Statement published 25 May 2018
Ofcom has given its consent to the requests from the BBC and ITV to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2018 which is taking place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018 and consists of 64 football matches.
We consulted during April and May 2018 on the request. No responses or expressions of interest were received.
Having considered the information supplied by the BBC and ITV in support of their applications, Ofcom has decided to grant consent to their exclusive live coverage.
Ofcom has received requests from the BBC and ITV for consent to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2018 (“the Event”) which is taking place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018 and consists of 64 football matches.
This is a Group A Listed Event under the Broadcasting Act 1996 (“the Act”). In accordance with section 101 of the Act, Ofcom’s consent is needed for exclusive live coverage of the event. The rules are set out in the Code on sports and other listed events and designated events (PDF, 71.2 KB).
ITV and the BBC will be sharing television coverage of the World Cup. Subject to Ofcom consent, all the matches to be broadcast by the BBC will be shown on either BBC One or BBC Two, and their interactive streams, with the exception of four “clashing” matches in the group stage of the tournament which will be shown either on the interactive streams of BBC One or on BBC Four.
Similarly, again subject to Ofcom consent, all the matches to be broadcast by ITV will be shown on its main channel (formerly known as ITV1), with the exception of four “clashing” matches in the group stage of the tournament which will be shown on ITV4.
The BBC has national live radio rights for all the matches in the tournament.
Contact information
Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA