ITV will broadcast England's two opening group games against United States and Algeria as the prolonged negotiations between the broadcasters over this summer's World Cup rights were concluded today.
The deal is perfect for ITV's chances of generating huge advertising revenues from the tournament as both games are guaranteed and both are scheduled for prime time.
England v United States will take place at 7.30pm on Saturday 12th June and England v Algeria is again at 7.30pm on the following Friday, the 18th.
ITV's desire to secure both peak-time matches was a likely stalling point in the talks which began straight after the World Cup draw on 4th December and lasted longer than expected.
The BBC will broadcast England's final group game against Slovenia, at 3pm on Wednesday 23rd June, but that may be a dead rubber if England have already qualified.
Still, it should not worry the BBC too much if Fabio Capello's men have stormed through the two opening tests on ITV.
From then on, the BBC will capture the more vital moments with exclusive rights to any England participation in the second round and quarter finals.
If England do particularly well and reach a first World Cup semi final since 1990, that may yet be shown on both channels as it was 20 years ago when England lost to West Germany on penalties.
Simulcast matches are almost certain ratings winners for the BBC which usually hammers its rival by about four to one when the World Cup Final is shown by both channels.
If England are knocked out in the group stages, the BBC would still have first pick of the second round and quarter final ties, and it would also show both semi finals exclusively.
Of the other group matches, the BBC won the right to screen Brazil's exciting Group G ties against Ivory Coast on Sunday 20th June at 7.30pm and Portugal on Friday 26th June at 3pm.
But, in another part of the deal that will attract the advertisers, ITV will show the majority of the group games featuring the other fancied sides and traditional World Cup powerhouses.
Defending world champions Italy are on ITV twice as compared to one showing by the BBC, and this is also the case for Germany, Netherlands and Euro 2008 winners Spain.
By contrast, only Argentina and France - who both struggled through playoffs to qualify for the finals - are on the BBC more often than ITV.
Even then, the potentially vital clash between France and hosts South Africa in the final round of matches is on ITV which will also show the opening match of the tournament on Friday, June 11th.
South Africa v Mexico is hardly the most outstanding fixture of them all but it is sure to be an emotional occasion as the finals are played on African soil for the first time ever.
It would be fair to say that ITV has done well from the agreement. Certainly, it could not have asked for much more in terms of pulling in the punters and the sponsors' cash.
The Saturday night slot for the England v USA match will clearly do particularly well.
And it may even bring back fond memories for ITV of England v Argentina in 1998 which pulled in 23.8m viewers to become one of the most watched television events of the 1990s.
It is not just Capello's England playing this summer for pride and glory - but the broadcasters, too.
FULL WORLD CUP TELEVISION LISTINGS
Friday, 11 June 2010
ITV 15:00 South Africa v Mexico (Soccer City)
BBC 19:30 Uruguay v France (Cape Town)
Saturday, 12 June 2010
ITV 12:30 South Korea v Greece (P Elizabeth)
BBC 15:00 Argentina v Nigeria (Ellis Park)
ITV 19:30 England v USA (Rustenburg)
Sunday, 13 June 2010
BBC 12:30 Algeria v Slovenia (Polokwane)
ITV 15:00 Serbia v Ghana (Pretoria)
ITV 19:30 Germany v Australia (Durban)
Monday, 14 June 2010
ITV 12:30 Netherlands v Denmark (Soccer City)
BBC 15:00 Japan v Cameroon (Bloemfontein)
BBC 19:30 Italy v Paraguay (Cape Town)
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
BBC 12:30 New Zealand v Slovakia (Rustenburg)
ITV 15:00 Ivory Coast v Portugal (P Elizabeth)
ITV 19:30 Brazil v North Korea (Ellis Park)
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
ITV 12:30 Honduras v Chile (Nelspruit)
BBC 15:00 Spain v Switzerland (Durban)
BBC 19:30 South Africa v Uruguay (Pretoria)
Thursday, 17 June 2010
ITV 12:30 Argentina v South Korea (Soccer City)
BBC 15:00 Greece v Nigeria (Bloemfontein)
BBC 19:30 France v Mexico (Polkowane)
Friday, 18 June 2010
BBC 12:30 Germany v Serbia (P Elizabeth)
BBC 15:00 Slovenia v USA (Ellis Park)
ITV 19:30 England v Algeria (Cape Town)
Saturday, 19 June 2010
ITV 12:30 Netherlands v Japan (Durban)
BBC 15:00 Ghana v Australia (Rustenburg)
ITV 19:30 Cameroon v Denmark (Pretoria)
Sunday, 20 June 2010
BBC 12:30 Slovakia v Paraguay (Bloemfontein)
ITV 15:00 Italy v New Zealand (Nelspruit)
BBC 19:30 Brazil v Ivory Coast (Soccer City)
Monday, 21 June 2010
BBC 12:30 Portugal v North Korea (Cape Town)
BBC 15:00 Chile v Switzerland (P Elizabeth)
ITV 19:30 Spain v Honduras (Ellis Park)
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
ITV 15:00 Mexico v Uruguay (Rustenburg)
ITV 15:00 France v South Africa (Bloemfontein)
BBC 19:30 Nigeria v South Korea (Durban)
BBC 19:30 Greece v Argentina (Polkowane)
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
BBC 15:00 Slovenia v England (P Elizabeth)
BBC 15:00 USA v Algeria (Pretoria)
ITV 19:30 Ghana v Germany (Soccer City)
ITV 19:30 Australia v Serbia (Nelspruit)
Thursday, 24 June 2010
ITV 15:00 Slovakia v Italy (Ellis Park)
ITV 15:00 Paraguay v New Zealand (Polkowane)
BBC 19:30 Denmark v Japan (Rustenburg)
BBC 19:30 Cameroon v Holland (Cape Town)
Friday, 25 June 2010
BBC 15:00 Portugal v Brazil (Durban)
BBC 15:00 North Korea v Ivory Coast (Nelspruit)
ITV 19:30 Chile v Spain (Pretoria)
ITV 19:30 Switzerland v Honduras (Bloemfontein)
All times in BST.
Note: Matches in knockout stages TBC but the BBC will have first pick in second round and quarter finals. Decision regarding semi finals depends on England's progress. The Final will be on both BBC and ITV.
Source:www.itv.com/sport/football/news/fifaworldcup/exclusives/itvandbbcannounceworldcupmatchsplit2956/default.html
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