The 2014 FIFA World Cup is only days away and for Australian viewers the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is the place to get your fix and follow the tournament from all angles. In total SBS will have over 700 hours of coverage dedicated to arguably the world’s biggest sporting event. SBS will deliver the tournament to Australians across TV, online, mobile, tablet and radio.
All 64 matches will be LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on either SBS ONE or SBS TWO (if games are being played simultaneously), with all matches also available for streaming LIVE on SBS’s World Game website (all matches can also be watched on catch up via SBS On Demand). SBS’s coverage will be hosted by Les Murray and Craig Foster in Brazil, with David Zdrilic and Lucy Zelic hosting matches from SBS’s Sydney studio. This will be Les Murray’s last World Cup as SBS Chief Football Host and Editorial Supervisor, ahead of his semi-retirement later this year after 34 years with SBS. A range of experts will also feature on SBS’s coverage including John Aloisi, Jason Culina, Ned Zelic, Clint Bolton, Zeljko Kalac and Aytek Genc. SBS Reporters David Basheer, Scott McIntyre and Vitor Sobral will be pitch side to deliver the latest match news direct from Brazil.
Ken Shipp, Director of Sport at SBS said:
“For the 2014 FIFA World Cup SBS will be providing more content across more platforms than ever before, making it our biggest World Cup yet. And I’m prepared to say no other media organisation anywhere in the world will offer the depth of coverage SBS will offer.”
SBS has signed Hyundai, Nike, Kia, TAB.com.au, Samsung and TPG as its broadcast partners.
Aside from LIVE match coverage, SBS will also deliver a number of World Cup related shows, including:
- The FIFA World Cup Show (9:30pm Thursday 12 June to Sunday 13 July on SBS 2) will air every night with hosts Les Murray and Craig Foster live from Rio de Janeiro. The show will provide a look at the colour and excitement from Brazil on and off the pitch with special guests including Brazilian-born SBS lifestyle presenter Fernanda de Paula;
- The Socceroos Show (6:30pm Thursday 12 June to Saturday 28 June on SBS ONE) will feature exclusive interviews with players and coaching staff plus the latest news and updates from the team. Hosted by David Basheer from the Socceroos training camp in Brazil;
- The FIFA World Cup Morning News (from 7am Friday 13 June to Monday 14 July) hosted by Mariana Rudan will bring fans a full run down of what happened in Brazil overnight including match highlights, interviews and the latest reactions from around the world.
For those wanting a lighter look at the world game during the World Cup, SBS will air nightly (7:30pm from Friday 13 June on SBS ONE and SBS Radio 4) The Full Brazilian. The show will be hosted by comedian Jimeoin and will feature funny clips, sketches and in-studio challenges in front of a live studio audience.
Aside from the LIVE streaming of all matches, the World Game website will feature multi-angle replay functionality, match stats including heat maps and tactical information, live text commentary, social integration, fantasy football and tipping as well as news, highlights, polls and photo galleries. SBS The World game App will be available as a FIFA World Cup edition with bespoke functionality for smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android).
SBS Radio will have LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage of each World Cup match across two dedicated radio stations. Featuring commentary in 13 languages, SBS Radio will be broadcasting in more languages than ever before and the most languages from a single broadcaster in the history of the FIFA World Cup.
It all starts this Thursday 12 June at 6:30PM with The Socceroos Show on SBS One.
Sources:
Media Release: SBS Announces Biggest & Best World Cup Programming Schedule