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Best TV for sports in 2024 – the top TVs for watching sports

Here are some of the best TVs for sports
Last Updated on April 15, 2024
Best tv for sports

If you’re looking for the best TV for sports, then we have you covered right here.

Usually, you won’t find many TVs that are specially labeled as being ‘the best for sports’. However, some TVs come with a bunch of features that promise to tweak your sports-watching sessions.

Now, some TVs do come with a dedicated ‘sports mode’ that adjusts the visual settings to give you an optimal viewing experience. But to go a level above, you can look for a few specs like high refresh rate, high brightness levels, and wider viewing angles.

Most TVs have a 60Hz refresh rate, which is sufficient for general use. But if you go for a 120Hz refresh rate or higher, you should notice a considerable difference, as this rate is much more capable of handling fast-paced action in sports. Plus, if the TV has a motion blur feature, it would be the cherry on top.

Along with this, you should also consider getting a TV with a high brightness level, especially if you will be installing it in a well-lit room and using it during the day. Some of the best TVs for bright rooms have a brightness of over 1000 nits, making them suitable for well-lit environments, and of course, the best TVs for outdoors are similarly impressive.

Another spec to consider here is the anti-glare screen, which should give you wider viewing angles and keep away reflections. Since people will be watching TV from different angles, an anti-glare display would give everyone a comfortable viewing experience.

With that being said, there is quite a wide variety of TVs that fit the bill. So we have looked at several TVs available on the market and picked what we think are some of the best TVs for sports.

Products at a Glance

How we picked

For this guide, we have looked up several TVs available on the market and shortlisted the ones that we think are suitable for watching sports. We have picked the TVs based on specs like display type, refresh rate, and other important aspects. Also, we always keep an eye out for new products to add to our guides and keep them as updated as possible – so do check back here again.

Our Recommended

Product Reviews

1
PROS
  • 4K OLED display
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • Brightness boosting feature
CONS

If you’re looking for the best OLED TV for sports, you can’t really beat the LG C3, which received excellent reviews upon release.

The 65-inch TV sports an OLED display, which is considered to be superior when it comes to picture quality. Plus, you get a 4K resolution, which should deliver sharper and clearer visuals, so you can expect your sporting events to look vibrant and realistic,

The TV has a Brightness Booster feature, which promises to tweak brightness so you can watch comfortably even in well-lit rooms. This should give you better viewing angles and reduce glare if you have a crowd watching TV in your living room.

To further enhance your visuals, the TV has Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, so you should be able to get an immersive, cinematic experience for your favorite sports.

As far as the refresh rate is concerned, the TV comes with a 120Hz rate, so you should not be missing out on any action happening at the moment.

The TV runs webOS 23, which promises to make searching and streaming content easier for you. You can even categorize your favorite content into Quick Cards and access them quickly later. You also get access to over 300 LG channels, which include sports free of cost.

2
PROS
  • 4K QLED display
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • Motion accelerator feature
CONS
  • No Dolby Vision

If you’re looking for a mid-range TV for watching sports, we think that the Samsung QLED TV from the Q70C series might fit the bill.

The TV comes with a 65-inch QLED display, which uses backlighting and quantum dots to deliver better picture quality and contrast than regular LED TVs. Plus, this TV also has Dual LED backlights – warm and cool, and the TV adapts contrast depending on the content being watched.

You get a 4K resolution, which, like some of the best 65-inch TVs, should give you clear and sharp picture quality. In addition to this, the TV comes equipped with Quantum Processor 4K that optimizes and upscales content to 4K, so you can expect your favorite sport in a near-4K quality (if it’s not 4K already). Plus, for HDR, the TV has Quantum HDR, which should deliver deeper blacks and brighter whites for better contrast.

The TV has a 120Hz refresh rate, which means that fast-paced sports should look smooth. Plus, you get Motion Xcelerator Turbo +, which should reduce lag and motion blur.

For gaming, along with a high refresh rate, you get VRR support with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, so your gaming experience should be free of tearing and stuttering.

For more options similar to this, we’d recommend checking out our top picks for the best Samsung TVs and the best QLED TVs.

3
PROS
  • 4K QLED display
  • 1000 nits brightness
  • 144Hz refresh rate
CONS
  • Only 1 HDMI 2.1 port

If budget is a constraint for you, then you should check out this Hisense TV from the U7 series, which is also a budget contender among the best mini-LED TVs.

The TV features a 4K QLED display that is further tweaked by Hisense’s ULED technology, which should give you better brightness, color, contrast, and motion. Plus, the display has mini-LEDs and local dimming, which should deliver better contrast. Like many of the best Hisense TVs, this set has 1000-nits brightness, which should make it suitable for well-lit rooms.

For an immersive experience with your favorite sports, the TV comes with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, so you can expect great video and audio quality.

You get a 144Hz refresh rate, which is not that common in TVs. This rate is more than sufficient for watching sports, and you should be able to watch a lot of fast-paced action without a hitch.

For streaming, the TV comes with Google TV, so you should be able to watch your favorite shows from multiple streaming apps in one place. Plus, you get hands-free controls with voice assistant support, which should make controls easier for you.

