The BBC (British Broadcast Corporation) has announced that it is finally upping its game when it comes to 4K, and will be showing the upcoming World Cup in both Ultra HD and virtual reality in the UK.
The move marks the first time that the BBC has presented a live tournament in such a way, though technically, it’s still a ‘trial’… and it’s a case of first come, first served to actually watch it.
Billed as being shown in the “best ever picture quality” the broadcaster has offered to date, the BBC had previously dabbled in 2014 and with its showing of the FA Cup Final last month, but appears to be seriously considering ramping up competing with other UK paid-for services (i.e. Sky and BT Sport) who have offered 4K quality for a while.
The first come first served aspect of enjoying the 33 matches of the world’s biggest football tournament may annoy some, however – especially considering many millions who will be hoping to watch. The BBC states that there will only be a limited number of spots to watch for watch each game (expected to be in the tens of thousands).
The tournament will also see BBC introduce its “BBC Sport VR – FIFA World Cup Russia 2018" app (available Apple, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Go and PlayStation VR) allowing anyone with a smartphone or compatible VR headset to experience matches as if they were in Russia (minus the hefty ticket prices and 3 and half-hour flight). One of the coolest parts of this is the ability to switch your view mid-match to enjoy a perspective sat behind one of the goals, for example.
Could this lead the way for the BBC upping its Ultra HD content across other content outside of sporting events? We’re sure many in the UK would be happy to see their TV licence go towards to such a cause…