ITV's coverage of the World Cup match between the Netherlands and Japan has been heavily criticized by viewers, who complained about the poor picture quality. The match ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw, with Japan coming back twice after Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville scored for the Netherlands.
Viewers Unhappy with Broadcast Quality
While ITV has received praise for its studio setup in Brooklyn, New York, with a stunning backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, viewers at home were left unimpressed by the picture quality. Many took to social media platform X to express their frustrations.
One viewer wrote: "Whats with the picture quality on @ITV? Absolutely awful. Glad I'm not a football fan because I couldn't sit and watch a match like that." Another said: "The @ITV picture quality of the World Cup is awful. Should have stayed in Salford and invested in some camera technology. It’s like watching on a 24 inch Granada rental in the early 80s."
A third fumed: "@ITV what’s with the poor picture quality of your World Cup games, had to turn off watching the Japan v Dutch game giving me a headache. Same on previous matches." Another added: "@itvfootball belongs in the bin. The picture quality is worse than a dial up stream 20 years ago. It's literally making my eyes go funny. Awful stuff @ITV."
One viewer asked: "Why is the picture-quality so awful for the World Cup on ITV? Is there anywhere else I can watch it?" A sixth wrote: "Props to ITV for showing us lower resolution picture quality than the last time the World Cup was held in Mexico."
ITV's World Cup Coverage Team
ITV's coverage is led by Mark Pougatch, Laura Woods, and Semra Hunter. The punditry team includes Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, Duncan Ferguson, Patrick Vieira, Karen Carney, Ange Postecoglou, Juan Mata, Emma Hayes, Jobi McAnuff, and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, ITV Director of Sport Niall Sloane said: "This is the biggest FIFA World Cup in history and we will be live from New York City for the duration of the tournament, bringing every key moment to life, free-to-air. Nothing unifies the UK audience more than a global sporting event and they don't come much bigger than this. Our broadcast line-up is second to none and our comprehensive coverage across ITV, ITVX, our World Cup 24/7 Channel, plus our digital platforms will ensure the ITV audience doesn't miss a second of action."
Despite the positive remarks from ITV, viewers remain dissatisfied with the technical quality of the broadcasts, calling for improvements.
