BBC, ITV announce World Cup deal

The BBC and ITV have announced a renewal of their long-standing deal with FIFA for UK broadcast rights to the World Cup.

Under the terms of the new contract, the broadcasters will split coverage of the 64 games at the two tournaments in South Africa in five years time and again for the subsequent World Cup in 2014, the venue for which has yet to be confirmed.

"We are delighted to have secured the rights for one of the biggest sporting events on the planet and that once again the whole competition is being made available on a free to air basis to the audience," said BBC Director-General Mark Thompson. "We hope viewers at home will enjoy watching it as much as we will look forward to broadcasting it."

Nigel Pickard, ITV's Director of Programmes, added: "This is a hugely important deal for ITV and the BBC. As the choice of channels increases, live events are ever more important to attract national audiences - and they don't come any bigger than the football World Cup. ITV is delighted to be able to offer our viewers the next three on our channels, starting with 2006."