The BBC has revealed the details of comprehensive coverage of the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil across its multiple platforms.
The tournament promises to be a spectacular festival of football and the corporation will bring football fans every moment of this long-awaited event across TV, radio and digital platforms, in what the BBC is calling its first ’24/7 World Cup’.
BBC Sport will be screening 31 games exclusively live from June 12 to July 13, as well radio commentary of every match, extended highlights and full match replays, analysis and in-depth reports throughout the five weeks of competition.
Live matches will be shown on BBC One and simulcast the BBC Sport website, with simultaneous games on BBC Three and BBC Red Button, while BBC Two will host a morning highlights programme.
In addition, every night after midnight, BBC Two will also show a full match replay of the best game of the day (from both BBC and ITV live games).
The coverage across all BBC TV channels adds up to over 160 hours, over 50% more than the corporation’s coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
On screen, Gary Lineker will lead the BBC TV team for a fourth successive World Cup alongside fellow presenters Mark Chapman and Dan Walker, who will share presenting the early morning highlights shows.
The Match of the Day host will be based in an on-site studio with a backdrop of Rio de Janiero’s famous Copacabana Beach, where he will be joined by many of the biggest names from the world of football.
Headlining the BBC’s World Cup punditry roster is former England captain Rio Ferdinand, France World Cup winner Thierry Henry, and former Dutch midfielder and current AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf.
Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper and former USA international Brad Friedel are new signings for the Radio 5 live punditry team along with Celtic manager and former Northern Ireland midfielder Neil Lennon, who will have a combined role across TV and radio.
They all join BBC regulars across TV and radio such as Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer, Chris Waddle, Martin Keown, Kevin Kilbane, Mark Lawrenson, Danny Mills, Danny Murphy, Phil Neville, Robbie Savage, Pat Nevin, Jason Roberts and John Hartson.
WORLD CUP 2014 ON THE BOX – WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH
The 2014 World Cup marks Alan Hansen’s last tournament as a BBC pundit before he retires from his Match Of The Day role after 22 years, and his role will be celebrated in a special BBC TV programme which will be shown towards the end of the World Cup.
Gabby Logan will be the BBC’s England reporter, bringing all the news and reports from their camp in Rio, while Jason Mohammad will be our roving reporter throughout the tournament with all the news, stories and atmosphere in Brazil.
Leading the BBC’s commentary line-up will be Guy Mowbray, alongside Steve Wilson, Jonathan Pearce, Simon Brotherton and Steve Bower, with co-commentary coming from Mark Lawrenson, Martin Keown, Kevin Kilbane, Phil Neville, Danny Murphy and Robbie Savage.
Legendary BBC commentator John Motson will again be provided his unique take on the tournament across TV, radio and online, in a similar vein to his 2010 role.
Using his considerable insight and experience from 10 World Cup finals and four decades of covering major tournaments, Motty will deliver his take on events in Brazil.
In addition to the football action, the BBC is producing a range of programmes across TV and radio that reflect the sights, sounds, culture and history of Brazil as well as delving deep into the heart of football, fronted by top names including David Beckham, Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand.
Online , bbc.co.uk/worldcup will be the go to destination for fans looking for enhanced live coverage, every single goal, expert analysis, breaking news, exclusive content and interactive features – all available across any device at any time.
Football fans never need miss a minute of this amazing tournament with BBC Sport’s enhanced digital coverage.
Available across PC, tablet, mobile and connected TV, all the live video, radio, breaking news and highlights of every game will be available on any device, at any time.
BBC Sport will also provide a wealth of exclusive content and interactive features, including a daily ‘World Cup breakfast’ video, Gary Lineker’s guide to World Cup penalty shootouts, and ‘World Cup Rewind’ which will give fans the chance to relive and interact with five classic matches from the tournament’s history.
There will be a range of social media integrations in the BBC’s television coverage, including live voting to enable viewers to share their views on key incidents.
There will also be regular curation of the best user generated content around the event into the broadcast and the opportunity for viewers to interact with presenters and pundits through social media question and answer sessions on platforms including Facebook and Twitter.
Barbara Slater, Director, BBC Sport, says: “The BBC is the home of big sporting events and it doesn’t get much bigger than the World Cup. Our aim is for this to be the first truly 24/7 World Cup and we will deliver a complete experience for our audience through both traditional and digital platforms.
“We’ve put together a great cast of pundits, presenters, commentators and reporters to steer audiences though the tournament and we can’t wait to bring the infectious excitement of this competition to our viewers and listeners wherever and whenever they want it.”
With 31 live matches on TV and over 160 hours of programming, including highlights and match replays across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, their respective HD channels and the red button, plus 24 days of live football on Radio 5 live, and all content available to catch up on BBC iPlayer, the BBC is promising to bring fans the most comprehensive coverage of a World Cup ever.
The BBC will be sharing live TV coverage of the 2014 World Cup with ITV, who will be announcing their coverage plans shortly.
UPDATE: Former Brazil and Middlesbrough midfielder Juninho will join the BBC punditry team for this summer’s World Cup.
The 41-year-old won the tournament with Brazil in 2002 and joins a star-studded team across BBC TV, radio and online for the summer’s headline event.
He is likely to be involved in the BBC’s coverage of Brazil v Mexico on June 17, and adds to the likes of Thierry Henry, Rio Ferdinand, Clarence Seedorf and Brad Friedel on the BBC in Brazil.
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