The UEFA Euro 2024 football championship in Germany next year will not be produced in 4K Ultra HD, according to industry representatives.
Sports events have historically accelerated adoption of new video and audio formats but 4K Ultra HD remains elusive. Some major sports events in recent years have been produced and sometimes broadcast in 4K, even HDR, but far from all of them.
At the Sky Sport Summit 2023 in Berlin this summer, Tim Achberger from Sportcast, the host broadcaster for all football matches under Deutsche Fussball Liga (DLF), stated that UEFA has decided not to produce the Euro 2024 in UHD.
Karl Petermichl, head of distribution at public broadcaster ORF in Austria, subsequently sought confirmation from the Euro 2024 production committee.
- "Unfortunately I just received the confirmation from EURO 2024 production committee, that there will be no UHD production in Germany," Karl Petermichl wrote on twitter.
Upscaled 4K?
The Euro 2024 production committee has not published an official statement on the matter but the decision nevertheless seems definitive at this point.
The Euro 2024 matches may still be broadcast in upscaled 4K, depending on the local broadcaster's wishes, but that is obviously not the same.
The development is bad news for owners of 4K TVs and the broadcast industry in general, especially after a period where it seemed that 4K was gaining some traction in the broadcast environment
- Source: Film-tv-video.de, Karl Petermichl
