The 2016 Rio Olympics won't broadcast in 4K

Even though it's likely that 4K will be available via Sky, Virgin and the new Ultra HD Blu-ray format in 2016 the International Olympic Committee won't be including it as part of the broadcast package for the games.

Yiannis Exarchos, the CEO of Olympic Broadcast Services told The Hollywood Reporter that "There is no demand from our rights holders for 4K" going on to say "We have to take our cue from broadcasters". OBS is, apparently, working with NHK the Japanese broadcaster on its 8K format. It's likely that no one outside of Japan will see this, but even so recording 8K would make for a good archive copy of the 2016 games.

It does, however, sound like that could change if companies like the BBC and NBC in the US start to gear-up for 4K broadcasts. It's quite unlikely that the BBC will be ready for 4K by then, but the rest of the European channels may have other plans for ultra high definition TV. In the UK, it's difficult (but not impossible) for the BBC to launch a service unless it can do so on all platforms. So while Sky and Virgin could take a 4K channel, it's unlikely Freeview could by then.

Mobile and VR are a possibility though

On the plus side, mobile will be a priority for Rio, as will some sort of Virtual Reality. That's a exciting idea as the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift are both going to make 2015 a year of VR. It would be pretty cool to explore the Olympic park in VR, and technically it would be possible to show video from events too.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter