Free-to-air FA Cup matches to drop from 38 to 14 games a season despite new BBC deal
Free-to-air FA Cup matches will plummet from 38 to 14 when the new deal begins next year, despite the BBC securing “co-exclusive” rights with TNT Sports.
The BBC will show four fewer FA Cup matches a season despite beating ITV to solo terrestrial rights, and overall there will be a significant 63 per cent drop from 38 fixtures available in the current cycle from 2025-26.
The FA’s record £264 million deal with TNT included a stipulation that games in each round had to be made available on terrestrial TV, allowing the BBC and ITV to compete for secondary rights.
From 2025, the BBC will screen two FA Cup ties per round through to the quarter-finals, plus one semi-final and the final under the terms of a new agreement with main rights holder TNT.
The new deal with TNT initially prompted some consternation with matches moving behind a paywall but the contract, agreed in February, is understood to have represented a significant uplift.
TNT will get the first pick, with the BBC’s so-called “co-exclusive” matches being the second and fourth picks. The time slots associated with those picks are understood to still be under discussion. The BBC will also be able to air highlights and clips across its platforms, TNT confirmed.
The BBC and ITV are currently in the third season of a four-year deal with the Football Association under which they share FA Cup rights, which started in 2021-22.
Under its agreement, TNT will show every match live from the first round that does not kick off at 3pm on a Saturday.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham 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 for everyone, and this new broadcast partnership will enable fans to see more of its matches live than ever before from the start of the 2025-26 season, across both TNT Sports and free-to-air on the BBC.
“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 ahead.”
From next season the FA Cup will not feature replays, with the FA confirming in April they were being scrapped due to pressures on the calendar created by the expansion of European club competitions.
