The centerpiece of TV’s Olympic coverage in the U.S. is NBC’s 8 p.m. ET prime-time programming, and events decided earlier will be repackaged and showcased there. But for those who want to watch their sports live, be prepared to tour the TV landscape at an all-day, all-out pace. On cable, the NBC Sports Network begins coverage at 4 a.m. ET, of women’s soccer (USA vs. Colombia) and five other events, including archery and handball. Tennis coverage begins at 7 a.m. ET on Bravo, and beach volleyball, table tennis and two other sports are covered by MSNBC beginning at 7 a.m. ET. And on the big broadcast parent network, NBC provides live coverage beginning at 5 a.m. ET, of swimming, cycling, volleyball, rowing and basketball. And then there’s live streaming, where everything is available (see Christy Slewinski’s
Television and Beyond story
HERE for where, and how, to see it.) Day 1 highlight: Michael Phelps goes for his first medal of the 2012 Games, in the 400-m. individual medley, at 2:30 p.m. ET.