TV Insiders Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville debate whether it’s coming home after 60 years of hurt in this 2026 World Cup episode that covers The Rest Is Football’s lucrative Netflix deal, extortionate live sport paywalls, and nostalgic chat about previous world cups. 

Topics discussed:

• England winning the World Cup in 1966
• The Rest Is Football Netflix series
• World Cup Coverage tussles between BBC and ITV
• Are sport paywalls taking the piss?
• The ongoing issue of viewers illegally streaming live sports events
• Will the 2026 World Cup make Americans finally love football or, as they continue to call it, soccer 
• What is the future relationship between live sports and free-to-air television?
• Geopolitics and football
• The World Cup and Brazil at Goodison Park, 1966
• Players who were destined for greatness but sadly never achieved it

Chapters:

00.00 - The 1966 World Cup

05.27 - The Rest Is Football World Cup coverage

13.37 - Live sport behind paywalls / Illegal live sport streaming

17.10 - Will America learn to love football?

20.12 - Listed events / World Cup coverage

24.26 - Watching the 2026 World Cup / Geopolitics in football

28.05 - World Cup at Goodison Park

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Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

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