For the world's greatest sporting spectacle, the broadcasting demands are of the highest order. Offering a unique perspective from behind the scenes, we stepped inside their Moscow studio to capture those moments when the live red light was both on and off.
Basing themselves in front of the breathtaking St Basil's Cathedral, it's a backdrop befitting of such a prestigious tournament. A World Cup wouldn't be the same without such scenes, though it is behind the camera, just as much as in front of it, where the craft and graft earn their plaudits. An enormous 18.3m people watched England's opener against Tunisia and following strong form, England's 6-1 win over Panama saw the BBC take a commanding audience share of 82.9% - meaning an estimated three-quarters of all the people watching TV at that time were watching the game.
Incredible figures demand rigorous delivery and with a prestigious set up, the broadcaster has managed to carry out a relentless schedule that when finished will have lasted the best part of six weeks. From the streams of cable to the confined spaces, the world behind the scenes may not carry the glamour of corporate hospitality or the shiney glitz that many will assume. Moreover, it takes a lot of due care and attention to bring such chaos of a World Cup fixture list under control to produce such strong content.
Bringing you fly on the wall access, we weave between the countless media hubs that have based themselves here. In passing, you see familiar faces from the screen, from Didier Drogba and Gary Lineker, to Phil Neville and Alex Scott. Going beyond TV, the studios offer a full service of creative suite, also housing radio broadcasting stations BBC 5 Live and the top charting 'World Cup Daily Podcast' which had gained serious traction.
The BBC will host Brazil v Belgium this evening on BBC 1 from 6pm (7pm kick off) and then it's England v Sweden tomorrow on BBC 1 from 2pm. But you already knew that. Coming home? Just maybe. Kick off is at 3pm.
Photography by Yana Davydova exclusively for SoccerBible.