4
PROS
  • High peak brightness
  • Intelligent motion enhancing features
  • QLED display
  • Gaming features too!
  • Reasonable price point
CONS
  • Contrast won't stand up to an OLED display

If you’re looking for the best 85-inch TV for sports, we think you can’t go wrong with the TCL Q7 QLED.

Many of the best TCL TVs deliver in terms of price and performance, but what they also have are features that help smoothen out on-screen movement. It’s what makes many of them great for watching sports.

This TV in particular features a 120hz refresh rate and 4K resolution. What that means is that it can go up to 120fps, depending on the source that is. On top of that, however, you’re getting features like Motion Rate 480 with MEMC Frame Insertion. This is a technology that will optimize the picture to make it look like it’s higher frames-per-second. Think in the same way 4K TVs will intelligently upscale FHD content to look more high-definition – it’s pretty much the same thing here but with framerate.

This is also a seriously bright TV, thanks to its QLED display. You’re getting 1,000 peak nit brightness here, which is around 4x the brightness of a standard computer monitor. This means that not only color and contrast are impressive, but it’s also bright enough to blast through well-lit rooms – perfect if you’re watching sports in the day time.

Overall, we’d say this is one of the best 85-inch TVs you can buy right now, and for the price, we think it’s great value for money too.

5
PROS
  • 65-inch LED display
  • Motion blur feature
  • 120Hz refresh rate
CONS
  • Slightly expensive

If you want a premium TV for watching sports, then you should check out this model from Sony’s X85K series.

To start with, the TV sports a 65-inch LED display that promises to reproduce more than a billion accurate colors. Plus, this TV has a 4K UHD resolution, so you can expect the TV to deliver detailed, high-quality pictures.

Much like some of the best Sony TVs, this TV also features a 4K XR-Reality Pro processor that can upscale HD content to 4K, so you should be able to get the best experience.

For a better experience, the TV features Dolby Vision as well as Dolby Atmos, which should deliver a cinematic experience – even with sports events. Plus, you get intelligent motion handling, which should give you blur-free visuals while watching sports.

As far as gaming is concerned, the TV offers a 120Hz refresh rate, which should be enough for fast-paced games. Plus, you get ALLM and VRR support, so you should be able to get a smooth gaming experience.

How to pick the best TV for sports

While browsing through TVs, you can use some of these pointers to find the best one for sports.

Display Size

To determine the right TV size, you can run some quick calculations. Measure the distance between your TV and your seat in inches and then divide that distance by two. For example, if the distance between your TV and couch is 130 inches, then your TV should be around 65 inches.

Display Type

If you browse through TVs online, you will observe that TVs commonly have display types like LED, QLED, and OLED. Depending on your requirements and budget, you can go for one of these types.

Now, LED TVs are commonly available, so you should be able to find a TV with the desired specs within your budget. LED TVs are powered by backlight – either directly or on the edges. The picture quality is not as stunning as OLED displays, but they have decent brightness levels and contrast, making them suitable for most people.

QLED TVs are tweaked LED TVs – they have LED backlighting and quantum dots, which deliver better picture quality, brightness, and contrast.

Meanwhile, OLED TVs are quite expensive, but considering the high picture quality and contrast, the cost is justified. OLED TVs are powered by self-lit pixels, so you can expect stunning visuals along with realistic colors and contrast.

In addition to this, there are some QD-OLED TVs that combine the best of OLED and QLED technologies. So, some of the best QD-OLED TVs have high brightness levels like QLED and deliver incredibly detailed visuals like OLED.

Refresh rate

Usually, TVs come with a refresh rate of 60Hz, which is sufficient for watching fast-paced content like sports and action movies. However, if you go for a 120Hz TV, you will experience much smoother visuals. If your budget allows, you should consider getting a TV with a high refresh rate – especially if you are planning to play video games on it.

Wide viewing angles

If you’re planning to watch sports on TV with family (or a crowd, in general), you should consider getting a TV with wide viewing angles.

Usually, TVs with an IPS display have better brightness and wider viewing angles compared to a VA panel – so make sure you check the panel sub-type.

Some TVs come with an anti-glare display, which reduces reflection and gives you better viewing angles – so this is another feature you should be looking for.

In addition to this, it would be great if you could find a TV that has a motion blur feature.

What is the best TV setting for sports?

If your TV has a ‘Sports Mode’ then all you need to do is turn it on for an optimized experience. However, if you think the picture looks over saturated, then you can try the ‘Cinema’ or ‘Movie’ mode.

Further, you can choose to enable the ‘motion blur’ option, which would give you a smoother viewing experience. You can also try adjusting the brightness levels, contrast, and color temperature as per your preference for a comfortable experience.

What TV refresh rate is best for sports?

If you’re a sports enthusiast and if you watch fast-paced sports like F1 or hockey, then you should consider getting a 120Hz refresh rate. However, if you watched slower sports, then a 60Hz refresh rate would be sufficient for casual viewing.

Our Verdict

We think that the 65-inch LG C3 is one of the best TVs for watching sports available today. The TV has an OLED display, so you can expect stunning picture quality, realistic contrast, and better colors. Plus, you get 4K resolution, which should deliver detailed visuals. The TV has a 120Hz refresh rate, which should be more than sufficient for keeping up with the action happening on screen. You also get Brightness Booster which promises to deliver better brightness levels, which should make the TV suitable for watching in well-lit rooms.