TNT Sport red button channels not HD

[DunkirkPie]

I was previously a BT customer but it got too expensive, so I switched to VM in the summer.

In anticipation of the new Champions League format I included TNT Sport in my package.  Tonight I sat down to watch Benfica v Atletico Madrid.  I couldn't find it on the TV guide but eventually figured out that it was on TNT Sport 7, which is accessed via the red button.

Feeling rather pleased with myself I tuned in, but it was immediately obvious that the picture wasn't HD.  I rang VM, and when I (eventually) got to speak to a human being, she told me that only TNT Sport 1-4 are broadcast in HD; the extra channels (TNT Sport 5-10) aren't broadcast in HD on Virgin Media boxes (although Lille v Real Madrid on TNT Sport 5 was definitely being shown in HD, so make of that what you will).

I was absolutely flabbergasted by this - it certainly wasn't mentioned when I signed up, and after an hour's Googling there seems to be very little useful information online to either confirm or refute it.

Has anybody else had this discussion with anybody at VM?  It seems incredible to me that in 2024 broadcasters would expect people to pay extra to watch sport in SD.  I thought I was paying for the option of choosing between seven matches, but tonight I had the choice of three.

[ozsat]

Is is the same on Sky - TNT Sports 5-10 are only provided in HD to BT/EE tv and on Discovery+.

[japitts]

TNT Sports 1-4 are carried as linear broadcast channels in HD. TNT Sports 5+ are red-button interactive streams and not so.

I think you'll struggle to find any advertising stating that all TNT Sports services outwith their broadcast channels, are carried in HD. Sky Sports is only in SD as standard, the HD variants attract a £7/month supplement.

[Roger_Gooner]

This is nothing new, during the pandemic football matches were broadcast with fake crowd noises and you had to use the red button to get the genuine (low-volume) noises and it was in SD. Basically the red button is used as a cheap way to stream a lot of additional matches without going to the hassle and expense of setting up extra broadcast TV channels.

[nodrogd]

As per the above. The broadcaster decides what they provide & at what resolution. Virgin just pass it on to the customers.

[DunkirkPie]

Thanks for the replies. I remain amazed that 18 years after Sky started showing football in HD, and nine years after BT started showing football in 4k, any sports broadcaster would still be expecting people to pay for standard definition content. I wouldn't watch it even if it was free - SD football is unwatchable on the large TVs that many people have now.

It's really not good enough, so I've cancelled my TNT Sport package.  TNT Sport seem to be on a mission to reduce the quality of their output anyway (no highlights programmes on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, replacing James Richardson with Matt Smith, continuing to employ Robbie Savage, Darren Fletcher's absurdly biased commentary) so I won't miss it much.

[DunkirkPie]

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@japitts wrote:

TNT Sports 1-4 are carried as linear broadcast channels in HD. TNT Sports 5+ are red-button interactive streams and not so.

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TNT Sports 5 was definitely in HD last night on the red button on Virgin.

[nodrogd]

It's the old problem. TNT, like Sky are not only the channel owners but a TV platform operator. They will always favour the customers that pay direct on their own platform above those receiving the content wholesale through another competing platform.

[Roger_Gooner]

How do you know it was HD.

[DunkirkPie]

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@Roger_Gooner wrote:

How do you know it was HD.

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How do you think I know?  Because I watched it for a bit.