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The BBC has hit back in the World Cup ratings battle with ITV by announcing exclusive live rights to âfamily-friendlyâ kick-offs in the first knockout phase, including Englandâs clash against Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BBC bosses said its priority for the round of 32 was to secure fixtures âfalling in time slots to ensure children and their families can watch together live as the tournament steps up a notchâ, as the battle for World Cup ratings continues.
With the BBC getting first pick of the 16 knockout games, the corporation opted for Englandâs first knockout game, which kicks off at 5pm on Wednesday, the first pre-watershed after two matches kicked off at 9PM, and Panama at 10PM.
Shorts
news
The Good Life actress Penelope Keith dies aged 86
Actress Dame Penelope Keith, best known for sitcoms The Good Life and To The Manor Born, has died aged 86, her family said.
Dame and queen of the sitcom
Keith started out as a theatre actress in the 1950s, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963. She later specialised in comedy roles for TV, becoming best known for her long-running roles in The Good Life, for which she earned a Bafta in 1977, and To the Manor Born.
She was made a Dame in 2013 for services to drama and her charity work. She continued to perform on the stage throughout her later career, playing Lady Bracknell on the West End in 2008. She also earned an Olivier in 1976 for her role in Donkeyâs Years.
Supporter of the arts, countryside and armed forces
In later life, she presented her own shows, Saving Country Houses and Penelope Keithâs Hidden Villages. She also headed up the Actorsâ Trust charity for 32 years and was active in her support for the army.
She was also High Sheriff of Surrey, where she lived, allowing her to continue her rural conservation work.
TRAVEL
The leafy Wiltshire market town that's an alternative to the crowded Cotswolds
4 min read
Her familyâs statement
We are deeply saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more than 50 years. The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments.
news
One in three wedding guests decline invite over high costs
With the price of attending a wedding soaring due to travel accommodation costs and increasingly elaborate stag and hen dos, many are finding itâs too much to bear.
Why are guests turning them down?
The average cost of attending a wedding isâŠ
ÂŁ316
per person including gift, outfit, getting and staying there, and any pre-celebrations.
As many as one in eight guests spent over ÂŁ500 last year.
31%
of guests surveyed had turned down an invitation due to costs.
This rose to 48 per cent among Gen Z and 43 per cent of millennials.
No shame for no-shows
Tesco Bank surveyed 2,000 people about their wedding attendance this year, with 8 per cent saying they felt guilty for not attending vs 14 per cent who reported relief.
Many blamed celebrities such as Dua Lipa, whose elaborate destination weddings raise the bar for everyone else.
For those who feel they canât say no, 16 per cent have cut back on spending to afford the occasion, and 11 per cent recycled outfits to save.
OPINION
I swerved a massive wedding â Taylor Swift may live to regret hers
4 min read
Trial begins for Top Boy actor Micheal Ward charged with rape
The 28-year-old, who holds two Baftas and played Jamie in the show about London gangs, will appear in court today.
Actor appears in court
Ward is due to appear in Snaresbrook Crown Court today charged with two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against one woman in January 2023. He denies all the charges.
The allegations against the Jamaican-born actor of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, first came to light in July last year.
Who broke Britain?
Steven Bartlett: the glorified PR man quietly making Britain worse
7 min read
Early career interrupted
Ward has won two Baftas, first being recognised with the Rising Star award after his role in cult hit film Blue Light in 2019, and later for the BBCâs Small Axe.
He also starred in the 2022 film Empire of Light and appears in the forthcoming A24 American western movie Eddington, due to be released in the UK in August.
tennis
Injured Raducanu withdraws from Wimbledon â what we know
British tennis star Emma Raducanu has been advised to drop out of Wimbledon on medical grounds after an injury in her right leg developed into a stress fracture.
Here is what we know so far.
Fears grew during training
Raducanu announced she would not be playing late last night, just seven hours after assuring journalists she would push through her injury after she was spotted wearing a boot during training.
Fans had already spotted something wasnât right after she took Thursday and Friday off training, and called off a training match against Anna Kalinskaya 10 minutes before the end.
