World Cup

[Paul_LFC]

Here's a round up of the latest news, of the line up's of the broadcasters for the World Cup.

 

BBC:

 

World Cup winners Leonardo (victorious with Brazil in 1994) and Marcel Desailly (France in 1998) join our team of pundits, as does Celtic manager Gordon Strachan.

 

Match of the Day presenter and former England captain Gary Lineker will host coverage live from Germany.

 

He will be accompanied in the studio by Alan Hansen and former England internationals Alan Shearer, Ian Wright and Lee Dixon.

 

Match commentators are John Motson, Jonathan Pearce, Steve Wilson, Simon Brotherton and Guy Mowbray, with co-commentary from Mark Lawrenson, Mick McCarthy, Gavin Peacock and Mark Bright.

 

Ray Stubbs will be the BBC's other main presenter while Adrian Chiles will front the highlights shows.

 

On Saturdays, Manish Bhasin will present Football Focus. Manish will also host some of our interactive forums, along with Adrian and Gary.

 

Garth Crooks will be our man inside the England camp while Celina Hinchcliffe reports from the host cities outside of Berlin. Our three roving reporters will be Ivan Gaskell, Damian Johnson and Rebecca Lowe.

 

ITV (from media guardian) :

 

ITV assembles World Cup squad

 

Jason Deans

Friday May 19, 2006

 

 

ITV Sport has signed up failed England manager candidates Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley, along with Christian O'Connell, for its World Cup coverage next month.

Allardyce, Curbishley and Manchester City's Stuart Pearce will form part of ITV's commentating team for the tournament in Germany, which runs from June 9 to July 9.

 

Virgin Radio breakfast host O'Connell will present the ITV4 World Cup spin-off show, World Cuppa, taking a light-hearted look at the event.

 

World Cuppa will be a one-hour show broadcast on ITV4 at 10pm throughout the tournament, with O'Connell promising regular features including handy tips like how to throw a sickie.

 

O'Connell's ITV4 show will also include his own take on Sky's Fanzone commentary: Nanzone, featuring football mad grannies; and the World Cup win, lose or draw dog, which will predict the outcome of games by choosing between one of three bowls of food.

 

He will be joined on World Cuppa by co-presenters Natalie Pinkham, Steve Bunce and Mark Chapman.

 

"I didn't want a show that was all men in chinos, with a little bit too much of their packet showing," O'Connell said. "But if ratings dip, I might have to don the chinos."

 

ITV is taking its World Cup coverage from Germany on the road, hosting live coverage from the venues around the country, while the BBC is expected to base its operation in Berlin.

 

In addition to ITV Sport presenters Steve Rider, Jim Rosenthal and Gabby Logan, the broadcaster's Germany 2006 team will feature regular football commentators Clive Tyldesley, Peter Drury and Jon Champion, and pundits Ally McCoist, Andy Townsend, Robbie Earle, Terry Venables and David Pleat.

 

ITV has also hired Ruud Gullit, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Jay-Jay Okocha, Gareth Southgate and Jim Beglin for the World Cup.

 

Matt Smith will host a regular highlights programme, while Gabriel Clark is to report from the England base in Baden Baden and Ned Boulting will be on the road filing stories from other World Cup locations around Germany.

 

ITV Sport will have a new onscreen look for the World Cup, as well as promos for its tournament coverage being directed by Daryl Goodrich, whose credits include the award-winning Pride film for London's 2012 Olympic bid.

 

The broadcaster has also commissioned its own World Cup theme song, a version of David Bowie's Heroes to be performed by Kasabian.

 

ITV Sport's World Cup coverage will also be available online at the ITV World Cup website and on mobile phones.

 

UKTV G2 :

 

World Cup 2006 on UKTV G2

Daily from Friday 9th

It?s the greatest sporting show ever ? 32 nations, 64 games and a whole month of the most intense, competitive football imaginable. If you?re looking for the best coverage of the 2006 World Cup on the planet, then UKTV G2?s got the lot.

 

Other TV channels will of course be covering the tournament, but no one will be doing it quite like us. We?ve over 200 hours of World Cup related programming, spearheaded by 31 live games - from the opener (Germany v Costa Rica) though to the Final - featuring of course all the England matches.

 

Each live game that we air will have a special studio-based show around it, going out one hour before, with 15 minutes at halftime and at the end of the match. Hosted by Andy Goldstein, you can expect lots of laughs and fun with loads of input from our fans, who'll be giving us all their thoughts

and opinions on the day's action.

 

The studio audience will include devoted fans of whichever teams are playing that day, who will be chipping in with their views on the game, along with regular guests Ian Holloway and Danny Murphy. Our reporter in Germany will be Neil Cole, with Steve Claridge and Big Ron Atkinson as summarisers.

 

We'll also be embarking on a nationwide tour in a special UKTV G2 camper van, asking fans to record their thoughts and

messages to be used live on air. Truly giving them the chance to give their thoughts on all the action.

 

On top of the action, we?ve also commissioned a brilliant daily highlights Show (daily at 12.00am and repeated at 12.00pm the next day) that will run throughout the whole event. Unlike the competition however, we?re first and foremost championing the real footie fans by giving them a voice. Their opinions will be the ones that count ? not just those of a pundit. This will be the nation?s most truly interactive programme, as viewers will be encouraged to have their say -and to have a laugh at the same time.

[fyds]

ITV Sport has signed up failed England manager candidates Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley, along with Christian O'Connell, for its World Cup coverage next month.

 

Feck me, but that sounds like a cue for a whinge fest!

[Stevie H]

there's something nightmarish about that ITV line-up. all three failed england managerial candidates get the chance to say "well, what i would do is. . .", a classic bowie song covered by f***ing kasabian and i also reckon they nicked the jay-jay okocha idea off here. surprised they haven't signed-up duncan bloody ferguson as well.

[McBain]

The only thing that can ever dampen a world cup is the coverage by the beeb and itv. Which i expect to be a useless as ever.

 

Hopefully the games themselves will live up to the billing, unlike 4 years ago. The better climate should make for better games this time

[Owen1978]

I will only watch ITV coverage if gabby shows more of her baps!

[Paul_LFC]

Steve Rider will head the ITV Presenting Team, Gabby Logan has been demoted! Steve will present the England games etc...