The 2021 Super Bowl will not be available in 4K or HDR this year when it airs on February 7, CBS Sports Digital confirmed to The edge. The company cites the production constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year was the first time the Super Bowl was available in 4K and HDR, but the stream was broadcast by Fox Sports, which had much more experience with broadcasting 4K NFL games, having previously hosted several games in 4K during both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
CBS, on the other hand, has never before hosted an NFL game in 4K / HDR. Due to the additional complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic that requires more remote operations than usual, the company had to plan to change this year’s big game.
For what’s worth it, even Fox’s streams were not in true 4K, thanks to the complexity of live sports broadcasts – which for the NFL involved dozens of cameras in various locations shooting different angles of action, along with specialty slow motion -movement equipment. Previous 4K streams – including last year’s Super Bowl – were shot in 1080p and HDR, and then scaled up to 4K for broadcast.
Despite the lack of 4K or HDR for this year’s championship, CBS Sports Digital promises to focus on ensuring that streams are reliable and low – delay for this year’s broadcast, and that it’s still committed to more to offer live sports in 4K. and HDR in the future.