BBC Scores FA Cup Rights Renewal
BBC Sport has reached a sublicensing agreement with TNT Sports to continue providing free-to-air coverage of the Emirates FA Cup.
The four-year deal, which starts from the 2025/26 season, will see English football’s biggest domestic cup competition remain on the BBC, despite reported competition for the rights from ITV.
The agreement with UK pay-TV sports broadcaster TNT Sports, which is co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, will see the BBC air live coverage of 14 games per season co-exclusively with TNT Sports.
The BBC will show two live matches from each fixture round through to the quarterfinals, before broadcasting one semi-final and the final.
The deal also includes rights to highlights and digital clips, which the BBC will be able to to share across its digital and social platforms.
Interim Director of BBC Sport, Philip Bernie said, “The BBC has a proud history of bringing fans across the nation together for all the magic and drama of the FA Cup. This partnership for the next four years is brilliant news and, alongside our recent Premier League extension and UEFA Champions League highlights coming this year, means that BBC Sport will deliver fans top class analysis, commentary and coverage of the biggest football competitions free to air and accessible for all.”
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 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.”
BBC Sport’s existing audio rights and commentary deal with The FA covering the Emirates FA Cup and home England internationals continues until 2026.
Back in February, TNT Sports agreed a four-year deal with the FA to broadcast Emirates FA Cup matches in the UK.
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