THE Director of BBC Sport rubbished Gary Lineker’s claims that their UK World Cup studio is just a “green box” during a tour.
Alex Kay-Jelski insists basing coverage of the World Cup from Salford is the right decision, claiming the move saved taxpayers “millions”.
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BBC presenters and pundits will work in their Salford studio until the quarter-final stage of the tournament Credit: The Jattvibe
JattvibeSport was taken on a tour of the new ‘state-of-the-art’ studio Credit: The Jattvibe
Director of BBC Sport Alex Kay-Jelski (middle) has defended the decision base their coverage of the 2026 World Cup from Salford Credit: Getty
Kay-Jelski unveiled the public broadcaster’s brand new “work from home” studio during a tour in Media City on Tuesday.
Lineker was due to anchor the showpiece tournament for the Beeb until he quit his £1.3m-per year job last year.
The ex-Match of the Day host had faced backlash after sharing a social media post featuring a rat emoji, an animal often used in anti-Semitic propaganda.
Lineker soon signed a £14m deal with Netflix to televise his Rest is Football podcast from a glitzy New York hub.
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In April, Lineker boasted about his dismissal freeing him up to spend the World Cup “overlooking Times Square” instead of being in “Salford in a green box”.
But his ex-boss Kay-Jelski said: “It’s not a green box in Salford. It’s a beautiful state-of-the-art studio. No one’s seen it until now.
“It’s completely fine to assume that what was there before was what it was going to be. And I’m really proud of this.”
Unlike rivals ITV, BBC presenters and pundits will work from the studio, using an LED backdrop that switches between images of the 16 host cities in North America until the quarter-final stage.
Inside BBC’s state-of-the-art World Cup studio with immersive virtual reality as chief hits back at Gary Lineker jibe Credit: The Jattvibe
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Forget cheap green screens—the Beeb has splurged on a plush new studio with a monster panoramic screen.
The huge 360 degree screen will create the illusion that the studio overlooks whichever of the 16 World Cup host cities a match is being broadcast from.
The team will use animated photographs of those cities at different times of day and in various weather conditions, to reflect real time in the three host countries.
Fans have even been set up near the screen to blow air and mimic the effect of a gentle breeze.
The studio is a mix of real furniture and computer-generated backgrounds, where CGI graphics will look like they are floating.
The BBC opted for this “remote working” setup to save licence-fee payers’ money ahead of major budget cuts before the 2028 Royal Charter.
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?’
“We’ve still got the people on the ground. You’ve got pundits. Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy are out there. Various commentators, journalists.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a problem bringing that feeling across. If these people were sitting somewhere else, would your viewing be massively changed?’
“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.”
The Salford studio has brand new cutting-edge tech
BBC bossses say the new command centre could also be used for future tournaments
Kay-Jelski said no pundit had turned down the chance to work for the BBC this summer because its studio is not in the US.
The top brass admitted the new command centre could also be used for future tournaments.
He said: “It depends where the event is and, therefore, the cost, climate emission.
“The next men’s Euros is in the UK. I’m sure there’ll be different ways to do it.”
The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is set to be just as costly.
He added: “We haven’t gone into detail on LA yet.”
The mind-boggling new tech is also set to supercharge Match of the Day next season.
Gabby Logan will become the first woman to anchor a World Cup final on UK television.
Kay-Jelski said: “We’re just insanely proud of someone who’s clearly a national treasure.”
Logan will be joined by pundits Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards to cover both the final and the BBC‘s opening match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday.
The Sport boss is relaxed about pundits Shearer and Richards co-hosting Lineker’s podcast during the tournament.
He said: “People will hear from them on the BBC first – great. I’m not here to cause problems for a business that’s been really successful.
“And what they’re doing with Netflix will be fascinating for the whole industry to see what works.”
