From next season, FA Cup matches will once again be pay-to-play. Photo: Getty Images/Oli Scarff
The BBC and ITV lost the FA Cup rights to TNT Sports and now face a battle to sublet them to the pay-TV network.
The world's oldest cup competition will once again be behind a paywall — at least in part — from next season after Warner Bros Discovery struck a four-year deal with the Football Association, featuring a record number of draws.
This included includes a commitment to air each round of matches free-to-air, either in partnership with a terrestrial channel or through its own platforms.
Telegraph Sport have been told that sub-letting these rights to the BBC or ITV is the most likely outcome, which will mean one of them will lose coverage of one of the crown jewels of the sport and one of its few live football properties.
Discovery's deal is similar to the one in which it wrested exclusive rights to the Olympics from the BBC almost a decade ago, when it entered into a partnership with the corporation.
The new FA Cup contract includes all matches from the third onwards rounds will be broadcast live, except those played during the blackout on Saturday at 3pm.
The deal also includes rights to the Community Shield and FA Youth Cup semi-finals. and the final.
Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Executive, said: “The Emirates FA Cup is our jewel in the crown and helps us deliver vital investment at all levels of English football, supporting clubs, communities, venues and the wider grassroots game. Every season and every round, the Emirates FA Cup creates incredible moments and unforgettable memories for fans, and this new partnership will see select matches broadcast live on TNT Sports, as well as free-to-air coverage from the first round of the FA Cup. competition to the final at Wembley Stadium.
“TNT Sports is an outstanding broadcaster with an impressive track record of showing some of the biggest and best sporting events around the world, so we are delighted to be working with them on our shared commitment and long-term vision that will ensure the hosting of the Emirates FA Cup. will continue to thrive in the coming years.”
Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros Discovery UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe said: “TNT Sports is proud to be partnering with the FA to present more matches from the world's most prestigious domestic cup competition than ever before, alongside our excellent Premier League and UEFA Champions League line-up, and also club competitions. we offer our TNT Sports customers even more live football.
“The Emirates FA Cup and the incredible stories it creates every season go far beyond football, making TNT Sports the perfect home as we continue to tell the stories that matter most to fans. We have enormous respect for the place this world-famous competition holds in the hearts of football fans and that is why it is important to us and the FA that we continue to ensure that free-to-air broadcasting is maintained.» < /p>
BBC and ITV lose rights to the Cup England comes amid growing threats to their hold on the rights to the Six Nations Rugby Cup.
Barbara Slater, the BBC's outgoing director of sport, warned in November that she faces a fight to save the tournament, telling MPs that It's becoming increasingly difficult for the corporation to retain rights to major sporting events.
Slater's ITV colleague Niall Sloane has admitted his own channel could face a fight to retain exclusive rights to the Rugby World Cup amid concerns that it too may not remain entirely on terrestrial television.
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