BBC make major broadcast change for England vs Argentina World Cup semi-final | Football | Sport

The BBC will reportedly make a significant change to their broadcast operation for England‘s blockbuster World Cup semi-final against Argentina. The fixture will be shown live on BBC One, with coverage starting from 7pm (UK time). This will allow for an hour of build-up before the match gets underway at 8pm (UK time).

Mark Chapman will present the BBC‘s coverage of the game, which will see England attempt to reach their first World Cup final since 1966. He will be joined by pundits Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards and Joe Hart. Until now, the BBC have been broadcasting from a studio in Salford, whereas ITV who have flown out to a swanky studio in Brooklyn, New York.

However, that will change for England’s game against Argentina, with The Guardian reporting that Chapman will present from inside the Atlanta Stadium.

It’s also claimed that the BBC are expecting their viewing figures to trump those for England’s quarter-final victory over Norway on the weekend.

ITV attracted a peak audience of 18 million for that fixture, but a higher number of viewers are expected to tune in for the Argentina clash.

The BBC initially chose to remain in Salford as part of a cost-cutting measure, which was staunchly defended by director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski.

“It’s not a green box in Salford, it’s a beautiful state-of-the-art studio,” he said last month. “It’s completely fine to assume that what was there before was what it was going to be and I’m really proud of this.”

“To have what would probably be an extra couple of hundred people out there and that’s before you build a studio, you’re talking millions [of pounds].

“The actual end product people are getting at home, I don’t really think it’s that different. If I was standing here saying everything is going to be done from a studio in Dallas, you would rightly be saying to me: ‘How can you justify that spend?’

“We’ve still got the people on the ground. You’ve got pundits. Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy are out there. Various commentators, journalists.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a problem bringing that feeling across. If these people were sitting somewhere else, would your viewing be massively changed?

“Right now I’m incredibly happy with it. It’s a six-week, high-profile tournament. We’re going to get some stuff wrong and we’re going to get, hopefully, way more right.”