Spanish public service broadcaster RTVE will broadcast the football World Cup in 4K Ultra HD with high dynamic range. It will be the first UHD-4K broadcast on terrestrial television of an event of such length and complexity. In the United Kingdom, the BBC will offer 4K coverage online.
The 4K coverage will be freely available on terrestrial television anywhere within the coverage areas in Spain, which covers around 60% of the population.
RTVE will broadcast all matches played by Spain in the football tournament, with about 20 matches, including the opening game, quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final.
There are currently two UHD channels available in Spain using the DVB-T2 standard: UHD1 in high dynamic range and UHD2 in standard dynamic range. The former will be used to for the UHD broadcasts of the World Cup and will be renamed TVE UHD. Once the tournament is complete, TVE hopes to continue to repeat matches it has the rights to broadcast.
Viewers will need a DVB-T2 compatible television, which includes most sold since 2016 and some earlier models from LG and Samsung.
Pay-television provider Movistar will also deliver World Cup coverage in UHD to compatible decoders.
In the United Kingdom, the BBC will only offer 4K output online, in addition to high-definition coverage on other platforms.
The BBC iPlayer will have a World Cup Extra stream, with exclusive build-up and post-match analysis for selected games, alternative commentaries, and the option for ultra-high-definition quality and high dynamic range pictures, although apparently the sound will only be available in stereo audio.
The BBC also provided the 2018 World Cup in 4K online through the iPlayer, in a trial that was limited to tens of thousands of simultaneous streams.
In the United States, 4K coverage will be available from FOX and online through fuboTV.