BBC and Sidemen to host World Cup watchalong

BBC Sport and the British YouTube collective the Sidemen are teaming up to produce a World Cup watchalong for Germany's group game against Ecuador on Thursday. The event will be streamed on YouTube and BBC iPlayer, marking a first-of-its-kind collaboration for a World Cup match.

Match context and broadcast details

Germany have already secured their place in the knockout stages, while Ecuador can still qualify with a win in this Group E encounter. The watchalong will be available on BBC Football's YouTube channel as well as the Sidemen's MoreSidemen YouTube channel. Four members of the Sidemen—Tobi Brown, Simon Minter, Ethan Payne, and Josh Bradley—will host the pre-match build-up starting at 20:45 BST, providing their own commentary and analysis throughout the game.

The watchalong and the World Cup game itself will be restricted to UK viewers only.

Bridging traditional and digital audiences

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, commented on the initiative: "Millions of fans now follow football through creators, streams and social platforms alongside traditional broadcasts. This is about bringing those worlds together." He added, "The Sidemen have built one of the biggest communities anywhere online and we're excited to work with them on something that has never been done before at a World Cup. It's a chance to reach audiences in new ways while still delivering the live action that matters most."

Additional coverage

In addition to the watchalong, the Ecuador vs. Germany match will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with radio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds. The other final group game in Group E, between Curacao and the Ivory Coast, will also kick off at 21:00 BST.