BBC secure new FA Cup TV deal with TNT Sports after fending off competition from ITV

The BBC will continue to broadcast live FA Cup matches for four years from the 2025-26 season after striking a deal with main rights holder TNT Sports.

Mail Sport exclusively revealed in March that a deal had been struck between BBC and TNT Sports, with the British broadcaster beating ITV to the secondary live rights package in a deal that will see the company have live coverage of two FA Cup matches from each round. to the quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final.

And the deal was confirmed on Tuesday, with the tournament set to be shown on free-to-air television for years to come. The deal will see the BBC broadcast free live coverage of 14 matches per season, co-exclusively with TNT Sports.

The deal also sees the BBC able to offer highlights and digital clips on its platforms.

TNT bought the rights from the FA earlier this year in a record four-year deal worth £264 million, with the contract stipulating that games in each round were to be made available on free-to-air television.

It comes after the British broadcaster struck a deal with main rights holder TNT Sports

TNT bought the rights from the FA earlier this year in a record four-year deal worth £264 million, but always planned to partner with a public broadcaster

Although TNT could have shown matches on YouTube or their freeview channel Quest, their intention was always to find a public broadcaster as a rights partner.

The BBC has had live rights to part of the FA Cup since 2014, with coverage shared with ITV for the past four years. Retaining it will be a major boost for a sporting division that has lost the rights to Formula 1 Grand Prix. National and the Open Championship of the past decade.

Although it was negotiated by TNT, the FA will also be happy with the deal as the BBC’s heavy promotion across TV, radio, online and social media platforms will ensure the FA Cup continues to gain wide exposure.

Interim Director of BBC Sport, Philip Bernie, said: “The BBC has a proud history of bringing fans together from across the country for all the magic and drama of the Emirates FA Cup.

‘This partnership for the next four years is brilliant news and, alongside our recent Premier League renewal and the UEFA Champions League highlights to come this year, means that BBC Sport will provide fans with top-class analysis, commentary and coverage of the biggest football competitions that can be broadcast for free. and accessible to everyone.’

The governing body’s decision to sell its core rights package to a subscription channel after four years of exclusive matches on BBC and ITV was criticized last month, but in reality a mixed broadcast model has been the norm for the competition for much of the last thirty years. .

TNT’s predecessor, BT Sport, shared the rights with the BBC from 2014 to 2021, while other subscription services including Sky Sports, Setanta and ESPN previously held live FA Cup rights.

The £264m FA Cup deal is one of the FA’s biggest sources of income and is used to fund the grassroots game, Wembley and the England national teams

The £264 million FA Cup deal is one of the FA’s biggest sources of income, which they use to fund grassroots football and run Wembley and England teams across all age groups.

Trojan Paillot, SVP Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndication WBD Sports Europe, said: “TNT Sports will broadcast every match outside the 3pm kick-off, starting from the first round, allowing fans to watch more of the Emirates FA Cup than ever before. in one place.’

“Our ambition is to make more of the live Emirates FA Cup action available to fans than ever before, so the BBC is an excellent partner to ensure that, in addition to more games, we also make the competition as widely available as possible.”

Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that the BBC will continue as one of our Emirates FA Cup broadcast partners, under this new deal with TNT Sports.

‘It was always our intention to ensure that this very special competition would be accessible to everyone, and this new broadcast partnership will allow fans to watch more of the matches live than ever before from the start of the 2025-2026 season , both on TNT and TNT. Sports and free-to-air on the BBC.

BT Sport shared rights with the BBC from 2014 to 2021 and the broadcaster has a proud history with the historic cup competition

“The BBC has told many of the magical and memorable stories that only the Emirates FA Cup can create, and we look forward to making even more history together in the years to come.”

Another major change is that all FA Cup third round matches that do not start during the Saturday afternoon broadcast blackout will be broadcast live on television.

As part of the deal, TNT has also secured live rights to the Community Shield and the FA Youth Cup final.