Q. Mr. Answer Man, I have a new 4K TV, but my question is whether the NFL Sunday Ticket is in 4K. And if it is, can you get without getting DIRECTV? — Bob, El Paso, Texas.
Bob, congratulations on your purchase. And I want to start here with more good news: fuboTV, the live streaming service, and Optimum, the tri-state New York area cable service, has announced plans to show 10 regular season NFL games in 4K during the 2019 season.
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This will be the first time that the NFL will be available in 4K on any service, including satellite and cable. (Note: fuboTV is the only live streaming service that offers live sports in 4K.).
The first game in 4K will be the Philadelphia Eagles-Green Bay Packers matchup from Green Bay on September 26 at 8 p.m. ET. (The 4K games are the Thursday night games that will air on Fox.)
DIRECTV and Dish are likely to offer the games in 4K as well, but have yet to make any announcements.
Now, as for the NFL Sunday Ticket, the news is not so cheery.
First, the package of out-of-market, Sunday afternoon games is only available through DIRECTV. The satcaster does offer the games online if you can prove if you can not install a dish at your residence. But that’s it.
There has been speculation that the NFL may license the package to more providers in 2020, but the league has been mum lately on whether that’s going to happen. So for now, it’s DIRECTV or bust.
And the second dose of bad news is that even if you get DIRECTV, the Sunday Ticket games are not available in 4K.
Bob, sorry I can’t be more helpful. But at least this year, there will be some NFL games in 4K.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
By any chance do you have the NGL 4k schedule beyond next weeks game? I saw the commerical on Direct it will be on next Thuraday.