Sports content helping drive interest in 4K: experts

Sports fans are an ideal market to sell 4K content to in its early stages, say analysts, though at least one expert says this quality of video has not yet achieved "must-have" status. Richard Grunberg, associate professor of media at Ryerson University, said in a phone interview that most consumers see the transition from regular high definition (HD) to 4K as a less dramatic change than the move from standard definition to HD. He added that content producers are already creating content in 4K, making them ready for when the 4K market goes mainstream. A few years ago, when the market was changing from standard definition to HD, TV-program creators were not as quick to create HD-quality content, Grunberg said. But now, he said, content-production companies know the 4K market is growing and are “filming from the get-go” in 4K quality, and that “almost all productions are shot on technology” that produces 4K content. Grunberg said that sports fans are the types of viewers who will appreciate 4K content most in these early days. While some consumers might not see a major difference between HD and 4K, those who watch sports will, he said. “They see the golf ball flying in the air even in a wide shot. … They want to see the football on the field clearly. They want to see the baseball flying in the air,” he said. He added that most sports enthusiasts are “a niche audience that’s always looking for the next big thing,” and that they are usually the consumers that have a bigger TV and are willing to spend more money for better visual quality. Earlier this week, Rogers Communications Inc. announced it was making a foray into 4K content with new set-top boxes to be released before the end of the year. Rogers is using sports as an incentive for viewers by announcing plans that all home games of the Toronto Blue Jays, which it owns, will be on its Sportsnet channel will be in 4K, as will 20 National Hockey League games next year. In early August, Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced the release of a 4K set-top box, making it the first Canadian telecom provider to commercially release such technology. Barry Kiefl, president of Canadian Media Research Inc., said in a phone interview that the move for Rogers to provide sports in 4K could be the game-changer for TV consumption. He said that while most people who want 4K content are sports fans, within the next year or two, 10 to 20 per cent of all households will have a 4K TV and set-top box. “People are trying to future-proof their purchases so they buy the 4K set-top box,” Kiefl said, adding the prices have been dropping for 4K sets. He added that for service providers like Rogers and Videotron, moving into the 4K market gives them “a significant leg up over other companies” because their services will be purchased by those who have 4K TVs, who will eventually want more of their viewing content in 4K. Kiefl also said 4K is ideal for sports fans. “Fast moving sports like hockey will be more enjoyable to watch as viewers will be able to see the strategy of the game unfold,” he said in an email. Kaan Yigit, president at Solutions Research Group Consultants Inc., said in a phone interview that while there is a segment of the population that will benefit from watching sports in 4K quality, so far it's not proving to be a "must-have." “4K is an incremental change from where we are now, but it’s not a complete revolution," he said. "It’s a nice thing to put on your list of features that you have as a service … and there will be a segment of the population that will find it very attractive, but it’s just not so mainstream where people will say they will only buy something if it is in 4K." He added that sports consumers might prefer to watch in a higher resolution to see details, but technology that increases access to the content is more important right now than 4K-quality viewing. “Right now, as we speak," he said Friday afternoon, "the Blue Jays game is on and there are three or four laptop screens that are streaming it, and people aren’t complaining it’s not in 4K. The more important thing is that they are able to actually watch the game." He added: “If it’s the Super Bowl, sure you would want to watch it on as big of a screen as possible with as high-quality resolution as possible. But by and large, I think a lot of people have good HD setups and HD boxes and the fidelity is quiet stellar, so 4K … is a nice thing to have but not a must-have,” Yigit said. — With reporting by Shruti Shekar at sshekar@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

Sports content helping drive interest in 4K: experts

Broadcast | October 9, 2015

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