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.
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 Peaco*ck. Live broadcasting duty for the volleyball tournament will be split between NBC, CNBC, E!, USA and Peaco*ck.
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 | Peaco*ck |
Italy vs. Brazil | July 27 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA after 7:45 a.m. ET |
Poland vs. Egypt | July 27 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
United States vs. Argentina | July 27 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA |
France vs. Serbia | July 28 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/E! after 1:45 p.m. ET |
Slovenia vs. Canada | July 28 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/E! after 5 p.m. ET |
Italy vs. Egypt | July 30 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
United States vs. Germany | July 30 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Slovenia vs. Serbia | July 30 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
France vs. Canada | July 30 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA |
Poland vs. Brazil | July 31 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Japan vs. Argentina | July 31 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Argentina vs. Germany | Aug. 2 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Brazil vs. Egypt | Aug. 2 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
France vs. Slovenia | Aug. 2 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Japan vs. United States | Aug. 2 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA/NBC after 5 p.m. ET |
Poland vs. Italy | Aug. 3 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Canada vs. Serbia | Aug. 3 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 5 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 5 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 5 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 5 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA after 5 p.m. ET |
Semifinal | Aug. 7 | 10 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC |
Semifinal | Aug. 7 | 2 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/E! after 4 p.m. ET |
Bronze medal match | Aug. 9 | 10 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Gold medal match | Aug. 10 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC |
Women's Olympic Volleyball Schedule
GAME | DATE | TIME | CHANNEL |
|---|---|---|---|
Italy vs. Dominican Republic | July 28 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Poland vs. Japan | July 28 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/E! after 7:20 a.m. ET |
Turkey vs. Netherlands | July 29 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Brazil vs. Kenya | July 29 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
United States vs. China | July 29 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA |
France vs. Serbia | July 29 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC after 5 p.m. ET |
United States vs. Serbia | July 31 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA |
Poland vs. Kenya | July 31 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC after 5 p.m. ET |
Turkey vs. Dominican Republic | Aug. 1 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Brazil vs. Japan | Aug. 1 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/E! |
Italy vs. Netherlands | Aug. 1 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA after 1:45 p.m. ET |
France vs. China | Aug. 1 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic | Aug. 3 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Japan vs. Kenya | Aug. 3 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Italy vs. Turkey | Aug. 4 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/E! after 5:30 a.m. ET |
France vs. United States | Aug. 4 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC |
China vs. Serbia | Aug. 4 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Brazil vs. Poland | Aug. 4 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC after 5 p.m. ET |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 6 | 3 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 6 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/USA after 9:30 a.m. ET |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 6 | 11 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC |
Quarterfinal | Aug. 6 | 3 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Semifinal | Aug. 8 | 10 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/NBC |
Semifinal | Aug. 8 | 2 p.m. ET | Peaco*ck |
Bronze medal match | Aug. 10 | 11:15 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/CNBC |
Gold medal match | Aug. 11 | 7 a.m. ET | Peaco*ck/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!.
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 Peaco*ck. Here are two convenient cable-freeways to get your fill of the sport this summer.
Peaco*ck
Peaco*ck 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.
