Going into this World Cup final, there is one clear favourite: their squad has depth and experience; the line-up has proven quality and leadership; and perhaps most importantly, they have performed on the biggest stages before and come out victorious. We are talking about the BBC, which once again will do head-to-head battle for the nation’s eyeballs with ITV as a subplot to the England-Spain match in Sydney.
The clash, historically, has not gone well for ITV. For the men’s World Cup final last December, nearly 20 million Britons tuned in, with three-quarters (15 million) favouring the BBC. Of course, the BBC has the selling point of no ad breaks and the prestige of being seen as a destination for nationally significant events. But ITV’s coverage so far in this World Cup has been slick and engaging, so can the upstart, packed with young, fresh talent, pull off a shock?
