May 27 ~ Though today's ITV's World Cup coverage press launch tried to suggest otherwise, there is only so much brodcasters can do when showing live football matches. Adrian Chiles will be a safe (and expensive) choice for fronting the majority of games. And they were keen to show off ITV Live – a complicated "new dual screen experience... combining action replays, real-time statistics, voting tools and social networking" on ITV.com. But a broadcaster should be judged by the quality of its additional offerings.

There's James Corden's World Cup Live, which features celebrity guests, a "World Cup legend", his friends and family, and his very own human World Cup wallchart. Or Men Brewing Badly, which involves Neil Morrissey and Richard Fox "taking a truckload of their own brand beers on a 3,000 mile road trip in a seven-ton temperamental truck from Dar Es Salaam, through the dangers and delights of Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and into South Africa".

Or while her husband is hosting BBC's coverage, don't miss The World Cup On GMTV, where "model and TV personality Danielle Lineker will be giving us her unique guide to the World Cup. From the squad's suits to the team's treatment regimes, Danielle will be giving us all the insider knowledge on how the team will be prepared for their World Cup glory." It could be a long summer.

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