World Cup pundits forced to leave ITV studio just minutes before match | Football | Sport
Storms forced ITV to swap studios on Thursday night (Image: ITV)
Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Patrick Vieira were forced to abandon their rooftop studio position following storms in New York. The opening of ITV‘s pre-match coverage before France’s victory over Morocco featured the panel situated outdoors at the broadcaster’s New York loft. After adverse weather conditions struck, the team was moved indoors to fresh surroundings, with Mark Pougatch confirming the development.
Lightning strikes across New York necessitated the change, while conditions in Boston, where the match took place, proved considerably more favourable. Consequently, ITV replaced their grey, overcast setting with an elegant indoor alternative.
“There’s lightning in the area in New York, so the regulations dictate we’ve had to vacate our outdoor studio, so we’ve moved inside,” explained Pougatch as broadcasting resumed following an interview with England star Djed Spence.
ITV’s studio is situated at Panorama Brooklyn Studios on Columbia Heights, a building offering sweeping vistas of the Manhattan skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River.
The facility occupies a former Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters that has been transformed into a production centre.
It wasn’t the first occasion that ITV had been driven indoors since the start of the World Cup.
Laura Woods, alongside Juan Mata, Patrick Vieira and Karen Carney, endured challenging windy circumstances during Switzerland’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last month.
On that occasion, rattling sounds could be heard in the background as Woods struggled to keep her hair under control.
ITV relocated to an indoor studio due to the bad weather (Image: ITV)
Coverage of Canada’s game against Qatar also shifted indoors with ITV deploying their contingency arrangements for Ange Postecoglou, Emma Hayes and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Despite the weather disruptions, both presenters and pundits have lavished praise on the studio that has served as their base throughout the World Cup.
“Welcome to our New York loft apartment, home for six weeks of coverage of the World Cup,” ITV anchor Pougatch announced during the opening broadcast.
“We hope you will love this view as much as we do, a view of the buildings of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge. You are thinking it must be AI. I promise you it is real.
Keane remarked: “Amazing, fantastic,” while Wright added: “It’s amazing, unbelievable set. It’s the World Cup, it should be this, it should be grand, massive.”
The response has been markedly different to that received by the BBC. The rival broadcaster opted to stay in Salford for its programming, but looks poised to travel to the USA for the semi-final round.