Career blighted by injury
The 23-year-old has suffered from several injuries during her five-year career. Since winning the US open in 2019, she has had bone bruising on her foot, breathing problems on court and most recently picked up a viral illness at the Transylvanian Open.
This injury is thought to affect her right shin, and means sheâll miss out on Wimbledon again after reaching the fourth round in 2021 and 2024.
TENNIS
I just feel so sorry for Emma Raducanu
3 min read
defence
What the new replacement for Navyâs destroyers will look like
The Royal Navy will procure at least six so-called âcommon combat vesselsâ (CCVs), as the Government looks to modernise the military and prioritise drones.
The new vessels will act as hubs for uncrewed systems and are part of efforts to expand the Navyâs reach and firepower without a âproportional increaseâ in cost.
What does this mean?
Consequently, plans to replace a fleet of six Type 45 destroyers with a new class of guided-missile warship called the Type 83 destroyer have been scrapped.
Here, we look at each of the current, the previously planned and the newly announced vessels.
Analysis
Trump is pulling jets from Europe â just when Starmer faces a defence crisis
4 min read
Exclusive
Starmer's zombie government puts Putin defence plan on hold
5 min read
Type 45
The Royal Navy has six Type 45s which it describes as âthe pride of the naval fleetâ. It is 152 metres in length, can travel at 30 knots and specialises in anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare.
The fleet entered service in 2009, and has recently been used to combat drone warfare. In 2023, the HMS Diamond intercepted a drone reportedly headed for commercial shipping using a Sea Viper missile. Sea Viper missiles cost ÂŁ1-ÂŁ2m, while drones are significantly cheaper.
Type 83
The Type 83 destroyer was originally planned to replace the Type 45 and come into service in the mid-to-late 2030s.
In April, defence minister Luke Pollard said that when Labour inherited the concept for the Type 83 fleet it was âunderdevelopedâ.
He revealed that ÂŁ1m had been spent on platform-specific designs over the past three years for the now-abandoned Type 83 fleet.
POLITICS
Labour rising star Al Carns resigns as Armed Forces minister â with PM in defence crisis
3 min read
Common combat vessels
The new Defence Investment Plan (DIP) means the Navy will commission designs for new, uncrewed, drone-compatible vessels that are expected to be delivered in the early 2030s.
As such, details on their size, shape, capability and cost is currently unknown.
The MoD said the new vessels will âact as a control hub for uncrewed systems â extending the Navyâs reach⊠without a proportional increase in crew or costâ.
How could this look?
A report by specialist publication Navy Lookout said that in one concept of how the CCVs would operate, each crewed CCV was âflanked by at least two large uncrewed surface vessels, fulfilling diverse roles such as air defence or anti-submarine warfare as missions demandedâ.
Analysis
This is what we should really be afraid of when it comes to Russiaâs navy
4 min read
Who broke Britain?
The humiliation of the Royal Navy began with the terrible decision of this man
5 min read
The BBC said it was âproviding fans with the only freeâtoâair destination to watch the Three Lions as they begin their knockout campaignâ.
The âfamily-friendlyâ BBC selections also include the 6pm match between Ivory Coast and Norway on Tuesday.
The punchy language indicates that the BBC is fighting back after ITV scored seven of the top 10 biggest TV audiences during the group stage of the World Cup, including Englandâs 4-2 win over Croatia, which was seen by a peak audience of 16.4 million.
Nearly 14 million watched late-night Panama drama
Englandâs 2-0 win over Panama, which finished at midnight on Saturday, was seen by a peak ITV audience of 13.8 million viewers, 80 per cent of all those watching TV at that time.
The BBC did record a peak audience of 15.4 million for Englandâs second group game, the 0-0 draw against Ghana, which produced a record 8.3 million viewing requests on iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app.
However, the BBC has faced criticism for presenting its coverage from a Salford studio, employing a computer-generated backdrop of US skylines, whilst ITVâs Brooklyn base offers viewers a spectacular vista of Manhattan.
ITVâs pundit line-up featuring Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Gary Neville have also been unafraid to deliver withering criticism of England where the team has under-performed.
Ex-BBC star Gary Lineker even made a guest appearance on ITVâs coverage, poking fun at his former employerâs Manchester studio, to plug his Netflix World Cup podcast, The Rest is Football.
