BT Sport and Samsung have delivered the UK’s first public live 8K sports broadcast. The two partnered for a screening of the UEFA Europa League match between Arsenal and Olympiacos Thursday evening.
The BT Sport 8K outside broadcast was delivered over IP to Samsung QLED 8K TVs. The 8K format offers a resolution four times that of 4K.
Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer, BT Sport, said: “Whether it’s last season’s launch of the world’s first regular high dynamic range service, BT Sport Ultimate, or, our world-leading remote production activity we’re constantly working to provide the best possible experience. Today’s broadcast in partnership with Samsung continues BT’s mission to take our viewers to the heart of sport and serve them the ultimate viewing experience.”
“For 50 years Samsung has pioneered the TV category; from the launch of the World’s first Digital Colour TV in 1998, the world’s thinnest TV in 2002, the first double-sided LCD screen in 2006 and then one of our biggest advancements to date; the first company to bring 8K TVs to the UK in 2018,” added Dan Hastings, Director of TV and AV at Samsung UK. “We have shown that we never rest when it comes to pursuing meaningful innovations that could supercharge the way people consume content. It is great that we can add showing the first 8K broadcast to that list with BT Sport in 2020.”
It’s the latest innovation from BT that has also been a pioneer in Virtual Reality, Dolby Atmos sound, 4K UHD picture quality and remote production. Last year, the broadcaster launched BT Sports ultimate, the world’s first service to feature regular programming in High Dynamic Range (HDR), as well as 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos.
