ITV starts World Cup coverage amid controversies and BBC comparisons

"

Mark Pougatch acknowledged the controversies surrounding the tournament, while capturing the excitement of football fans Don’t mention the war. Mark Pougatch mentioned it, right at the start of ITV’s World Cup coverage, but I think he got away with it. He also, to his credit, highlighted the outrageous ticket prices, as well as the disgraceful treatment of the teams, fans and officials who now find themselves persona non grata in America. Even Donald J Trump, the first (and quite possibly last) holder of the Fifa Peace Prize, got a mention. Pougatch also gave a visibly emotional Ian Wright the chance to suggest that the US has “no idea of the spirit of the game”. All unexpectedly and encouragingly feisty. Of course, it was no Gary Lineker, railing against the hosts’ human rights record while launching the BBC’s coverage of Qatar 2022. But Lineker is a corporation ghost now – no longer at the Beeb but podcasting for Netflix. The BBC have, on the grounds of cost, opted to present this World Cup from an austerity bunker in Salford. The Telegraph derided this as a “work from home” operation. ITV are already having some fun with it too. Continue reading...

"

Journalistic muscles were flexed with Ros Atkins factchecking real-world issues with production offering merits more achievable by working from home Must a World Cup broadcast be on location? The BBC, for reasons of cost and environmental concerns, has rolled back to when tournaments were beamed back to the UK. Halcyon days of Brian Moore and Des Lynam accompanied by pundits in garish knitwear and beige furniture are long gone, if lamented. How to recapture their magic? Need it be a problem when the domestic market leader, Sky’s Monday Night Football, is broadcast from a business park near the M4? ITV had the first two games – Mexico v South Africa and South Korea v Czechia – but its Brooklyn views of Lower Manhattan may yet fall victim to elements accentuated by those environmental issues. It also asks one of the World Cup’s leading questions: how dialled in is the American public? The distracting activity taking place behind Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane suggests a city carrying out business as usual even while hot takes are cooked on the veranda. Continue reading...