Yet, the BBC believes former England goalkeeper and Wayne Rooneyâs insights means it is holding its own in the pundit wars.
Key hosts and personnel are expected to travel to North America for the knockout stages following Englandâs progress.
BBC & ITV test cross-promotion
A unique ânon-aggression pactâ between ITV and the BBC has seen the broadcasters point viewers towards upcoming games on the rival network for the first time â so ITVâs Mark Pougatch will tell viewers they can see the next game in a particular group on BBC One and vice versa.
The co-operation extends into the live game selection, with BBC and ITV executives working into the early hours of Sunday morning to finalise the round of 32 games split.
The BBCâs promotion of its âfamily-friendlyâ kick-off choices suggests the competition between the two networks is heating up as the tournament builds towards its 19 July climax.
ITV traditionally prefers the tournament guarantee of two England group games, delivering blockbuster ratings for advertisers, at the price of allowing the BBC first choice for the knockout phase.
ITV gets Argentina vs Cape Verde
ITVâs round of 32 picks include the game most football romantics want to see, Argentina vs Cape Verdeâs heroes, as well as matches featuring Brazil and France, the most entertaining team so far.
BBC sources said the cross-promotion of games between BBC and ITV was expected to continue throughout the tournament.
Insiders say BBC head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski is relaxed about sharing games and talent with rivals, allowing star football presenters Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman to work for Sky alongside their BBC roles.
But the increased number of games at this World Cup presents a challenge for the BBCâs Sport team from Monday, when Wimbledon also begins.
The All-England Club expects the BBC to give prominent exposure to the tennis, along with new innovations to reach younger viewers, after agreeing a deal to extend coverage to 2033.
Live coverage of Wimbledon will shift from BBC One to BBC Two to accommodate the football on Wednesday afternoon with viewers directed to iPlayer for alternative matches.
The teatime Congo kick-off is also expected to spark an early exodus from the offices around the UK as workers head off in good time to watch the game.
close Cancel email WhatsApp link share Share bookmark Save
The BBC has hit back in the World Cup ratings battle with ITV by announcing exclusive live rights to âfamily-friendlyâ kick-offs in the first knockout phase, including Englandâs clash against Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BBC bosses said its priority for the round of 32 was to secure fixtures âfalling in time slots to ensure children and their families can watch together live as the tournament steps up a notchâ, as the battle for World Cup ratings continues.
With the BBC getting first pick of the 16 knockout games, the corporation opted for Englandâs first knockout game, which kicks off at 5pm on Wednesday, the first pre-watershed after two matches kicked off at 9PM, and Panama at 10PM.
Shorts
news
The Good Life actress Penelope Keith dies aged 86
Actress Dame Penelope Keith, best known for sitcoms The Good Life and To The Manor Born, has died aged 86, her family said.
Dame and queen of the sitcom
Keith started out as a theatre actress in the 1950s, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963. She later specialised in comedy roles for TV, becoming best known for her long-running roles in The Good Life, for which she earned a Bafta in 1977, and To the Manor Born.
She was made a Dame in 2013 for services to drama and her charity work. She continued to perform on the stage throughout her later career, playing Lady Bracknell on the West End in 2008. She also earned an Olivier in 1976 for her role in Donkeyâs Years.
Supporter of the arts, countryside and armed forces
In later life, she presented her own shows, Saving Country Houses and Penelope Keithâs Hidden Villages. She also headed up the Actorsâ Trust charity for 32 years and was active in her support for the army.
She was also High Sheriff of Surrey, where she lived, allowing her to continue her rural conservation work.
TRAVEL
The leafy Wiltshire market town that's an alternative to the crowded Cotswolds
4 min read
Her familyâs statement
We are deeply saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more than 50 years. The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments.
news
One in three wedding guests decline invite over high costs
With the price of attending a wedding soaring due to travel accommodation costs and increasingly elaborate stag and hen dos, many are finding itâs too much to bear.
Why are guests turning them down?
The average cost of attending a wedding isâŠ
ÂŁ316
per person including gift, outfit, getting and staying there, and any pre-celebrations.
