NBA to Deliver First Live 4K Broadcasts

TORONTO, NEW YORK & LONDON—If you wondered what a slam dunk would look like in 4K, you won’t have to wait long to find out. On Thursday, Jan. 14, the National Basketball Association, Rogers Communications and BT Sport will broadcast the first live NBA game in 4K, a matchup between the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic in London. Raptor fans will get a second chance to see their team in 4K, when Canadian sports broadcaster TSN delivers a 4K broadcast of the Raptors host the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

The NBA previously tested a 4K broadcast during a regular season game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 23, 2014.

In 2015, Rogers rolled out the NextBox 4K set top box to handle 4K broadcasting with HDR and announced it would broadcast more than 100 live sporting events in 4K; this includes all Toronto Blue Jays games for the 2016 season and marquee NHL games.

TSN has announced that after its broadcast on Jan. 20 it will feature a slate of 4K broadcasts that will include games for the Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. A full schedule of the upcoming 4K broadcasts can be found here, with more set to be announced in the coming months.

Rogers broadcast of the Raptors vs. Magic on Jan. 14 will air at 3 p.m. EST on NextBox channel 999. TSN’s broadcast on Jan. 20 of the Raptors vs. Celtics will air at 7:30 p.m. EST.