NBC Sports has said it will broadcast live coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos to U.S. viewers. Other broadcasters, including Comcast, Verizon and YouTube TV will also show some of the coverage to their users.
NBC said its prime-time coverage of the Olympics, including its “Prime Plus”shows, the opening ceremony and then the closing ceremony, will all be offered in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos surround sound.
Gary Zenkel, President of NBC Olympics, said the games provide some of the most amazing moments and stunning visuals in the world of sports and that NBC intends to broadcast this to its customers.
"We’re excited to once again bring the American audience closer to all of the incredible action with our live primetime and Prime Plus shows utilizing this remarkable 4K HDR technology,” he added.
NBC also confirmed that its Ultra HD broadcasts will be made available through Comcast/Xfinity, fuboTV, Verizon Fios and YouTube TV, either in select U.S. regions or the entire country. It didn’t confirm which providers will also offer Dolby Atmos audio. More details on each provider’s coverage can be found via NBC’s website.
The coverage will not be available on NBC’s Peacock streaming service however, as it is currently limited to HD streams only.
The broadcast is a big deal because it makes the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics one of the first sporting events to be covered in 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range. The footage will offer four-times as many pixels as regular HD coverage, meaning more picture detail, with HDR providing a wider range of colour and contrast.
NBC said its 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos coverage will include events such as figure skating, snowboarding, skiing, ice hockey, bobsled and others.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will also one of the first-ever sporting events to broadcast in 8K UHD. Local broadcaster China Media Group has reportedly set up the country’s first 8K TV channel, CCTV-8K, to cover the event in 8K resolution. However, coverage will be limited to just a few events and it will only be broadcast at a small number of big screens in public places within China. It’s not clear if any international broadcasters will pick up the 8K stream.
The Winter Olympics in Beijing kick off today, February 4, with the opening ceremony, and are scheduled to close on February 20.
