The BBC will send a team to the US to broadcast the World Cup semi-finals from the venue, and will broadcast the majority of the tournament from the UK.
The broadcaster’s coverage of the tournament has come under heavy criticism for being based out of a studio in Salford rather than in the state like rival ITV, which has been broadcasting from an impressive rooftop in Brooklyn in recent weeks.
The BBC’s choice to remain in the UK was part of a cost-cutting move, but key presenters and pundits will now travel to cover tournament finals.
A new report from the Telegraph has revealed that a number of leading players, including Gabby Logan, are set to depart ahead of next week’s semi-final, in which the broadcaster holds the “first pick”.
This means England will play Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday night, with a win in their opponents’ televised match securing England’s place ahead of ITV.
However, if Thomas Tuchel’s side are eliminated from the competition in Miami, there remains the possibility that the BBC will not be able to broadcast England’s matches entirely ‘on location’.
The broadcaster’s sports director Alex Kay-Jelski said the decision to set up a studio in Salford would save license fee payers “millions” of pounds. However, the report has attracted harsh scrutiny, with former presenter Gary Lineker also criticizing it.
Lineker, whose podcast covering the World Cup, The Rest is Football, airs on Netflix, said in April he was relishing the prospect of being on a ground in the United States rather than “the green box in Salford”.
And when ITV scored an even bigger win by persuading Mr Lineker to guest star on the show as a pundit, the former Match of the Day host spoke passionately about their impressive studio during his cameo, saying: “I really wanted to come and see your set.”
“I think it’s really great and I’m sure it’s real.”
