By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman

TV Answer Man, do you know if the Phillies-Diamondbacks series will be available in 4K? It seems like it would be natural for 4K, right? What about 4K on Max? — Bob, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Bob, the Philadelphia Phillies play the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at 8:07 p.m. ET in game one of their National League Championship Series. Arizona’s Zac Gallen will face Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler in a matchup of aces at Philly’s Citizens Bank Park. The game, and the entire series, will be broadcast by Turner’s TBS, which means it will also be available on Max, the streaming service. But will it be available in 4K, you ask?

Answer: No. The Turner networks, including TBS, have yet to do a single MLB game in 4K and this year’s playoffs are no exception. In contrast, Fox is doing the American League playoffs in 4K as well as this year’s World Series. But the NL games will only be in high-def. And that includes Max.

I’ve received several inquiries regarding whether Max will start doing live sports in 4K. (The streamer this month added live sports from TBS and TNT lineups for free, including NBA, NHL and MLB games.) But I don’t expect to see live 4K sports from Max until after February 29, 2024 when the service begins charging extra for the sports tier; it’s now available as part of Max’s ad-free and ads-included plans but will cost an extra $9.99 a month next year. The addition of live 4K would encourage people to subscribe to the sports tier.

Bob, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman