World Cup 2018 has become a showcase for 4K, as several MVPDs are offering tournament matches in that format.

RELATED: World Cup 2018 Sets Stage for Video Tech Showcase

However, Intelsat and Latin American broadcaster Globo will be taking it up a notch by demonstrating live 8K video transmissions during the big soccer tourney.

Starting today through July 15, the companies will work together on an 8K exhibition at the Museu de Amanhã in Rio de Janeiro’s science museum, showing off signals that support 7680 x 4320 pixel resolution. 

Altice USA Offering World Cup Matches in 4K

The demo signal, transmitted in a 200 Mbps video stream, will travel quite the route to its end destination at the demo site.

The signal initially will be generated at the International Broadcast Center in Moscow and be transported to Tokyo. From there, it will be carried to Intelsat via the company’s point of presence in New York and sent via the Intelsat One terrestrial network to the company’s teleport in Atlanta, where it will be re-encoded at 90 Mbps using a special NTT 8K HEVC encoder.

Once the video is compressed, it will be modulated by a Newtec MDM-6100 modem in DVB-S2 and uplinked to the Intelsat 14 satellite, a new video neighborhood for Latin America that specializes in HD and 4K content distribution.

The World Cup demo enters focus as 8K-capable displays just start to trickle into the market. According to a forecast from IHS Markit, just 1% of displays in the 60-inch and larger category will support 7680x4320 pixel resolution this year, and climb to 9% in 2020 and 19% by 2024.

RELATED: 2018 to Mark Starting Point for 8K Displays: IHS Markit

“While 8K technology is still evolving and further advancements in compression technology standards are needed, Intelsat’s premier video neighborhoods have proven that they are equipped to distribute 8K content to millions of viewers around the world,” Rob Cerbone, Intelsat’s VP and GM, media, said in a statement. 

Add Altice USA to the mix of pay TV providers that are offering 2018 World Cup games in the pixel-packed 4K format.  

Altice USA said the majority of World Cup matches will be offered in 4K on channel 200. Subs will need a 4K TV as well as the MSO’s recently launched Altice One all-services box. That device is available in Altice USA’s Optimum footprint (formerly Cablevision Systems) and is starting to make its way into the Suddenlink service footprint.  

RELATED: World Cup 2018 Sets Stage for Video Tech Showcase

Speaking on the company’s Q1 call in early May, CEO Dexter Goei estimated that about 100,000 subs in the Optimum footprint are on the Altice One platform, with 80% of video gross adds connected to the new device on a daily basis.  

RELATED: Altice USA Unveils ‘Altice One’ 

 Altice One users will also be able to call up World Cup features and coverage with the device’s integrated voice remote.  

Additionally, all World Cup matches on Fox and FS1 in HD will also be restart-enabled, meaning they can be accessed even if they aren’t being recorded.  

Among other U.S. MVPDs, DirecTV, Layer3 TV and Dish Network are also offering live World Cup matches in 4K, or in 4K and HDR.

As part of its update, DirecTV said it will deliver the 4K HDR feeds on channel 105 and 106. DirecTV is also offering a four-day free preview of “marquee” FS1 content, including six World Cup matches, to subs who don’t currently get that network in their subscription packages. 

NBC Sports Digital said the authenticated NBC Sports app has added another platform to the streaming mix following support for Sony's PlayStation 4 gaming console.  

The app delivers thousands of live sporting events airing on NBC, NBCSN and Golf Channel. Examples from this year include the NHL Winter Classic, the NHL All-Star Game, Super Bowl LII, the Winter Olympic Games from PyeongChang, the Premier League, and the French Open and Triple Crown.  

Starting with today’s World Cup opening match between Saudi Arabia and host country Russia, the NBC Sports app is also live-streaming Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage of the tournament. 

The NBC Sports app is also supported on Fire TV devices and Fire tablets, Apple TV, Xbox consoles, Chromecast streaming adapters, Roku players and Roku TVs, certain Samsung smart TV models, web browsers, and Android and iOS mobile devices.  

The app is powered by NBC’s Playmaker Media division  

RELATED: NBC Sports Digital Launches Playmaker Media

Dish Network shed a few more details about its plans to offer all World Cup 2018 matches in 4K and High Dynamic Range.

RELATED: World Cup 2018 Sets Stage for Video Tech Showcase

Dish said its coverage in the format, which started today with the matchup between Saudi Arabia and tournament host Russia, is being delivered on channel 540. World Cup signals in 4K HDR from Dish are supported on its Hopper 3 DVR. Viewers, of course, will also need a 4K HDR TV to watch the World Cup fixtures in their full glory.

Among U.S. MVPDs, Layer3 TV and DirecTV are also delivering World Cup games in 4K. Comcast X1 subs with 4K-capable boxes will have access to Telemundo’s 4K coverage of the World Cup on a VOD, next-day basis.

RELATED: Layer3 TV to Offer Live World Cup Matches in 4K

Dish is also helping subs keep tabs on the matches – and how to view or record them – via its Soccer Zone app. The app, available through July 15 on all internet-connected Hopper devices, also lets customers select favorite countries, view scores and stats, and track how teams make their way through the group stages and brackets.

Dish said Soccer Zone is featured in the Apps menu, Dish’s GameFinder app, and can be accessed on channel 835.

Among OTT TV providers, Hulu announced this week that it will offer live and on-demand coverage of all World Cup matches across Fox and FS1 (99% Fox coverage – 96% local affiliates, 3% national) and Telemundo (100% coverage), along with recaps and highlights.

Hulu also has added a World Cup Hub that highlights all live and upcoming games, as well as a “Team Collection” area where viewers can find their favorite teams and add them to the service’s “My Stuff” area so those games are recorded as the tournament progresses.

For the semifinals and finals games of the tournament, Hulu will offer a multi-stream experience (five live bonus feeds) to its live TV subscribers.

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With their first men’s World Cup about to kick off, Fox and Telemundo say they’re near their ad sales goals.

This year’s tournament presented some challenges for the networks. The U.S. team was surprisingly eliminated from the event last year, erasing what were expected to be two high-rated games, particularly for Fox. And with matches taking place in Russia, much of the live viewing will take place early in the day, rather than in primetime. 

Nevertheless both broadcasters said they found strong demand from advertisers for this year’s World Cup. 

“Two days from the start of the World Cup, the demand we’ve had has far outpaced our expectations from when the U.S. didn’t qualify,” said Mike Petruzzi, senior VP for ad sales at Fox Sports. “We believe this will be one of the best performing World Cups on English language television.” 

Fox did not disclose how much ad revenue it generated, but Kantar Media estimated that four years ago, ABC and ESPN, which held the U.S. English language rights, garnered $187 million in ad sales. Kantar estimates that Univision sold $336 million worth of ads in 2014. 

To get the rights for the next two men’s World Cups, plus two women’s World Cups and a few other less prominent tournaments, Fox paid $400 million and Telemundo parent Comcast ponied up $600 million for the Spanish-language rights. 

Initially, it was estimated that the loss of the U.S. team would cost Fox about $20 million in ad sales, but it appears the bite will be significantly smaller. 

“How will domestic ad revenue hold up in a year when the U.S. is not represented in the tournament? In two words, ‘Just fine,’” said Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media 

Fox saw some last-minute demand for ads when the NBA Finals ended after a four-game sweep. Some advertisers, including movie studios, saw their flights cut short when the season ended early and were looking for high rated programming to promote films. 

Sources familiar with the situation said Fox was largely sold out for the group stage, when it will be airing attractive matches including Portugal versus Spain (June 15) and Germany versus Mexico (June 17). 

In the later rounds, Fox is telling advertisers it will be charging premium prices for commercials bought at the last minute. 

While ratings may be challenged to the games being played in the Russian time zone, streaming and digital revenue is expected to be up sharply from four years ago. 

Similarly, Telemundo said it was pleased with its ad sales efforts. 

“The NBCUniversal Hispanic Group has virtually fulfilled its inventory and revenue goals for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,” said Laura Molen, executive VP, Lifestyle and Hispanic Advertising Sales at NBCUniversal. “Acknowledging that our clients continue to look for ways to partner with the program, we will continue to develop additional opportunities for advertisers to be a part of the games throughout the entire tournament.” 

Sources said Telemundo was looking to sell more than $200 million in ad revenue. The auto and beverage categories were strong, as were movie studios and technology category. 

To demonstrate the effectiveness of its ads, Telemundo is offering advertisers studies from Horowitz and Telemundo’s MiTelemundo community, cross platform and digital studies from Millward Brown and biometric neuro studies from Spark Neuro. 

NBCU will be airing some of the Spanish-language World Cup games on NBCSN. 

Telemundo plans to support its broadcast with a range of digital content, platforms and partnership. 

It launched a Telemundo Deportes VR App that will let viewers watch all 64 games via virtual reality technology. 

Real-time musical GIFs will be available via a partnership with Gifnote and the Telemundo Deportes app will feature a custom emoji keyboard. 

A Goal! Shootout game will be released for the Instant games platform on Messenger and Facebook.

Layer3 TV, the Denver-based MVPD, will be among a select group of pay TV providers that will offer Fox Sports’ live coverage of the 2018 World Cup tournament in 4K.  

