By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.
TV Answer Man, what’s the ESPN game in 4K this week? There is so little in 4K sports that we need more so we appreciate your updates. — Jamal, Sacramento, California.
Jamal, as a fellow 4K enthusiast, I feel your pain. There are relatively few live sporting events in 4K in the United States and even fewer networks that offer them. But ESPN’s 4K ‘Game of the Week’ for college hoops will continue Saturday (February 24) with 9th ranked Kansas (20-6) hosting Texas (17-9) at 6 p.m. ET in an all-Big 12 matchup. (The game will be simulcast in HD on the main ESPN channel.)
ESPN’s ‘Matchup Predictor’ says Kansas has a 73.2 percent chance of winning.
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DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream and YouTube TV have confirmed they will offer the game on its ESPN 4K channel to subscribers. Other providers who might carry the game on special 4K channels are Optimum TV, Dish, Comcast and Verizon. Check your on-screen guide for details.
ESPN does not offer 4K programming on its ESPN TV Everywhere app or ESPN+.
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.
Fox has no college basketball games schedule in 4K this week. The network’s next 4K action will come next month when it does the Big Ten and Pac-12 tournaments in the format.
Jamal, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
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.
