BBC to show first ten minutes of World Cup fixtures on YouTube & TikTok

The BBC has revealed its plans for the World Cup, including that it will show the first ten minutes of certain fixtures on YouTube and TikTok.

All home nations fixtures, as well as a seclection of the tournament’s biggest clashes, will be available live across BBC Football’s YouTube and TikTok channels. This option is open to the corporation and its fellow World Cup broadcasters after the two social video giants agreed partnerships with FIFA earlier this year. 

The 54 matches that the BBC is showing will be available in UHD on linear and iPlayer, with ITV showing the remainder of the games. The BBC’s allocation includes England’s group stage meeting with Ghana and England’s knockout games in the round of 32, round of 16 and semi-final, if they progress, along with Scotland’s opener and final group match against Haiti and Brazil respectively. There are also fixtures from every knockout round plus the final on Sunday 19 July. 

Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will lead the presentations, broadcasting from an immersive studio in Salford created with dock10. Punditry will be provided by Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards, Joe Hart, Paul Robinson, Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Danny Murphy. Representing Scotland are Scott Brown, Rachel Corsie and James McFadden, while World Cup winner Olivier Giroud, Gaël Clichy, César Azpilicueta, Benni McCarthy, Ashley Williams, Thomas Frank and Lucas Leiva, as well as former referee Darren Cann. 

Kelly Somers and Eilidh Barbour will report from the England and Scotland camps respectively, and commentary will come from Guy Mowbray, Steve Wilson, Steve Bower, Jonathan Pearce, Robyn Cowen, Steven Wyeth and Liam McLeod, with Alan Shearer, Danny Murphy, Stephen Warnock, Efan Ekoku, Martin Keown, Sue Smith, Rachel Corsie, James McFadden and Paul Robinson providing co‑commentary. 

As well as the World Cup itself, the BBC1 Scotland and iPlayer will show Scotland’s warm up fixture v Bolivia on 6 June. 

In addition to the live action on YouTube and TikTok, the BBC has revealed an expansion across its digital channels, including a new interactive 3D experience on the BBC Sport website and app which allows users to “explore every angle, rewind key moments, switch cameras and watch tactics unfold in real time, powered by live data,” in a second screen experience. 

It will also launch the BBC Football YouTube channel with a number of digital-first shows, including SV2 vs. The World, which sees players representing World Cup nations in a series of iconic moment inspired challenges, led by host, YouTube creator SV2. There will also be Game Changers, a rapid football analysis show unpacking the key moments that decide matches, focusing on what happened, and why, with two BBC journalists or pundits with contrasting perspectives covering both previews and post-match analysis. 

Another digital-first show is Group Chat, which sees fans, creators, BBC pundits and acclaimed football voices debate controversial World Cup claims. 

There will also be podcast coverage across BBC Sounds, iPlayer, YouTube and major podcast platforms, with special episodes of the Football Daily podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, and Games Gone: The Steve Bracknall Podcast. Jonathan Sutherland will host a daily Scotland World Cup podcast on BBC Sounds, iPlayer and YouTube, Spòrscast will preview and dissect all of Scotland’s matches throughout the competition, and Tadhal, a new informal visualised podcast focusing on Scotland’s participation in the World Cup, is also available on BBC Alba’s YouTube page. 

The BBC Sport website and app will also provide extensive coverage, including interactive games. It will also host Goal Click for the first time to bring first‑person fan storytelling from matches and across the US, Canada, Mexico and beyond to its World Cup coverage, as well as a new Shorts experience of vertical video. Users can choose between Shorts and the traditional BBC Sport homepage for their landing page on the BBC Sport app. 

Finally, the BBC is also airing documentaries England 2006: The Golden Generation and Rivals: Messi v Ronaldo, as well as specially commissioned Kevin Bridges: In Search of the Beautiful Game and an extra episode of Icons of Scottish Football. 

Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC director of sport, said: “The BBC is turning the biggest World Cup in history into the most iconic one yet. We’re bringing fans closer to every match, every moment and every story than ever before. Sport truly unites people like nothing else so we can’t wait for fans to enjoy not just the live matches with us but an abundance of football content, all day, every day across our platforms. Whether it’s our new series on YouTube and iPlayer, the biggest news stories on our website and app, our daily podcasts on Sounds or the viral moments on social media – we’re here for audiences 24/7 this summer, taking them straight to heart of the World Cup.”

Louise Thornton, head of commissioning, BBC Scotland, said: “It’s going to be thrilling to see the national team back on football’s biggest stage after 28 years – a moment that’s sure to bring huge pride and excitement right across the country.

“At BBC Scotland, we’re rolling out a brilliant mix of content to match that buzz. Our sport teams have every kick and talking point of Scotland’s campaign covered across television, radio and online.

“Beyond outstanding reporting and analysis of the matches, we’re also bringing audiences a wide range of content from comprehensive news coverage, documentaries that tell the stories behind the big names and moments, to comedy that celebrates the highs, lows and quirks of football fandom. It promises to be a memorable footballing journey, and BBC Scotland is bringing audiences all the content that matters from start to finish.”