THE BBC will not send any presenters or pundits to the US to cover the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Mail reported in December that the broadcaster planned not to send any TV personnel overseas until the quarter-finals.
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The BBC will not be sending a presenting team to the US for the World Cup Credit: BBC Handout
They will cover the match from their Salford studio Credit: The Jattvibe
But it appears that even that was too soon for the Beeb, who have now elected to save their travel for the semis.
The Telegraph have claimed that their presenters will not travel to the tournament until ‘just before’ the semi-finals.
Instead the BBC will continue to cover the quarter- finals from their state-of-the-art Salford studio.
The decision aims to save taxpayers ‘millions’ alongside budget cuts hitting the BBC, as part of the organisation-wide aim to save £500million.
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BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski said: “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.
“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?’”
He added: “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.”
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The knockout stages of the World Cup are hotting up as we head towards the business end of the tournament.
England believe football might finally be coming home after 60 years of hurt, with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on fire.
But the likes of France, Spain and Argentina are all serious contenders to go all the way.
Heavyweights Germany, Netherlands, Brazil and Portugal have all been knocked out.
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The Beeb has the rights to one of the round’s four matches – Spain‘s clash with Belgium in Los Angeles on Friday.
Rivals ITV will cover the remaining three fixtures, including France v Morocco.
But the real prize ITV snagged is England‘s monster clash with Norway, with the winner claiming a spot in the final four.
ITV sent out a delegation of beloved pundits to a glitzy new roof-top studio in New York, from which they have provided commentary on the tournament from the very start.
But the ball will roll back into the BBC’s court when they get first pick of the semi-finals.
Should England make it that far then the broadcaster will be on-location to provide coverage of the monster clash, with England set to face one of Colombia, Switzerland, Egypt or Argentina.
