Last week, the NBA re-debuted on NBC to generally rave reviews.
We’ll see how long that honeymoon lasts, but there is one thing I know will DEFINITELY stick around: A superior picture quality that makes other networks look like dog water.
Yes, this was just for a few NBA games, but it’s a competitive advantage that’s become evident and universally recognized across NBC’s sports portfolio. Sunday Night Football, EPL, Saturday Night Football, college basketball, and now the NBA. All of these properties look brighter, sharper, and more colorful than their peers’ broadcasts.
To be fair, other networks do sometimes dazzle on this front by offering select games in 4K, but those are usually few and far between. Plus, whether it is truly 4K is a whole other debate.
NBC also benefits in some sports from having a limited number of games to broadcast, particularly in both the NFL and college football. With fewer games to broadcast than Fox and ESPN, NBC can maintain that high standard. Fox and ESPN often air games with lower-quality production (fewer camera angles, lower-resolution cameras, etc.).
All of that said, sports look best on NBC, and it’s just a consistent advantage — an observation I made last week that drew a sizable reaction from those who agreed and nerds trying to explain why.
The NBC picture quality seems ridiculously better too.
Always thought this Sunday Night Football and their Big Ten game, but glad it’s carried over to NBA.
I don’t know the specifics of how they have such a better picture but to me, it’s insanely noticeable
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) October 21, 2025
Ultimately, games feel bigger on NBC because the picture is better and brighter than on the other channels. It feels premium and worth your time. When deciding what to watch, it’s a factor, subconsciously or not.
Sometimes I’m partial to better announcers or louder crowd noise because my brain is trained to think that better announcers and louder crowd noise signal that the game is a bigger deal. But often, when the menu of games to watch is close to equal, NBC gets the nod because the picture quality is the best. It stands out and, for me, makes for a better broadcast. Even if there’s a better game on another channel, I’ll sometimes choose NBC over a broadcast that looks darker and less crisp.
So how does NBC have this advantage?
Sports Video Group has a pair of stories on NBC upgrading its operations facility to full 1080 HDR and their production and camera setup for the NBA. Both are worth your time if you’re really into this stuff.
Additionally, some replies to my tweet about the picture quality highlighted several other advantages, which I’ll include below.
“ABC standard when they went HD was 720p. NBC was 1080. I imagine their transmission and production trucks also are compressing the signal more.”
“NBC streams in HDR. That’s why it looks 4K. It makes an enormous difference.”
“Sony cameras along with cannon lenses, matched with higher frame rate cameras and diligent lighting tests”
“NBC doesn’t skimp on having full bandwidth production onsite and throughout the entire chain until it gets to your house & that includes a heavy hand on affiliates to increase their bandwidth allocations for sports events/olympics/etc.”
“NBC is light-years ahead because they had a guy named Fred Gaudelli running the show who was a wizard when it came to football broadcasts. They’ve taken his approach to all live events. Their 4K HDR is by far the best too. ABC/ESPN 4K is meh.”
Ultimately, it comes down to NBC caring more than its peers. It’s not a proprietary thing. They’ve just decided it’s important and are spending the money to make their broadcasts look better. My curiosity about how exactly they are doing it is minimal to modest, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I hope that, in time, other networks realize that sports fans do notice, and that sometimes viewing decisions are affected when the picture stands out negatively.
In a world where every decision comes down to an asshole with a spreadsheet, I think most sports fans would be in favor of spending more, as the difference is with you every second of what you choose to watch.