How to watch the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 4K in the US and UK

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4 years ago

How to watch the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 4K in the US and UK

After a year’s worth of delays, the Olympic Games are nearly here. If you want to watch the events in crisp and clear 4K, then we have everything you need to know – whether you’re in the UK or US.

You can read more about the games themselves in our round-up for the Tokyo Olympic Games and find out how to catch more sporting events such as the English & Irish Lions rugby tour of South Africa.

Are the Olympic Games going to be broadcast in 4K HDR?

Yes, although not all events will be available in this format – see down below for what we know will be. 4K HDR streaming will differ depending on where you’re based, so we have details for both the UK and US below.

Before we tell you where you can stream, you’ll need to make sure you have a 4K TV, a streaming device that supports this quality and either a wired internet connection, or wireless internet speeds that is at least 24Mbps for the full 3840p or 12Mbps for 2560p.

How to watch Olympic Games in 4K in US

NBC has confirmed that for the first time, it will broadcast the Olympics in 4K HDR, with support for Dolby Atmos sound support. It will distribute the footage to channels, who will choose whether or not they will air it.

You’ll have to ensure that you have your NBC channel included in your local TV package. Dish Network and DirecTV will also have 4K coverage available if you have a set-top box with one of these providers.

Though is an option for those who prefer to stream, as far as we know Peacock won’t be broadcasting the games in 4K resolution, nor will the NBC app.

There is another way to stream the Olympics in 4K in the US. You can do this by , which features four dedicated channels for 4K Olympic channels: NBC 4K, NBC Sports 4K, Olympic Channel 4K, and Golf Channel 4K.

However, this doesn’t come cheap. YouTube TV costs $64.99 per month, whilst the 4K add-on has a 30-day free trial available, and is then $9.99 (for the first year, and then $19.99 after). There is currently $10 off the usual sign-up cost.

Fortunately, you can cancel this at any time, so this is more flexible than signing up for an entire TV package just for 4K Olympic coverage.

Once you’re signed up for YouTube TV with the 4K add-on, just ensure that your streaming quality is set to the highest possible by clicking on the settings wheel icon.

In addition, Fubo TV is also offering 4K coverage at no extra cost for customers based in the following cities: New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX and Boston, MA (Manchester, NH).

Fubo TV costs $64.99 per month, but new customers can get a seven-day free trial. You can .

How to watch the Olympic Games in 4K in UK

There are three broadcasters in the UK for the Olympics: , and .

We haven’t yet had confirmation from either Eurosport or Discovery+ on if they’ll be broadcasting Tokyo 2020 in 4K – we’ll keep a close eye out over the next week and update this article once we know more.

Though BBC did broadcast some Euro 2020 games in 4K resolution via iPlayer, allegedly this won’t be the case for the Olympics.

According to an interview with Ron Chakraborty, Lead Executive, Major Events at BBC Sport in , the plans to “backhaul 4K streams back to the UK for production was deemed too costly in terms of bandwidth.”

The BBC terrestrial channels do not broadcast in 4K either. If we hear anything different about BBC 4K streaming for the Tokyo games, we’ll update this article.

If no UK broadcasters offer 4K streaming, you can try signing up for YouTube TV with the use of a VPN, which stands for Virtual Private Network. This re-routes your IP address, so you can browse the internet as if you’re from another country.

However, be warned that you’ll only be able to sign up if you have a bank account that’s tied to the US, and a and (which can be randomly assigned online).

NordVPN is our top recommendation, but you can take a look at other options in our list of the best VPNs for streaming. If you want to sign up for YouTube TV, you’ll need to connect to a US server.