It's been a long time coming, but Sky is finally ready to broadcast live sports in HDR. Sky's live HDR sports broadcast begin with the Olympics (right about... now!), and continue with the 2021/22 Premier League season, which begins on 13th August.
Over the course of the the Games, Sky Q customers will be able to tune into over 200 hours of live 4K HDR Olympic action on the dedicated 'Eurosport 4K' channel, which is accessible via the red button on the remote. There will also be seven Tokyo 2020-specific Eurosport pop-up channels available in HD.
If that's not enough Olympic content (and do remember that the BBC will also be broadcasting a huge amount, more on which below), subscribers can also sign up for Discovery+, where it's going to be possible to stream 55 live event feeds with thousands of hours of coverage and on-demand action at no extra cost.
To watch Sky's HDR coverage, users will need an HLG-compatible HDR TV, an HDR-ready Sky Q box, and either an 'Ultra HD + HD' or 'Q Experience Sky' subscription. A three-month free upgrade to the UHD service is currently available via the Sky VIP app until the 26th of August.
For UK fans, the only other place to view Tokyo 2020 coverage will be the BBC, which will be broadcasting 350 hours of the games on BBC1/BBC2 in addition to a live stream on BBC iPlayer. Unfortunately, plans to present at least some of that footage in 4K and HDR were shelved, apparently as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
Today's announcement marks Sky's latest foray into HDR after adding support for the HLG format in its Sky Q set-top boxes in May 2020. Live sports join the broadcaster's existing HDR offering, which includes several Sky Nature shows, over 100 movies, and several Sky Originals, including Intergalactic, Breeders (Season 2) and Bloods.
Football will be next to get the HDR treatment as live Premier League matches will be available in Ultra HD with HDR, kicking off with the 2021/22 season's first match on 13th August, in which newcomers Brentford will take on fellow Londoners Arsenal. To watch Sky Q’s HDR Premier League coverage you'll need a Sky Sports or Sky Sports Football subscription as well as an HDR-ready Sky Q box and HLG-compatible TV.
MORE
How to watch HDR on Sky Q: what do you need? What HDR shows are available?
Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG): the 4K HDR TV broadcast format explained
Best HDR TVs 2021: the ultimate high dynamic range TVs
