TV Answer Man, I was thinking of getting the Peacock app since it’s free with ads. Will Peacock have the Olympics in 4K? That would be great. — Marly, Pasadena, California.
Marly, NBCUniversal’s 4K coverage of the 2021 Summer Olympics begins this Friday, July 23, with the opening ceremony.
The network, which is producing the event, has said its primetime coverage, and the opening and closing events, will be available in 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range). In addition, Olympic events aired by the Golf Channel and the Olympic Channel will be offered in 4K HDR. That will include track and field, gymnastics, swimming, diving, beach volleyball, golf, tennis and other sports.
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But what about Peacock, which is owned by NBCUniversal (which is owned by Comcast), you ask? Will Peacock’s free or paid service offer the games in the format?
The answer is no.
While Peacock will offer more high-def coverage of the Tokyo Olympics than anyone, the streamer will not provide any in 4K. This should not be too surprising. To date, Peacock has yet to provide any programming, sports, movies, or TV shows, in 4K although the service is now a year old. NBCUniversal executives said 4K was in their plans when Peacock launched last year, but have yet to fulfill that pledge.
DIRECTV, Dish, Comcast, Cox, Optimum, FuboTV, Verizon and YouTube TV do plan to offer the Olympics in 4K.
By the way, Peacock has three different tier: Free; $4.99 a month with more programming than the free version, but ads are included; $9.99 a month with no ads and some programming not available on either the free or $4.99 edition.
Marly, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
“The network, which is producing the event, has said its primetime coverage, and the opening and closing events, will be available in 4K HDR…”
Not that I have any intention of watching the Olympics, but does this mean that NBC’s local broadcast affiliate (WXII 12 in Greensboro in this case) will be able to broadcast in 4K? I doubt it but I thought I’d ask.