BBC wants Brazil to be the first 24/7 World Cup

BBC: we want this to be the first 24/7 World Cup
The BBC's World Cup plans are the most ambitious yet

The BBC has revealed its broadcast plans for the World Cup and this year it is promising that its coverage will be bigger than anything it has done before.

The month-long World Cup in Brazil will offer up some 160 hours of football watching from the Beeb, and the tournament will be covered 24 hours a day thanks to the iPlayer, the BBC sport website and mobile services playing home to matches and the like.


The BBC's director of sport, Barbara Slater, explained that this will be the "most ambitious, most comprehensive broadcast" of any World Cup yet.

All platforms, all audiences

"Given the time difference, our aspiration is to make this the first 24/7 World Cup. A tournament for all platforms, for all audiences," said Slater.

While the coverage of the Euros in 2012 was expansive, Slater says that the BBC has used this as a tipping off point. This means that there will 50% more hours delivered than what was available from the last World Cup in South Africa.

One of the biggest ways you will be able to see the World Cup will be through the iPlayer, where all BBC-filmed games will be available to stream on demand. But that's not all, as it has also ramped up its app output - as well as the BBC sport website.

iPlayer World Cup

160 hours of World Cup goodness will be available

"There will be 160 hours of TV coverage available and you can consume it on smartphones, tablets, connected TVs and laptops," said Mark Cole, Lead Executive BBC Football.

"There will be a highlights show every morning, downloadable stuff for the smartphone and we will also have a second screen experience."

Cole also mention that there would be live text commentary, real-time stats streamed to your device and for the first time in any World Cup real-time voting.

iPlayer World Cup

A daily highlights package will be available

Rise of the tablets

To get more of an idea of the apps, TechRadar spoke to Neil Hall, executive product manager at the BBC who said that a lot has changed since what was offered for the 2012 Euros.

"Since 2012 there has been a rapid rise in tablet use and we wanted to cater for this. Just take the football last weekend: 70% of the audience watching was through a mobile device so the uptake has been massive."

To take advantage of mobile, Hall explained that the second screen for the football will include live stats that will be published faster than in 2012, in-game replays and all the talking points of the game.

And for those who miss any of the action, push notifications of goals can be turned on and a 15-minute highlights package will be available to watch and download each morning, called the World Cup breakfast.

iPlayer World Cup

World Cup Rewind begins 30 May

While the World Cup doesn't kick off until Thursday 12 June, the BBC has created the World Cup rewind which will be available from 30 May and will play host to a number of classic World Cup games, starting with the 1966 final. These games will be played back 'as real' with text commentary.

And for those who don't like football? Well, er, yeah, good luck with that.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.