The World Cup 2026 kicks off this week and you are surprisingly limited in the ways you can watch it in 4K.
Despite it being 2026, those watching the World Cup in the UK can only watch the tournament in Ultra HD on just one streaming service. That is BBC iPlayer, as ITVX remains unable to offer the higher quality (despite some guides saying it will).
You will have to use the iPlayer app as there’s still no BBC channel which broadcasts in 4K. The Beeb will be showing all of its 54 matches (just over half the 104 for the whole tournament) in what it typically refers to as ‘Ultra HD’ or ‘UHD’ rather than 4K.
Those 54 games will include the World Cup final on 19 July (also on ITV) and will include England’s games in the last 32, last 16 and semi-final if they get that far in the tournament.
Here’s how to watch World Cup matches in 4K on BBC iPlayer
As mentioned, you can’t just switch your TV to the correct BBC channel via the aerial or satellite broadcast and watch in 4K. Instead, there are a few hoops to jump through and boxes to tick:
- A compatible 4K TV or streaming device – most big brands work, including Samsung, LG, Hisense, Roku, Amazon Fire and more. Check the full list here. Sky Q, web browsers, phones, and tablets are not supported.
- Fast enough internet – the BBC says it needs to be 24Mbps for the ‘full 3840 pixel Ultra HD experience’, or 12Mbps for lower-res 2560p.
- A BBC account – sign up for free if you don’t already have one.
- A valid TV license – you’ll need a current license to watch live TV legally.
Once you have all the above stored, make sure your iPlayer video quality is set to ‘Best Quality’ in the settings. Then look out for the UHD icons on World Cup streams.
BBC
When you click ok on a match, it may offer you different quality options, so choose Ultra HD. If you want to watch in HDR, you’ll need a TV that supports HLG (hybrid log gamma), which is the standard used for iPlayer, so check your device specs.
Note that the source feed is in HD, so watching World Cup matches on iPlayer in Ultra HD will mean viewing upscaled content rather than native 4K.