ITV and BBC have acquired the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Internet and TV broadcast rights for the UK. This is the 14th straight World Cup that the ITV and BBC will broadcast jointly since the 1966 World Cup hosted in England.
World Cup streaming in the UK will be available on ITV Hub and the BBC iPlayer. Fans can listen to the World Cup live action on BBC radio. Below, please find all the broadcast details by channel, streaming platform for all 64 live FIFA World Cup 2018 fixtures.
All eyes will be on the month-long event which kicks-off with the opening ceremony and match on June 14, 2018, culminating in the final ceremony and World Cup final on July 15, 2018. The following is a comprehensive UK multi-platform broadcast guide for the 2018 FIFA World Cup covering television, internet streaming, apps and radio coverage.
World Cup dates: 14 June to 15 July, 2018
From the opening ceremony and the first match featuring Russia vs Saudi Arabia on June 14, 2018, up to the World Cup final match scheduled for July 15, 2018.
2018 World Cup broadcasting rights in the UK
FIFA awarded the World Cup broadcasting rights for the UK territory to the BBC and ITV. Both networks acquired the English-language broadcast rights for Internet, Mobile and TV platforms.
The World Cup will be broadcast on TV on ITV, ITV4 and BBC One. It will also be streamed live on ITV Hub and the BBC iPlayer.
BBC Radio acquired the World Cup radio broadcast rights which will be transmitted via BBC Radio on BBC Radio 5Live and BBC Radio 5Live Sports Extra.
Watch the 2018 World Cup on TV
BBC and ITV will offer comprehensive live World Cup tournament coverage for UK football fans across its' channels and digital platforms with over 350 hours of World Cup programming. Both networks will share coverage of the World Cup equally.
BBC will air 33 of the 64 World Cup matches live and exclusive, while ITV and ITV 4 will live broadcast the remaining 32 matches exclusively. Both networks will air the World Cup final on BBC and ITV.
ITV will show the opening ceremony and first match of the tournament between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia on June 14th as well as England's final group game against Belgium on June 28th. The BBC will show England's first two group matches against Tunisia on June 18th and Panama on June 24th.
In the knockout phase, ITV will have the first pick of the round-of-16 games as well as the first pick of the semi-finals, whereas the BBC has first pick of the quarter-finals. Both ITV and BBC will broadcast the final live on each of their respective networks.
Watch the World Cup 2018 online
ITV and BBC will stream all World Cup games live their own digital platforms: ITV Hub and BBC iPLAYER. Together both streaming services will combine to offer complete coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the UK. All matches will be available live and on-demand.
The World Cup on radio
BBC Radio through BBC Radio 5Live and BBC Radio 5Live Sports Extrawill offer live coverage of all World Cup matches in the UK.
World Cup match times
Most World Cup matches will be aired between 1 pm BST and 7 pm BST with exception to the France vs Australia game that kicks off at 11 am BST and the Croatia vs Nigeria game that kicks off at 8 pm BST. The opening match and the final will both have a 4 pm BST kick-off time.
When does England play?
England group stage games will be as follows:
- Tunisia vs England on Monday 18th June, 7:00pm BST on BBC
- England vs Panama on Sunday 24th June, 1:00pm BST on BBC
- England vs Belgium on Thursday 28th June, 7:00pm BST on ITV
Which countries are in England's World Cup Group G:
- England
- Belgium
- Panama
- Tunisia
Official UK World Cup Broadcasters
World Cup Fixtures:
Please see below for detailed broadcast listings for all 64 World Cup matches broadcasts across all available platforms (TV, Internet, Mobile and Radio) in the UK.
