Here's why more sports games aren't broadcast in 4K — but streaming might have the answer

Home entertainment has largely transitioned from cable to streaming. Sure, the cable business is still around, and there are plenty of people with cable subscriptions — but even most people who have cable subscriptions subscribe to streaming services for all the content that they offer.

But sports content lives in both worlds. Live sports are still usually available on cable channels, often broadcast in 1080i, but increasingly, it's streamed on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and even Netflix too.

Unfortunately, while streaming sports is more convenient than tracking down the game on cable, some streams are only available in lower resolutions, while others might appear to be 4K, but actually aren't.

So, what if you want high-quality sports streams? Things are complicated, but here's what you need to know.

Why aren't sports broadcast in 4K?

There are a few reasons why sports networks don't stream in 4K. The fact is that plenty of people really do still watch content over-the-air, and while the ATSC 3.0 standard supports 4K content, plenty of TV stations around the country are still only set up to broadcast in the very dated ATSC 1.0 standard. That could be due to a variety of factors, whether it be regulatory, related to licensing, or simply financial.

Even without that limitation (in the case of streaming services like Prime Video and Apple TV+), it often makes more sense to produce in 1080p and then upscale to 4K, both for cost reasons, and for bandwidth reasons.

Producing native 4K content is expensive and requires much better infrastructure than what many services currently have in place. I don't know about you, but I'd rather a smooth upscaled 1080p feed than a choppy 4K feed that drops connection.

A great example of this is Fox Sports. It doesn't just not produce content in 4K — it doesn't even produce in 1080p. Instead, Fox Sports is mostly produced in a measly 720p (save for some special events, like the Super Bowl, which is produced in 1080p). CBS produces live sports streams in low resolutions too, at only 1080i (not 1080p).

So how do they trick your TV into thinking that they're streaming in 4K? Well, with upscaling. You might be familiar with upscaling as it relates to watching older content on higher-resolution TV. Sometimes, these streams are upscaled before distribution, meaning that the feed that your TV gets is actually a 4K stream (upscaled before it ever reaches your TV), while the rest of the time, it's upscaled on your TV. For example, the Fox Sports app receives a lower-resolution stream, which saves on bandwidth, and then upscales to 4K when you watch it.

So what about sports that are licensed to streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ instead of traditional networks? You would assume they'd be high-quality — but unfortunately, things are a little hit-and-miss there, too. Even Apple TV+'s Major League Soccer streams are 1080p.

Where can you get real 4K sports streams?

Well, the simple fact is that if a network doesn't produce its streams in 4K, you just can't get true 4K. Again, you could get an upscaled feed that actually looks pretty good — but the discerning eye will still be able to tell the difference.

That said, there are still things you can do to ensure you're getting the best possible stream that the network makes available. For starters, avoid watching over-the-air feeds. That's to say, if you want high-quality streams, watching it free-to-air with an antenna (even one of the best antennas) simply isn't the way to go. That's true of the cable streams too. Instead, wherever possible, stream using the network's app.

That, of course, may require spending more money. If you have a cable subscription with access to the network in question, you may be able to access a live stream through that network's app for free by logging in to your account when you open up the app. If you don't, however, you'll likely have to subscribe to the network.

Often, thankfully, the stream to the first-party app and to other apps is the same quality: Fox Sports is streamed both to the Fox Sports app and to Tubi (which is technically first-party considering Fox owns Tubi), but you can also access streams through services like YouTube TV and Sling TV.

YouTube TV streams Fox Sports content in the same upscaled resolution as Fox does in the Fox Sports app. That said, YouTube TV has generally positioned itself as a higher-quality option — so for the most part, YouTube TV does stream at the highest quality that the networks offer. Sling TV, on the other hand, sometimes prioritizes a lower bandwidth. Often, they’ll be the same quality though.

If you're looking for better sports-streaming quality across multiple networks, then a service like YouTube TV could be the way to go. Unfortunately, YouTube TV charges extra for 4K content — but if sports is the most important thing to you, you won't be getting true 4K anyway, and you may actually get a similar quality by simply letting your TV upscale the 1080p feed from YouTube TV.

Will we ever get real 4K sports content?

There are glimmers of hope in the world of sports streaming — but much of that is focused on upgrading to 1080p, not from it.

That's not horrible news, however. Plenty of networks still stream in 720p or 1080i, and upgrading to 1080p is going to make a difference. Some rare streams are produced in 4K, like Netflix's stream of the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight, though perhaps that event proves why sports content should remain in a lower resolution, than why it shouldn't. Don't expect native 4K sports streaming on a regular basis any time soon.

That said, that doesn't mean sports streaming won't seem like it's getting better. Upscaling tech is improving, and in some cases, 1080p content can look like it's in native 4K even if it isn't (that's especially true on the new LG C5 OLED).

For now, if you want the best streams possible, make sure you're actually using a streaming service instead of a free-to-air or cable channel.