ITV's Brooklyn studio outshines BBC's virtual backdrop as World Cup 2026 coverage begins

ITV Sport is broadcasting its 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage from a custom-built studio in Brooklyn, New York, complete with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline — and the images circulating online have thrown the BBC’s more modest setup into sharp relief.

For the duration of the tournament, presenters Mark Pougatch, Laura Woods, and Semra Hunter will anchor coverage from the state-of-the-art Brooklyn loft, backed by a punditry panel that includes Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Gary Neville. The broadcaster has also enlisted Man v. Food host Adam Richman to co-host a culturally focused social segment, leaning into the transatlantic character of a World Cup spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The BBC, by contrast, made the decision to keep its entire presentation team in Salford for the group stages, with the team only travelling to North America once the knockout rounds begin. Presenters Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman, and Kelly Cates will deliver their coverage in front of large LED screens that digitally recreate the tournament’s 16 host cities — an ‘immersive studio’ setup the corporation has promoted, though one that has drawn unfavourable comparisons to ITV’s on-location production.

The optics are complicated further by the BBC’s ongoing fallout from Gary Lineker’s departure from Match of the Day last year. Lineker has not stayed home for the tournament — he is currently in New York City alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, filming daily World Cup specials for Netflix’s The Rest is Football podcast, bypassing UK television entirely.

The BBC’s decision to delay its North American presence until the knockout stages appears to have been driven by cost considerations, and while the LED backdrop technology is genuinely sophisticated, the contrast with ITV’s real-time New York City views has not gone unnoticed among viewers and pundits alike.