The China Media Group has launched its first 8K channel, CCTV 8K, in China to broadcast the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on big screens in public. No international broadcasters have announced 8K plans.

Winter Olympics in 8K UHD
The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics were supposed to mark the real beginning of 8K but it fizzled out and ended up as a local technology showcase in Japan.

While Sony had 8K TVs ready, Panasonic abandoned its original plan to launch 8K TVs to coincide with the games.

The efforts to realize 8K broadcasting continues and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be shot, produced, and broadcast in 8K Ultra HD, but once again only on large screens in public places. It is not clear if the broadcasts will include HDR (High Dynamic Range).

- "The China Media Group (CMG) on Monday launched "CCTV-8K," an 8K ultra-high-definition TV channel, to broadcast the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to audiences," said the China Media Group. "To meet the goal of presenting the Beijing 2022 via 8K ultra-high-definition technology, the CMG has advanced the construction of the relevant production and broadcasting system, and has accelerated the rapid growth of the whole industrial chain that covers 8K TV production, broadcasting and transmission."


 The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will take place from February 4 to 20

The China Media Group said that it has set up big screens in public places across the country including on train stations along the high-speed railway linking Beijing to the co-host city of Zhangjiakou.

No international broadcasters have announced plans to distribute the 8K UHD feed from Beijing.

The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics marked one of the big steps for HD broadcasting but it took several years still to take HD broadcasting mainstream. Parts of the London 2012 Summer Olympics were broadcast in 4K but even today 4K broadcasting is far from the norm so it is safe to say that it is still early days for 8K.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will take place from February 4 to 20, 2022.