As many as one in eight guests spent over ÂŁ500 last year.
31%
of guests surveyed had turned down an invitation due to costs.
This rose to 48 per cent among Gen Z and 43 per cent of millennials.
No shame for no-shows
Tesco Bank surveyed 2,000 people about their wedding attendance this year, with 8 per cent saying they felt guilty for not attending vs 14 per cent who reported relief.
Many blamed celebrities such as Dua Lipa, whose elaborate destination weddings raise the bar for everyone else.
For those who feel they canât say no, 16 per cent have cut back on spending to afford the occasion, and 11 per cent recycled outfits to save.
OPINION
I swerved a massive wedding â Taylor Swift may live to regret hers
4 min read
Trial begins for Top Boy actor Micheal Ward charged with rape
The 28-year-old, who holds two Baftas and played Jamie in the show about London gangs, will appear in court today.
Actor appears in court
Ward is due to appear in Snaresbrook Crown Court today charged with two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against one woman in January 2023. He denies all the charges.
The allegations against the Jamaican-born actor of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, first came to light in July last year.
Who broke Britain?
Steven Bartlett: the glorified PR man quietly making Britain worse
7 min read
Early career interrupted
Ward has won two Baftas, first being recognised with the Rising Star award after his role in cult hit film Blue Light in 2019, and later for the BBCâs Small Axe.
He also starred in the 2022 film Empire of Light and appears in the forthcoming A24 American western movie Eddington, due to be released in the UK in August.
tennis
Injured Raducanu withdraws from Wimbledon â what we know
British tennis star Emma Raducanu has been advised to drop out of Wimbledon on medical grounds after an injury in her right leg developed into a stress fracture.
Here is what we know so far.
Fears grew during training
Raducanu announced she would not be playing late last night, just seven hours after assuring journalists she would push through her injury after she was spotted wearing a boot during training.
Fans had already spotted something wasnât right after she took Thursday and Friday off training, and called off a training match against Anna Kalinskaya 10 minutes before the end.
Career blighted by injury
The 23-year-old has suffered from several injuries during her five-year career. Since winning the US open in 2019, she has had bone bruising on her foot, breathing problems on court and most recently picked up a viral illness at the Transylvanian Open.
This injury is thought to affect her right shin, and means sheâll miss out on Wimbledon again after reaching the fourth round in 2021 and 2024.
TENNIS
I just feel so sorry for Emma Raducanu
3 min read
defence
What the new replacement for Navyâs destroyers will look like
The Royal Navy will procure at least six so-called âcommon combat vesselsâ (CCVs), as the Government looks to modernise the military and prioritise drones.
The new vessels will act as hubs for uncrewed systems and are part of efforts to expand the Navyâs reach and firepower without a âproportional increaseâ in cost.
What does this mean?
Consequently, plans to replace a fleet of six Type 45 destroyers with a new class of guided-missile warship called the Type 83 destroyer have been scrapped.
Here, we look at each of the current, the previously planned and the newly announced vessels.
Analysis
Trump is pulling jets from Europe â just when Starmer faces a defence crisis
4 min read
Exclusive
Starmer's zombie government puts Putin defence plan on hold
5 min read
Type 45
The Royal Navy has six Type 45s which it describes as âthe pride of the naval fleetâ. It is 152 metres in length, can travel at 30 knots and specialises in anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare.
The fleet entered service in 2009, and has recently been used to combat drone warfare. In 2023, the HMS Diamond intercepted a drone reportedly headed for commercial shipping using a Sea Viper missile. Sea Viper missiles cost ÂŁ1-ÂŁ2m, while drones are significantly cheaper.
Type 83
The Type 83 destroyer was originally planned to replace the Type 45 and come into service in the mid-to-late 2030s.
In April, defence minister Luke Pollard said that when Labour inherited the concept for the Type 83 fleet it was âunderdevelopedâ.
He revealed that ÂŁ1m had been spent on platform-specific designs over the past three years for the now-abandoned Type 83 fleet.
POLITICS
Labour rising star Al Carns resigns as Armed Forces minister â with PM in defence crisis
3 min read
Common combat vessels
The new Defence Investment Plan (DIP) means the Navy will commission designs for new, uncrewed, drone-compatible vessels that are expected to be delivered in the early 2030s.
