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FuboTV set to stream some NCAA tournament games live in 4K

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In recent months, FuboTV has been working hard on expanding its lineup of live streaming channels to better compete with the likes of Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. But the company is making it clear it has not forgotten the sports fans who flocked to its live TV service in the early years: This year marks the first time the provider will be carrying the entire NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, starting March 7 with the early rounds and quarterfinals, to the championship game on April 8. It’s also offering up something that can be hard to find on any TV service: 4K broadcasts of specific Big East Tournament and Big Ten Tournament games. FuboTV claims it’s not only the sole streaming service with 4K coverage of NCAA basketball, but it’s also among just a few 4K options, period.

As cool as 4K streaming is, don’t get too excited. Only a small handful of games will be broadcast in this format, and only during Championship Week (March 13-17). More importantly, if you want to see these games in 4K, you’ll need a compatible device. FuboTV has good support for major streaming devices, like the Apple TV 4K, Chromecast Ultra, Roku 4K-compatible streamers and TVs, and Amazon’s 4K-compatible Fire TV devices. Android TV-equipped streamers and TVs like Nvidia’s Shield TV is a notable omission from the list.

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For a complete list of all the tournament games on FuboTV, check out this helpful schedule.

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FuboTV has been streaming select programs in 4K/HDR since beginning its 4K beta in July of 2018, and as of today, is still the only live streaming service to do so. The platform was built on proprietary software, unlike many of the other live streaming services, which licensed their technology from third parties. It was a risky choice, but one that has apparently delivered substantial benefits. Its lead in the 4K space makes a compelling argument for the decision, as does the fact that FuboTV hasn’t experienced outages during big events, as Hulu and PlayStation Vue did during the 2018 Super Bowl.

As important as 4K/HDR coverage is, even more important from a sports perspective is the ability to watch in 60 frames per second. There’s no point being able to see every pore on your favorite player’s face if those pores become a massive blur the moment they burst into action. The NCAA 4K streams will be in 60 fps, as will any games carried by these FuboTV channels.

For a complete rundown on what FuboTV has to offer, and what its different plans will cost, check out our full FuboTV explainer.

Updated with greater detail on FuboTV’s 60 fps coverage of the games, and that the games will be in 4K, not 4K and HDR as previously reported.

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Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
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