2016 Olympics: Live Stream Schedule and Start Time for Rio's Opening Ceremony

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have been a buzzy news topic for months, as reports about the conditions at the Olympic Village, polluted water and concerns about the Zika virus have persisted for months. 

But on Friday, the opening ceremony looks to be the first step in shifting the narrative away from the conditions in Rio and back to where it belongs: to the talented and deserving athletes who have trained for most of their lives to get to this point. 

Given that Rio is just one hour ahead of the Eastern time zone, NBC is calling this year's Summer Games "the most live Olympics ever."

Below you'll find all the information you need to watch the opening ceremony and kick off this year's Olympic Games.

2016 Summer Olympics Viewing Schedule 

When: Friday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro 

TV: NBC (8 p.m. ET)

Live Stream: Telegraph, BBC One

Despite being "the most live Olympics ever," NBC will still present the opening ceremony on a tape delay.

Though the ceremony begins at 7 p.m. ET, NBC will not begin airing it until 8 p.m. The delay will be two hours for those on Mountain time and four hours for those watching in the Pacific time zone.

NBC executives have given vague statements about the reason for the tape delay, ranging from cultural context to the demographics of Olympics viewers. 

"We think it’s important to give context to the show," Chairman Mark Lazarus of NBC Sports Group said, per Cindy Boren of the Washington Post. 

"These Opening Ceremonies will be a celebration of Brazilian culture, of Rio, of the pageantry, of the excitement, of the flair this beautiful nation has. We think it’s important that we are able to put that in context for the viewer so that it’s not just a flash of color." 

Meanwhile, John Miller, NBC's Olympics chief marketing officer, had a somewhat confusing and offensive response about the nature of the broadcast, allegedly backed up by tons of market research, as told to Michele Tafoya via Philly.com's Jonathan Tannenwald:

"

The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the Games than men, and for the women, they're less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. It's sort of like the ultimate reality show and mini-series wrapped into one.

"

Well, if their research says so!

If you aren't buying NBC's reasons for the tape delay and want to watch the broadcast live, viewers can watch online at the Telegraph's website or BBC One, per the Telegraph.

Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles and award-winning filmmaker Andrucha Waddington, part of the creative team directing the opening ceremonies, suggested that the show will steer away from cliches, do away with "high-tech" and honor Brazil's roots, per the Associated Press (h/t CBC.ca).

"We don't have high culture," Meirelles said. "Of course we have some pianists, some maestros and some orchestras, but that's not us. We come from the roots. The beauty of Brazil comes from the roots."

The countries and their respective athletes enter in alphabetical order, and the United States, which will enter as Estados Unidos, will enter in the middle of the parade.