With England’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup now confirmed, BBC Sport at MediaCityUK is preparing for the “logistical challenge” of covering the competition.
Brazil is not only 30 times the size of the UK, but the 12 stadia are split across 2 different time zones.
For BBC Sport director, Barbara Slater there is one major bonus and that’s that nearly all the matches will kick off between 5pm and 11pm BST.
She said that following the broadcast and digital coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, “audiences have told us they expect the BBC to raise the bar in the future.
“The BBC will be offering more content than ever for this World Cup, with an aspiration to deliver a ‘24-hour service’, personalised according to whatever device or platform that audiences want to use.”
Gary Lineker will take the presenting lead for television, while Mark Pougatch will be doing the same for Radio 5 Live. BBC News coverage will be headed up by sports editor David Bond. The BBC World Service will link up with BBC Brasil to cover the international angles.
“There are 48 matches in the opening 15 days, so it represents a huge logistical challenge for our planners – an effort outweighed only by the privilege and sense of pride that comes with covering a World Cup in Brazil. We can’t wait for the main draw to take place in Bahia in early December so that we can finalise our plans – we’ll be live in Brazil for that enticing milestone,” added Slater in her blog.
“The World Cup is the highlight of the international football calendar and next year’s tournament will most likely be watched or listened to, by over three-quarters of the UK population. We believe the quality of our production must do justice to that level of national interest as well as the significant investment required to acquire the broadcast rights.”
The main television studio will be located in central Rio, in one of FIFA’s 10 international studio sets.
