BBC and ITV have both faced criticism for their decision not to broadcast World Cup highlights on television, despite the fact that most matches kick off during the night in the UK.
World Cup Coverage Controversy
The World Cup in North America begins today with hosts Mexico facing South Africa, a repeat of the iconic 2010 opening match. That game in Mexico City kicks off at 8pm in the UK, a reasonable time considering the local start is 1pm. However, the second match between South Korea and the Czech Republic is scheduled for 3am BST on Friday morning, when most British football fans are asleep.
Hardly anyone with a job—and arguably in their right mind—will stay up to watch the second Group A game. Yet the only chance to see it on television is live, as neither broadcaster will air a highlights program the following morning.
This pattern will continue throughout the tournament, with all fixtures between midnight and 5am affected. Highlights will be available online via BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app, ITVX, and the ITV website. However, the duration and extent of this online coverage remain unclear. Fans hoping to avoid scores and watch a digestible highlights show like Match of the Day from their sofa have been left angry.
One fan wrote on social media: “Have I got this right? The #BBC and #ITV don’t have a morning or afternoon #MOTD style highlights show of #FIFA #WorldCup games we’ve missed through the night? Diabolical.”
Another said: “I was expecting BBC and ITV to have daily morning highlights shows but it seems not. So if I want to wake up and watch highlights of the overnight matches without knowing the scores what do I do please?”
A third added: “It's such a missed opportunity from BBC and ITV. I don't want to have to search for highlights and find out the scores on video titles and thumbnails.”
BBC and ITV have both been contacted for comment.
Upcoming Fixtures
On Saturday June 13, Brazil start their World Cup campaign against Morocco at 11pm BST, followed by Scotland vs Haiti at 2am and Australia vs Turkey at 5am. England’s first game against Croatia on June 17 kicks off at 9pm, with the second group match against Ghana also at 9pm. The final group game against Panama starts at 10pm. If England fail to top the group, their knockout matches could kick off in the early hours.
