Will the Big East & Big Ten Basketball Tournaments Air In 4K?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, do you know if the Big Ten and Big East basketball tournaments will be in 4K or just the Big East? Thank you for your updates. – Clark, East Lansing, Michigan.

Clark, the men’s Big Ten college basketball tournament begins tomorrow starting at 3:30 p.m. ET with the Northwestern-Minnesota contest, followed by Iowa-Ohio State at 6 p.m. ET and then USC-Rutgers at 8:30 p.m. ET. Peacock, the NBCUniversal-operated streaming service with plans starting at $7.99 a month, will stream all three games. However, they will be in HD, not 4K.

Can You Watch the Big Ten Tournament In 4K?
But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch the Big Ten tournament in 4K. On Thursday, Fox will take over the Big Ten tournament broadcasts and the network will offer upscaled 4K coverage of all the games on Thursday and Friday.

CBS and Peacock have the TV rights to the Big Ten tournament on Saturday and Sunday but they will not offer them in 4K. (The Big Ten Network will simulcast Thursday and Friday’s games in HD.)

Can You Watch the Big East In 4K?
As for the Big East Tournament, Peacock will show the first-round games on Wednesday (Providence-Butler at 4 p.m. ET; Georgetown-DePaul at 6:30 p.m. ET; Villanova vs. Seton Hall at 9 p.m. ET), but the streamer will only offer HD coverage, not 4K.

On Thursday, Peacock will show the first two second round games, starting at noon ET. And they won’t be in 4K, either.

But Fox takes over at 7 p.m. ET with the two Thursday night games. And, yes, they will be in upscaled 4K as will the two semifinal games on Friday and the tournament championship on Saturday. (Fox network affiliates will simulcast the Fox broadcasts in HD.)

How Can You Watch Fox In 4K?

Fox’s 4K games can be seen in the format on the Fox Sports app by logging in with your TV Everywhere user name and password from your pay TV provider. (Note that the Fox Now app is no longer available.)

The pay TV services that normally offer Fox games in 4K on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, Dish, Sling TV, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum, DIRECTV Stream, YouTube TV, and FuboTV. (In FuboTV markets where the Fox affiliate is provided with your programming package.) Check your on-screen guide for more details.

What Does Upscaled Fox 4K Look Like?

Fox’s 4K live sports broadcasts are upscaled from 1080p HDR (High Dynamic Range). Upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another. Fox takes the 1080p HDR signal and converts it to a 4K format. Upscaling 4K is not considered as good as native 4K, but the inclusion of HDR can offer heightened colors and vividness. ESPN also upscaled its 4K broadcasts from a 1080p HD signal.

Is It Worth Watching Fox In Upscaled 4K?

Yes. From personal experience, I can assure you the picture is usually better. The high-def image from a Fox affiliate sometimes lacks detail and makes you wonder if it’s actually in high-def. However, the 4K image removes the blurriness and adds a realistic feel to the picture.

Clark. hope that answers your question. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered  television 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.