The IOC said this week there will be no 4K broadcasts of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ranking those that are hurt the most by the announcement: 1. Consumers who bought UHD TVs expecting to watch major sporting events in 4K. 2. Pay TV services and local broadcasters who would have had a chance to show how well they could do with 4K. It turns out that they are the stumbling block. 3. Makers of UHD TVs (which is really every set maker) and makers of the components that go into them because they could have expected a bump up in sales of UHD sets as the Olympics neared.
Also OTT services who would have expected all the new consumers with UHD sets to start looking for non-sporting events after the Olympics ended. The reason there won’t be 4K at the 2016 Olympics: broadcasters won’t be ready for 4K in the summer of 2016 and maybe even later.
Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcast Services, said, “There is no demand from our rights holders for 4K. We have to take our cue from broadcasters.” Instead the IOC’s OBS is investigating a test of virtual reality technologies. Really! As if anyone is going to have VR headsets by then as compared to the many millions that will own UHD TVs. Exarchos said, “The VR technology is maturing quickly. There is real interest in virtual experiences to mobile phones.”
The IOC provided an excuse for its broadcasters, who have paid it billions, by saying it’s more interested in 8K than 4K. Exarchos said the IOC’s OBS is working with the Japanese broadcaster NHK to produce 8K for the following Olympics.
He said, “In my opinion 8K is much more of a game-changer than 4K. You can really see a huge difference in experience whereas the gap between HD and 4K is far less” and “We are experimenting with the syntax of producing in 8K. For example, do we need to edit the pictures?”
At the rate they’re going, it’s possible to believe that broadcasters won’t be 4K-ready for the next Olympics either. Exarchos then diverted attention to broadcasting 1080p HD to mobile devices by saying, “You have to look at where broadcasters are placing their investment. More important to them than 4K is delivery of content to mobile.” That’s because they can rather easily use wireline and wireless broadband to transmit to mobile devices.
This first ran in Rider Research’s Online Reporter.