Here’s when (and where if you’re around Lille) and how you will get to see Bilal Coulibaly and Les Bleus.
Washington Wizards fans, after wondering whether a player would make an Olympic team after the worst season in franchise history, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Bilal Coulibaly made the France men’s national basketball team roster.
France’s game schedule
Here are France’s group stage games where Les Bleus are in Group B. Times are in US Eastern Time. France operates in Central European Time, which is six hours ahead. So a 2 p.m. ET game is at 8 p.m. CET locally.
- Saturday, July 27: Brazil at 11:15 a.m. ET
- Tuesday, July 30: Japan at 11:15 a.m. ET
- Friday, Aug. 2: Germany at 3 p.m. ET
Where are the games?
Group stage games are at the Decathlon Arena in Lille. The elimination stage is at Accor Arena in Paris. Due to the International Olympic Committee’s ban on building naming rights, the Decathlon Arena is called “Stade Pierre Mauroy,” and the Accor Arena is the “Bercy Arena” in most Olympic-related contexts.
I’m curious. What is Decathlon?
Decathlon doesn’t refer to the 10 events in athletics in this case. Instead it is a French sporting goods retailer headquartered in Villeneuve d’Ascq, which is very close to Lille. They specialize in bikes, canoes, tents, outdoor goods, etc.
You can’t find many Decathlon stores in the USA if at all, but they do have an ecommerce store for Americans. Most of their retail shops are in Europe.
What is Accor?
Accor is a hotel conglomerate headquartered near Paris. It is the seventh biggest hotel group in the world, with over 5,500 hotels. Most of their hotels are based in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America with their bread-and-butter brands like Novotel and Mercure (they’re like a Marriott or Hilton here in the USA) and Ibis (a budget hotel like the Residence Inn or Garden Inn).
There are some Accor hotels in the USA, but they are mostly luxury brands like Sofitel and Fairmont. Washington and New York City have both a Sofitel and a Fairmont, for what it’s worth.
How do I watch the games in Les États Unis?
No, NBC isn’t the best option. Or any NBC TV network. Especially if you are a Les Bleus fan.
The Olympic Games are on NBC, but you generally can’t watch games uninterrupted. The national feed on NBC will tend to focus on whatever boutique sport with the most Americans who have the best chance to medal, or if there is some other compelling reason to show a particular event. Sports like swimming, athletics and women’s gymnastics tend to get a lot of coverage on the main network over basketball, especially in the group stage.
NBC uses multiple networks to air basketball games, but they will focus primarily on the USA Basketball men’s and women’s national teams, teams without any Wizards or Mystics players.
Olympic events regardless of sport will also be on USA, CNBC, and E! besides NBC itslef. Spanish language broadcasts are on Telemundo and Universo.
Best option: Streaming on Peacock
If you want to watch the Olympic basketball tournament uninterrupted, games will be on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. Peacock does have a subscription fee. All of Les Bleus’ (or Team Canada’s, or the Belgian Cats’ or the Opals’) games are on Peacock.
Which Les Bleus group stage games are on TV?
The Aug. 2 game vs. Germany will be partially televised (or on tape delay) at approximately 3:50 p.m. ET on E!.
All of the elimination stage games will be aired on USA or E! The Gold Medal game is on NBC. We’ll cross that bridge when Les Bleus get there.