As such, details on their size, shape, capability and cost is currently unknown.
The MoD said the new vessels will âact as a control hub for uncrewed systems â extending the Navyâs reach⊠without a proportional increase in crew or costâ.
How could this look?
A report by specialist publication Navy Lookout said that in one concept of how the CCVs would operate, each crewed CCV was âflanked by at least two large uncrewed surface vessels, fulfilling diverse roles such as air defence or anti-submarine warfare as missions demandedâ.
Analysis
This is what we should really be afraid of when it comes to Russiaâs navy
4 min read
Who broke Britain?
The humiliation of the Royal Navy began with the terrible decision of this man
5 min read
The BBC said it was âproviding fans with the only freeâtoâair destination to watch the Three Lions as they begin their knockout campaignâ.
The âfamily-friendlyâ BBC selections also include the 6pm match between Ivory Coast and Norway on Tuesday.
The punchy language indicates that the BBC is fighting back after ITV scored seven of the top 10 biggest TV audiences during the group stage of the World Cup, including Englandâs 4-2 win over Croatia, which was seen by a peak audience of 16.4 million.
Nearly 14 million watched late-night Panama drama
Englandâs 2-0 win over Panama, which finished at midnight on Saturday, was seen by a peak ITV audience of 13.8 million viewers, 80 per cent of all those watching TV at that time.
The BBC did record a peak audience of 15.4 million for Englandâs second group game, the 0-0 draw against Ghana, which produced a record 8.3 million viewing requests on iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app.
However, the BBC has faced criticism for presenting its coverage from a Salford studio, employing a computer-generated backdrop of US skylines, whilst ITVâs Brooklyn base offers viewers a spectacular vista of Manhattan.
ITVâs pundit line-up featuring Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Gary Neville have also been unafraid to deliver withering criticism of England where the team has under-performed.
Ex-BBC star Gary Lineker even made a guest appearance on ITVâs coverage, poking fun at his former employerâs Manchester studio, to plug his Netflix World Cup podcast, The Rest is Football.
Yet, the BBC believes former England goalkeeper and Wayne Rooneyâs insights means it is holding its own in the pundit wars.
Key hosts and personnel are expected to travel to North America for the knockout stages following Englandâs progress.
BBC & ITV test cross-promotion
A unique ânon-aggression pactâ between ITV and the BBC has seen the broadcasters point viewers towards upcoming games on the rival network for the first time â so ITVâs Mark Pougatch will tell viewers they can see the next game in a particular group on BBC One and vice versa.
The co-operation extends into the live game selection, with BBC and ITV executives working into the early hours of Sunday morning to finalise the round of 32 games split.
The BBCâs promotion of its âfamily-friendlyâ kick-off choices suggests the competition between the two networks is heating up as the tournament builds towards its 19 July climax.
ITV traditionally prefers the tournament guarantee of two England group games, delivering blockbuster ratings for advertisers, at the price of allowing the BBC first choice for the knockout phase.
ITV gets Argentina vs Cape Verde
ITVâs round of 32 picks include the game most football romantics want to see, Argentina vs Cape Verdeâs heroes, as well as matches featuring Brazil and France, the most entertaining team so far.
BBC sources said the cross-promotion of games between BBC and ITV was expected to continue throughout the tournament.
Insiders say BBC head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski is relaxed about sharing games and talent with rivals, allowing star football presenters Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman to work for Sky alongside their BBC roles.
But the increased number of games at this World Cup presents a challenge for the BBCâs Sport team from Monday, when Wimbledon also begins.
The All-England Club expects the BBC to give prominent exposure to the tennis, along with new innovations to reach younger viewers, after agreeing a deal to extend coverage to 2033.
Live coverage of Wimbledon will shift from BBC One to BBC Two to accommodate the football on Wednesday afternoon with viewers directed to iPlayer for alternative matches.
The teatime Congo kick-off is also expected to spark an early exodus from the offices around the UK as workers head off in good time to watch the game.
close Cancel email WhatsApp link share Share bookmark Save
