By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on Facebook & X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.

They may be trying to tell us something.

That we are either damned fools or saintly creatures with the patience of a New York Jets fan. Either way, the Powers That Be who run TV networks and streaming services are making it as difficult as humanly possible to remain committed to 4K television.

Yes, they may be trying to tell us something.

Scores of millions of us have purchased 4K TVs over the last several years but the industry seems determined to crush our enthusiasm (if not our very souls) at every turn. We invested, in some cases, thousands of dollars for these shiny new boxes but we’re being served crumbs and water in the way of programming. And when we are actually served something worth consuming, the measly morsel is priced as if it were caviar.

You want examples, you say? Oh, boy, I have examples.


What happened to 4K live sports on Peacock?!

Peacock, the streaming service, revealed last week to The TV Answer Man that it was no longer producing Big Ten college basketball games in 4K. This disclosure came after the flighty Peacock teased us a month earlier when it said it would produce 30 Big Ten hoop contests in 4K during the 2023-24 season. Of course, no reason was given for the change, but we damned fools with the patience of a Jets fan will just have to accept it.

Fox and ESPN, two networks who actually seem to have a scant interest in 4K, have yet to do any 2023-24 college basketball games in 4K. There have also been no national NBA or NHL games in 4K from any network that produces them. There has been just one regular season NFL game in 4K (a Thanksgiving game on Fox) and CBS won’t even say if it will do the 2024 Super Bowl in 4K after one cable TV operator said it would.

And when the networks actually do a live sports event in 4K, it’s upscaled from 1080p HD!

Yes, they are trying to tell us something.

But I’m not done. I have MORE examples.

Netflix recently raised the price of its 4K plan to $22.99 a month and Max just stripped 4K access from all legacy HBO Max subscribers unless they resubscribe to Max’s most expensive package, the $19.99 a month Ultimate package.

And I’m still not done.

Not only has Peacock dropped the Big Ten 4K coverage, but the streamer occasionally removes the 4K labels from the episode descriptions of movies and TV shows. (They are gone at least on Roku devices as we speak.) No reason is given for the removal, but it makes it impossible to tell which titles are in 4K, assuming any of them actually are. (Peacock’s web site says it’s still offering 4K title. For what it’s worth.)

The motto of this web site is ‘making television easy again,’ but there is nothing easy about being a 4K TV owner.

Yes, they are trying to tell us something.

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.