Comcast revealed today at its web site that it will begin offering both Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks home games in 4K, starting this weekend. That is, if you live in Chicago where the games are not blacked out.
Confused? Let me explain.
The first NHL game in 4K will be tomorrow night’s matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings at 8 p.m. ET while the first NBA contest in 4K will be the Los Angeles Lakers-Chicago Bulls game at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. Both the NHL and NBA games will be produced by NBC Sports Chicago, which is owned by Comcast.
However, to watch the games in 4K, you will need to live in the Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ broadcast territory, which includes Illinois and parts of some neighboring states such as Iowa. If you live outside that market, the games will be blacked out. (This is because NBC Sports Chicago, which has the TV rights, is a regional sports channel; it does not have the national broadcast rights to the game.)
Update: There is one exception: If an NHL game is broadcast on the national NBC channel, it should be available in 4K to everyone. For example, Sunday’s game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks is scheduled for a national NBC telecast.
If you do live in the Chicago market, to watch live events in 4K on Comcast, you can say ‘4K’ into your voice remote, or search for the program on-screen by typing in ‘4K’ using the remote’s virtual keyboard.
Here are the upcoming Bulls and Blackhawks games in 4K, if you live in Chicago:
Bulls
1/23 Lakers vs. Bulls (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
1/25 Celtics vs. Bulls (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
1/30 Trailblazers vs. Bulls (5:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
2/1 Knicks vs. Bulls (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
2/3 Knicks vs. Bulls (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
2/8 Wizards vs. Bulls (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
Blackhawks
1/22 Red Wings vs. Blackhawks (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
1/24 Red Wings vs. Blackhawks (12:30pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
1/29 Blue Jackets vs. Blackhawks (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
1/31 Blue Jackets vs. Blackhawks (7:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
2/2 Hurricanes vs. Blackhawks (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
2/4 Hurricanes vs. Blackhawks (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports Chicago)
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Directv as well
Tonights Blackhawks-Bluejackets game is not in 4K on Xfinity in the Chicago area.
I was in touch with Xfinity last night about not getting last nights Blackhawks game in 4K and found out there’s a problem between Xfinity and NBC Sports Chicago which hopefully will be fixed before too very long.
Tonights Bulls-Knicks game will definitely be in 4K on Xfinity.
Tonights Blackhawks-Hurricanes game isn’t listed on the on screen guide as being in 4K.
Now the Blackhawks game’s listed as being in 4K.
How can I watch the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, and Chicago Cubs. I obtained Tvision from my Team Mobile Store and found out the NBC Sports Chicago has blacked out all of the Bulls and Blackhawk games.