By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on & X.
Former Sony employee and editor of 4 TV magazines.
TV Answer Man, will Fox have the Big Ten tournament in 4K, too? I saw your article on the Big East in 4K. — Tony, Las Vegas.
Tony, Fox this week plans to stream the entire Big East Men’s college basketball tournament from New York’s Madison Square Garden in 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range). And the network will offer the Big Ten tournament in 4K as well, but only some games. Why only some? Let me explain.
The Big Ten men’s tournament starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET with a doubleheader on Peacock (Maryland vs. Rutgers, followed Penn State vs. Michigan.). Since Peacock is doing the games, Fox cannot offer them in 4K. (Peacock did some Big Ten college basketball games in 4K earlier this season, but abruptly stopped mid-season without explanation.)
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But on Thursday, the Fox-owned Big Ten Network will broadcast four second round games and they will all be available in 4K on the Fox Sports app as will four quarterfinal games on Friday. However, Fox does not have the rights to the semifinals on Saturday or the final on Sunday; CBS does. So Fox again cannot show them in 4K.
How Can You Watch Fox’s Games In 4K?
The Big East and Big Ten 4K games can be seen in the format on the Fox Sports app by logging with your TV Everywhere user name and password from your pay TV provider. (Note that the Fox Now app is no longer available.) The pay TV services that are expected to carry the Fox games in 4K on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, Dish, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum, DIRECTV Stream, YouTube TV, and FuboTV. (In FuboTV markets where the Fox affiliate is provided with your programming package.) Check your on-screen guide for more details.
What Is Upscaled 4K On Fox?
Fox’s 4K college basketball and football broadcasts are upscaled from 1080p HDR (High Dynamic Range). Upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another. Fox takes the 1080p HDR signal and converts it to a 4K format. Upscaling 4K is not considered as good as native 4K, but the inclusion of HDR can offer heightened colors and vividness.
Click here to see a complete lineup of the Big East games in 4K HDR games from Fox and here to see the Big Ten lineup on the Big Ten Network and Peacock.
Tony, 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.
