“To have what would probably be an extra couple of hundred people out there, and that’s before you build a studio, you’re talking millions.” That was BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski explaining why the corporation chose to present most of the World Cup from Salford rather than the United States. “The actual end product people are getting at home, I don’t really think it’s that different,” he said.
The BBC has defended the decision while cutting 2,000 jobs in an attempt to save £500m. ITV went the other way with a hybrid setup, a rooftop studio in Brooklyn and reporters and pundits at the stadiums.
Viewers split
The Salford approach drew complaints early. For England’s Group L match against Ghana on June 23, Gabby Logan hosted from the studio with Joe Hart, Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards, and Guy Mowbray and Alan Shearer commentating. Viewers posted that iPlayer was “buffering like crazy” and objected to a live interview with Stormzy. One wrote: “Football. Fans. Don’t. Care. About. Celebrities. At. The. World. Cup.” Others took the opposite view and praised presenters Logan and Kelly Cates. “BBC coverage soo much better,” one post read.
The day before, Logan had read out a politics announcement during a live transmission, hours before coverage was pulled off air when France v Iraq was delayed by a thunderstorm warning at the Philadelphia stadium.
England’s run changes the picture
England’s progress has helped the BBC. The Guardian reported that the corporation held the first pick of matches until later in the tournament, with ITV showing two group games before England’s extra-time win over Norway, which drew a peak of 18 million on ITV. The BBC’s own audience for England’s last-16 win over Mexico peaked at 9.1 million, despite a 2am Monday kick-off. That tripled the record for a live broadcast between 2am and 4am, set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
For the semi-final against Argentina, with an 8pm kick-off on Wednesday, the BBC is moving part of its team to Atlanta. Rooney and Richards have joined Shearer, who had been giving brief in-stadium updates, in the United States. ITV has led the ratings so far, but history suggests the BBC will pull ahead for Sunday’s final, which both channels will show live.
Sources
- BBC heads from Salford to Atlanta for live England v Argentina broadcast
- World Cup 2026 viewers fume over BBC's 'unwatchable' England coverage
