During the French Open tennis championship at Roland Garros, Eurosport’s 4k/Ultra HD feed will be available across several platforms in Europe.
The channel, available for the duration of the tournament from Sunday 27 May to Sunday 10 June, will be branded Eurosport 4K and available in the UK (via Sky Q and Virgin TV), France (via Canal), Germany (via HD+), Spain (via Orange) and more markets to be confirmed very soon.
For this year’s Roland Garros, Eurosport 4K will only show live action from Philippe Chatrier. It also represents the first time Eurosport has broadcast a live sporting event in Ultra HD in multiple markets at one time following Eurosport Germany’s successful transmission of the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund in Ultra HD in February 2018.
“Eurosport has become a by-word for innovation and our tennis coverage is no different – we are always looking to push the boundaries to make our coverage more compelling for tennis fans across Europe,” said Emir Osmanbegovic, SVP Sports Content and Production at Eurosport.
“We have already taken our coverage to a whole new level through short formats such as The Coach which combines analysis and technology through a mixed-reality studio. Eurosport 4K is the most immersive viewing experience available and we are delighted that tennis fans across Europe will be able to experience the drama of Roland Garros in this way.”
Orange in Spain will carry the Eurosport 4k signal as part of its commitment to offering 4k content to its customers, which also includes the recent addition of a 4k series and movie channel in cooperation with Sony.
In Germany, Discovery Networks negotiated a deal with DTH platform HD+ to carry the Ultra HD programming from Roland Garros on its UHD1 channel, which is available free-to-air from 8.00 till 20.00 CET Monday to Saturday (8.00 – 14.00 on Sundays) and is encrypted the remainder of the day. All viewers will be able to see the live tennis action during the unencrypted periods, but only HD+ subscribers will be able to see the encrypted coverage available to them at no additional charge.
In the UK, UHD coverage be available on Sky Q from Monday 28th May for customers who have a Sky Q 2TB box, Multiscreen subscription and a 4K Ultra HD TV.
In France, Canal+ offers the 4k feed to users of the new Canal 4K Ultra UHD decoder via satellite or internet, as well as via Apple TV 4K via internet.
In addition to the Ultra HD feed, the entire tournament will be available in HD quality through the regular Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 channels.
Roland-Garros – French Open 2018 takes place between May 27 and June 10, and games on the Centre Court usually start at 11.00 CET; the women’s final will take place on June 9 at 15.00 CET, and the men’s a day later on June 10, also starting at 15.00 CET.
[UPDATE, 25/05/2018, 12.00 CET] German pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland will make Eurosport 4K available to its subscribers by transmitting the channel on its Sky Sport UHD channel for the duration of the French Open 2018. The broadcast will be accessible by customers with a Sky+ Pro/Sky Q box.
