On Tuesday, the BBC’s director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, showed reporters around the Salford studio that will serve as the base for the broadcaster’s World Cup coverage.
Journalists who attended the visit to the BBC’s MediaCityUK site on the edge of Manchester reportedly came away unimpressed, describing the newly constructed set-up as “unglamorous” and lacking any real sense of spectacle.
By comparison, ITV has opted for a far more eye-catching presentation hub in Brooklyn, with its broadcasts framed by sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.
The contrast is sharpened further by former BBC star Gary Lineker, who will be based in a Times Square studio for the tournament as he fronts The Rest is Football podcast, a production set to appear on Netflix as part of a £14 million agreement.
Under Kay-Jelski’s direction, the BBC has chosen not to base its coverage in any of the 16 host cities spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
As a result, the corporation’s lead presenters — Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates, alongside the punditry team — will conduct the vast majority of the coverage from Salford, a decision that has prompted critics to mock the approach as “work-from-home World Cup coverage”.
Or perhaps that should be woke from home. Because Kay-Jelski’s decision has sparked an unexpected culture war inside the corporation.
Explaining the decision this week, Kay-Jelski said: ‘The actual end product that people are getting at home, I don’t really think it’s that different.’
Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC’s director of sport, at the corporation’s World Cup studio in Salford
He proudly showed off the ‘state-of-the-art, immersive studio’ featuring a giant LED backdrop of each of the host cities, with producers able to change the weather and time of day to match the conditions at each venue while pundits will speak from what appears to be a rooftop terrace or riverside balcony – with fans blowing a gentle breeze to give the impression they are outside.
Obviously at this stage, Kay-Jelski – known for being soul-sappingly righteous – hadn’t yet seen ITV’s presentation of England’s friendly match against Costa Rica on Wednesday night.
Those watching host Mark Pougatch and pundits Roy Keane and Ian Wright discussing the Three Lions’ win were flabbergasted by the spectacular backdrop.
Even Keane and Wright’s outfits grabbed attention.
Keane opted for a navy shirt and shorts co-ord by Wax London, while his former Arsenal striker co-star went for a £120 indigo camper shirt by Universal Works which he is thought to have bought from his local boutique in Kensal Rise, Supra.
The energetic trio were clearly delighted to be broadcasting from New York. ITV bosses, I’m told, are ‘cock-a-hoop’, and thrilled to have attracted a peak audience of four million for the game.
Their ratings for the opening game of Mexico vs South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City were even better, with a peak of 7.7 million viewers.
Indeed, one senior employee says that the BBC have handed them a win.
‘The BBC has given us the best possible opportunity. For some reason, they’ve given us the upper hand on a plate.
‘It’s bizarre, this World Cup is one of the most anticipated in history. The BBC aren’t usually backwards in coming forwards about spending money on big events. Not this time though, it’s very strange. Who is making these decisions?’
ITV’s World Cup coverage is televised from New York with a view of the Manhattan skyline
The answer lies in Kay-Jelski, 42. Educated at the fee-paying University College School in Hampstead, north London, he began his career in 2007 as a trainee sub-editor at the Daily Mail.
He went on to become the sports editor of The Times, horrifying readers in 2019 when he compared those who portrayed trans athletes as ‘threatening’ with racists.
Six years later he replaced the highly-regarded BBC director of sport Barbara Slater.
So why has he made the decision to stop his team from jetting out to America for the entirety of the tournament?
Instead, one or more of the Beeb’s hosts will only fly out to the US if England or Scotland advance to the quarter finals.
According to Kay-Jelski, it’s to save money to the tune of a few million pounds.
‘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 said.
However, insiders are quick to debunk that. ‘Alex is talking rubbish,’ says one employee.
‘When it comes to Glastonbury there have been up to 1,000 staff members.
‘It’s bonkers and quite unbelievable that Alex thinks that the World Cup isn’t worth spending money on. It brings so much joy to the nation… So much money is wasted at the BBC and they are genuinely cutting corners with something so important’.
Meanwhile, Kay-Jelski claims that not hosting from the US until at least the quarter-final stage will achieve a 19 per cent reduction in its carbon emissions compared with its output from the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
This has been written off as misguided by a BBC staff member, and seen as ‘an excuse’ by many inside the broadcaster.
Indeed, the truth appears to lie in the fact that the BBC hosted the Women’s World Cup from Salford two years ago.
The BBC’s top football presenters – Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates – will host World Cup coverage almost entirely from the UK
Gabby Logan, the BBC’s lead anchor, told the Daily Mail: ‘Most of our coverage is from Salford. Until the latter stages it will be from Salford like it has been since the Euros, the Women’s World Cup.’
‘That’s more like it,’ says my insider. ‘Even though the women’s game isn’t watched [by as many] as the men’s, in Alex’s mind it has to all be equal.
‘Perhaps it isn’t progressive enough of him to see that men’s football, the men’s World Cup, is a massive deal which requires investment… It’s the typical woke nonsense that comes with Alex.’
While he may have been the person to finally get rid of Gary Lineker, he has been lambasted for a number of other decisions.
Last year Kay-Jelski took the decision to no longer hold rights to televise the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. While he insisted it was a cost-saving exercise, critics claimed that he sees the competition as ‘too elitist’.
‘Like the Boat Race, Alex seems to be hiding behind the money argument as being the reason for his ridiculous decisions rather than admitting that there are other factors to do with his own views at play.’
Indeed, only last month Saturday lunchtime show Football Focus was axed amid dwindling viewing figures.
With former Lioness Alex Scott at its helm, it was criticised for being ‘vacuous, uninspiring and out of touch’. Once again, Kay-Jelski was blamed.
‘Modernisation is one thing, totally losing touch with the ordinary football fan is another,’ says a BBC source.
‘Same for the World Cup, why not invest in something millions of people are going to watch? It’s madness.’
As a TV insider put it: ‘While Alex might feel he is doing the right thing, he needs to remember the much used-phrase “go woke, go broke”.’
