Virgin Media beats rivals to air Wimbledon tennis in 4K UHD and HDR

Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media is to air the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 4K UHD and HDR for the first time.

Virgin Media subscribers equipped with a Virgin TV V6 set-top box will be able to view 4K HDR coverage of the competition from July 1 via the BBC iPlayer app on the box.

While BBC coverage of the event in 4K is available on TVs, via iPlayer or the BBC’s red button service, Virgin Media is the only UK pay TV provider to date to offer UHD and HDR together. Sky is expected to add HDR capability to its Sky Q box later this year.

Virgin Media customers will also be able to watch every match at Wimbledon in HD for the first time by pressing the red button on their remote.

Last month in a UK broadcast first, Virgin Media used Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) technology on its V6 box to broadcast matches from the Roland Garros French open in 4K UHD with HDR on Eurosport.

David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, said: “It’s been a great summer for tennis fans on our TV platform with Roland Garros in 4K HDR last month and now Wimbledon. Our customers will once more feel like they’re courtside with every smash and volley in the best picture quality possible, all from the comfort of their home. Virgin TV really is the best way to watch the best of this summer’s sport”