentina vs. Germany	Aug. 2	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Brazil vs. Egypt	Aug. 2	7 a.m. ET	Peacock
France vs. Slovenia	Aug. 2	11 a.m. ET	Peacock
Japan vs. United States	Aug. 2	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/USA/NBC after 5 p.m. ET
Poland vs. Italy	Aug. 3	11 a.m. ET	Peacock
Canada vs. Serbia	Aug. 3	3 p.m. ET	Peacock
Quarterfinal	Aug. 5	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Quarterfinal	Aug. 5	7 a.m. ET	Peacock
Quarterfinal	Aug. 5	11 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC
Quarterfinal	Aug. 5	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/USA after 5 p.m. ET
Semifinal	Aug. 7	10 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC
Semifinal	Aug. 7	2 p.m. ET	Peacock/E! after 4 p.m. ET
Bronze medal match	Aug. 9	10 a.m. ET	Peacock
Gold medal match	Aug. 10	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC

Women's Olympic Volleyball Schedule

GAME	DATE	TIME	CHANNEL
Italy vs. Dominican Republic	July 28	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Poland vs. Japan	July 28	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/E! after 7:20 a.m. ET
Turkey vs. Netherlands	July 29	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Brazil vs. Kenya	July 29	7 a.m. ET	Peacock
United States vs. China	July 29	11 a.m. ET	Peacock/USA
France vs. Serbia	July 29	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/NBC after 5 p.m. ET
United States vs. Serbia	July 31	11 a.m. ET	Peacock/USA
Poland vs. Kenya	July 31	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/NBC after 5 p.m. ET
Turkey vs. Dominican Republic	Aug. 1	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Brazil vs. Japan	Aug. 1	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/E!
Italy vs. Netherlands	Aug. 1	11 a.m. ET	Peacock/USA after 1:45 p.m. ET
France vs. China	Aug. 1	3 p.m. ET	Peacock
Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic	Aug. 3	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Japan vs. Kenya	Aug. 3	7 a.m. ET	Peacock
Italy vs. Turkey	Aug. 4	3 a.m. ET	Peacock/E! after 5:30 a.m. ET
France vs. United States	Aug. 4	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC
China vs. Serbia	Aug. 4	11 a.m. ET	Peacock
Brazil vs. Poland	Aug. 4	3 p.m. ET	Peacock/NBC after 5 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal	Aug. 6	3 a.m. ET	Peacock
Quarterfinal	Aug. 6	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/USA after 9:30 a.m. ET
Quarterfinal	Aug. 6	11 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC
Quarterfinal	Aug. 6	3 p.m. ET	Peacock
Semifinal	Aug. 8	10 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC
Semifinal	Aug. 8	2 p.m. ET	Peacock
Bronze medal match	Aug. 10	11:15 a.m. ET	Peacock/CNBC
Gold medal match	Aug. 11	7 a.m. ET	Peacock/NBC

Tape-Delay Broadcasts

As is tradition for Olympics held in parts of the world other than the United States, NBC will offer tape-delayed coverage of several volleyball matches (often in encore packages with other sports), primarily on NBC, USA and E!.

How to Watch Olympic Volleyball With and Without Cable

Cable and Satellite Providers

Use this link to verify whether your cable package has NBC and its affiliated networks (it most likely does). If so, check local listings for your channels.

Streaming Services

This is a particular streaming-friendly Olympics; all volleyball matches will be available on Peacock. Here are two convenient cable-freeways to get your fill of the sport this summer.

Peacock

Peacock is available either $5.99 monthly or $59.99 annually at this link.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV, a cable alternative, costs $72.99 per month and includes a five-day trial period.