The 2021 Super Bowl will not be available for broadcast in 4K or HDR this year, when it airs on February 7, CBS Sports Digital confirmed the The Verge. The company is citing production limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason.
Last year marked the first time that the Super Bowl was available in 4K and HDR, but that stream was streamed by Fox Sports, which had much more experience in streaming NFL games in 4K, having previously offered several 4K games during 2019 and 2020 seasons.
CBS, on the other hand, has never offered an NFL game in 4K / HDR before. Given the additional complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, which require more remote than normal operations, the company had to change plans for this year’s big game.
For what it’s worth, however, even Fox’s streams weren’t in true 4K, thanks to the complexity of live sports broadcasts – which, for the NFL, involves dozens of cameras in various locations filming different angles of the action, along with special slowness – movement equipment. Previous 4K broadcasts – including last year’s Super Bowl – were shot in 1080p and HDR and then increased to 4K for the broadcast.
Despite the lack of 4K or HDR for this year’s championship, CBS Sports Digital promises that it will focus on ensuring that broadcasts are reliable and low latency for this year’s broadcast, and that it will remain committed to offering more live sports in 4K and HDR in the future.