Monte Azul · Midfielder · #0 · Brazil · 28 yrs
Mark Pougatch acknowledged the controversies surrounding the tournament, while capturing the excitement of football fansDon’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 the US. 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...
WORLD CUP 2026: Netflix ‘begged’ to stream 40 consecutive episodes of Lineker’s ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast during the World Cup, which will seek to challenge Gary Neville’s ‘Stick to Football’ for cut-through rather than the BBC or ITV. By Jamie Braidwood
Netflix ‘begged’ to stream 40 consecutive episodes of Lineker’s ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast during the World Cup, which will seek to challenge Gary Neville’s ‘Stick to Football’ for cut-through rather than the BBC or ITV. By Jamie Braidwood
Football’s staying home for the belt-tightening Beeb, while ITV and Gary Lineker’s popular podcast present from glitzy studios in New YorkIt is the biggest World Cup in history, and perhaps the most unpredictable. How will England and Scotland fare in the heat? Who drew Curaçao in the office sweepstake?And, crucially, will anyone notice that the BBC is broadcasting this giant sporting spectacle from 4,000 miles away in Salford? Continue reading...
This summer’s hottest rivalry no longer belongs to the BBC and ITV, but football’s online and streaming presenceFor the first time since the BBC and ITV began sharing World Cup coverage in 1966 their local rivalry will not be the main broadcasting battleground this summer.In keeping with the first World Cup staged across three countries the expanded 48-team tournament will play out as a global media event, with YouTube and TikTok broadcasting live action for the first time and Netflix streaming a daily TV show, Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football, with the previously homespun podcast relocating to Times Square for almost six weeks. Continue reading...
