By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on & X.
Former Sony employee and editor of 4 TV magazines.
TV Answer Man, will the college football championship game in 4K be on DIRECTV and other providers or just YouTube TV? — AMiller, town withheld.
AMiller, YouTube TV revealed yesterday that it will stream this year’s college football championship game between Washington and Michigan in 4K. The game, which will be broadcast by ESPN on Monday, January 8, at 7:30 p.m. ET, will pit two undefeated teams (both are 14-0) in the title game which will be held at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Does YouTube TV’s announcement mean that it will be the only provider that will offer the game in 4K? Answer: No. DIRECTV and DIRECTV Stream informs The TV Answer Man that they will deliver the game in 4K as well on special 4K-dedicated channels.
Which TV Providers Will Carry the ESPN Game In 4K?
We don’t have confirmation yet but Dish, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum are among the TV providers that are also likely to air the game in 4K. They provided ESPN’s 4K game of the week in the format during the 2023 season.
Update: ESPN says the 4K feed will be available on Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, Optimum, Sling TV, Verizon and YouTube TV. (Sling TV has never done 4K. We’re checking if Sling will start 4K with the championship game.)
Do the ESPN Apps Stream the Game In 4K?
The ESPN apps, including ESPN+, do not offer 4K yet. The pay TV providers will be your only sources for ESPN in 4K.
The YouTube TV listing says the game will be available in Skycam 4K, which is a single camera system suspended over the field and controlled by a computer. The regular broadcast, which includes multiple cameras, will air on ESPN in high-def.
It’s unclear whether the Skycam 4K will be ‘native 4K’ or upscaled 4K. The ‘native 4K’ broadcast would be produced and aired in 4K rather than ‘upconverted’ from HD to the format. The upscaled 4K would mean that the game was produced in 1080p HD on site and upgraded to 4K for the home transmission. ESPN did some 2023 college football regular season games in upscaled 4K after offering games in native 4K in previous seasons.
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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.