Layer3 TV said it will make all 64 World Cup matches, starting with Thursday’s kick-off fixture between Saudi Arabia and host Russia, available in 4K, and will provide that coverage on two 4K channels.   

RELATED: World Cup 2018 Sets Stage for Video Tech Showcase  

Layer3 TV, acquired by T-Mobile in January, supports 4K on every set-top box and doesn’t charge extra for 4K content. To enjoy that content in its full, pixel-packed glory, Layer3 TV customers will also need a 4K-capable TV set. 

“The World Cup is one of those events that the entire world tunes in for, and our subscribers expect the best quality picture possible for every corner kick and goal,” Jeff Binder, executive vice president of T-Mobile Home + Entertainment, said in a statement. “Fox’s passionate soccer fans can get closer than ever to the fields this year with 4K resolution on Layer3 TV.”  

Layer3 TV began to offer live and VOD content in 4K in March 2017, and today offers channels in the format such as Insight UHD and Nasa TV UHD.  

RELATED: Layer3 TV Adds Live, On-Demand 4K Fare 

Layer3 TV currently offers a managed, in-home-focused IPTV service in markets such as Washington, D.C.; Dallas; Longmont, Colo.; Los Angeles, Calif.; and Chicago. T-Mobile is also working on a national, OTT-delivered version of the service that’s expected to launch later this year.  

RELATED: T-Mobile’s Jeff Binder: 5G Is ‘Perfect Delivery Mechanism for Video’ 

Among other U.S.-based MVPDs, DirecTV will offer live 4K HDR coverage of World Cup 2018 to customers with the right tech set-up. Dish Network will offer the games in 4K format, according to TVAnswerman.com. Comcast X1 subs with 4K-capable boxes will have access to Telemundo’s 4K coverage of the World Cup on a VOD, next-day basis.  

fuboTV, the sports-focused OTT TV service, said it is introducing a new home page with new discovery features ahead of World Cup 2018, the global soccer tourney that kicks off this Thursday (June 14) when ost Russia takes on Saudi Arabia in group action.

RELATED: Comcast Brings World Cup Content Hub to X1

The new discovery capability is designed to highlight tournament fixtures as well as other sporting events piped in from channels on fuboTV’s lineup, including CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW, alongside entertainment and news programming.

RELATED: U.S., Latin American Networks Tap CenturyLink for Live World Cup Feeds

The updated home page will include “blended” content that spans those different programming areas, rather than just sports content.

A new “Featured” section provides a fuboTV-curated view based on popularity among sports, series and movies, While Recommendations will be tallied based on viewing history. That personalization element will be offered to each user profile within a subscription (fuboTV’s baseline service offers two simultaneous streams and the ability to purchase an additional stream) in the “coming months,” the service noted.

Following a similar effort around the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, Comcast has kicked off a content hub on its X1 platform dedicated to the 2018 FIFA World Cup that will feature integrated access to live matches in English and Spanish, full-game replays, real-time analytics and game and team stats.

RELATED: Comcast: 76% of X1 Homes Tuned Into the Winter Games Programming

The X1-facing initiative for the big soccer tourney will feature Telemundo’s and Fox’s live World Cup coverage, as well as web-delivered video, and the ability to navigate and search for that content using the X1 voice remote (Comcast noted that more than 1.5 billion voice commands were generated on X1 in Q1 2018). Via the Xfinity Stream app, Comcast subs will also be able to view live matches offered on Telemundo, Universo, Fox and FS1 and access game replays and highlights on an on-demand basis.

Comcast said it will also, for the first, time, let its pay TV customers receive notifications on TVs and smartphones when their favorite team is about to hit the pitch. In the smartphone setup, users can receive text messages with the alerts and a direct link to the Xfinity Stream app, Comcast said.

For X1 boxes, the integrated Sports App will provide a way for viewers to set up recordings and watch live matches and access real-time stats from matches.

Taking advantage of its deep metadata capabilities that can distill and decipher what’s occurring inside a TV show, movie or sporting event, viewers who record World Cup games to the DVR will have the ability to jump to goals and other high-impact plays during the match.

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Comcast said X1 subs with also be able to view Telemundo’s 4K coverage of the World Cup on a VOD, next-day basis, similar to how the service provider handled 4K fare tied to the 2018 Winter Games. To view those games in those advanced formats, Comcast subs will need a 4K-capable X1 box and a 4K television.

Among the elements, the World Cup Home hub will serve as the umbrella for all World Cup content offered via X1. A World Cup Channels feature will provide curated highlights from the tournament, including top goals, trending highlights, interviews and match analysis.