By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.
TV Answer Man, can you let us know when ESPN announces its 4K game of the week? It looks great on my OLED TV!! — Kari, Roanoke, Virginia.
Kari, ESPN’s 4K ‘Game of the Week’ this week will be the North Carolina-Duke game from the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The ACC matchup, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday (February 3), will feature the 3rd ranked Tar Heels against the 12th ranked Blue Devils. ESPN’s ‘Matchup Predictor’ says North Carolina has a 68 percent chance of winning. North Carolina is 17-3 while Duke is 15-4.
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YouTube TV has confirmed it will offer the game on its ESPN 4K channel to subscribers who have the $9.99 a month 4K add-on package. Other providers who might carry the game on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream, Dish, Comcast, Verizon and Optimum. Check your on-screen guide for details.
ESPN does not offer 4K programming on its ESPN TV Everywhere app or ESPN+. The game will be simulcast in HD on the main ESPN channel.
The ESPN 4K broadcast will likely be ‘upconverted’ from 1080p HD. The upscaled 4K would mean that the game was produced in 1080p HD on site and upgraded to 4K for the home transmission. ESPN did some 2023 college football regular season games in upscaled 4K after offering games in native 4K in previous seasons.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
