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The national broadcaster has been sharing television coverage duties with ITV throughout the ongoing tournament.

The BBC have taken an unexpected step regarding their World Cup coverage as the event moves towards its thrilling finale.

Viewers in the United Kingdom have been tuning in to both the licence-fee-funded BBC and their commercial rival ITV to watch the 104 matches featured in this summer’s tournament, with broadcasting rights divided between the two networks.

This arrangement naturally invites comparisons, as both broadcasters are essentially delivering the same product. However, there has been one standout difference throughout the tournament: the location of their coverage.

Fans watching ITV’s broadcasts from the early stages of the pre-match build-up have been welcomed by a stunning real-world backdrop of the New York City skyline, visible from their temporary rooftop studio in Brooklyn.

In contrast, the BBC have matched ITV in terms of their expert punditry team—featuring Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards, and Joe Hart among their regular analysts—but have fallen short in terms of visual appeal and atmosphere. Their programmes have been presented from the BBC’s Salford studios, using a digital backdrop image of New York rather than broadcasting from the actual location.

Many supporters had expected the BBC to eventually relocate their coverage to the United States for the knockout stages, but that transition window has now passed, with the quarter-finals just around the corner.

It has now been confirmed that the national broadcaster will not travel to the United States until the semi-finals.

This means that the BBC team will spend less than a week on American soil during the entire tournament. The first semi-final, featuring either France or Morocco against Spain or Belgium, is scheduled for Tuesday, 14 July, with an 8 p.m. BST kick-off.

However, the BBC’s decision to delay their travel until the last four does carry some logic. They only hold rights to one of the three quarter-final matches—Spain versus Belgium—while ITV will broadcast the remaining three fixtures, including the highly anticipated Norway versus England clash.

The BBC have first choice for the semi-final fixtures, and if England progress, they are expected to select the Three Lions’ match, ensuring they will be on location for that crucial encounter.

The decision to base most of their coverage in Salford is reportedly driven by cost-saving considerations, as the BBC is funded through the public licence fee.

Star presenter Mark Chapman will travel earlier to cover England’s match against Norway for BBC Radio 5 Live, while Gabby Logan is set to host the final from New York—making her the first woman to present a World Cup final for the broadcaster.

The BBC recently achieved record viewership for a live UK broadcast airing between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. during their tense Round of 16 clash with Mexico. While the budget-conscious decision to remain largely in Salford has its financial merits, FourFourTwo argues that it has lacked the same sense of prestige and atmosphere that ITV’s on-location coverage has delivered, primarily due to the difference in setting.