Roland-Garros 2026, the end of native Ultra HD 4K

If you've followed the inquiry into the neutrality, operation, and financing of public broadcasting, which questioned the profitability of native 4K UHD recordings outside of the Olympic Games, on the one hand, and the government and Senate's request in October-November 2025 for a structural savings plan of €140 million for 2026, on the other (a necessary effort confirmed by the Court of Auditors' analysis and approved on December 18th by the France Télévisions board of directors), it didn't take a genius to doubt the future viability of native 4K Ultra HD recordings by France Télévisions teams.

Roland-Garros 2026 switches to 1080p/50 HDR££££

While not entirely official (we must wait for the publication of the commission's final report, whose hearings ended on April 8), the broadcast of Roland-Garros 2026 should therefore be produced in 1080p/50 HDR, then offered in Ultra HD upscaled to HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR (the latter remains to be confirmed). The existing fleet of 4K UHD cameras would remain in place, but they would simply be configured for Full HD…

France TV, a technological leader yesterday… constrained today. As a reminder, Roland-Garros and Ultra HD 4K have a history dating back to 2013 for the first tests and 2014 for the first broadcasts. Looking at the bigger picture, it's worth remembering that the broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in UHD 4K HDR10 and Dolby Atmos on digital terrestrial television (TNT) was a world first and allowed France TV to assume the role of technological leader in this area and gain international recognition. What a waste…