Emirates FA Cup heads to ITV Sport
Emirates FA Cup will air on the broadcaster from 2021 in a deal which sees some matches air on the BBC.
Mark Pougatch presenter of football and rugby on ITV Sport.
“The Emirates FA Cup continues to capture the public’s imagination, drawing millions of viewers at every stage. This agreement with ITV is fantastic news and means that we will reach the broadest possible audience across the country. ITV has been a great broadcast partner with the England Men’s Internationals and will do a brilliant job with the coverage of the world’s most historic cup competition.” – Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Commercial & Football Development Officer
The new four-year deal with The Football Association will see comprehensive coverage broadcast by ITV across the full breadth of the cup each season, from the First Round through to the Final.
Live coverage of more than twenty matches will be shown each season from 2021/22 through to 2024/25, and the deal also includes live coverage of The FA Community Shield each year. Sharing coverage with the BBC, ITV will have first pick and fourth pick of matches in the Second Round, Fourth Round and the Quarter Finals, as well as second and third picks for the First, Third and Fifth Rounds and second pick of the Semi-finals.
This new deal adds to ITV Sport’s portfolio of first class events, which includes exclusive free-to-air coverage of the England football team’s qualifiers for both the European Championship and World Cup, La Liga, the 6 Nations and exclusive coverage of the Rugby World Cup, top level boxing, UK horse racing, the Tour de France and the French Open.
The current deal sees FA Cup matches air on terrestrial via BBC Sport with the pay-to-view BT Sport the current partner.
“We are delighted to be able to broadcast the FA Cup once again. We are particularly pleased that we shared The FA’s vision of a completely free-to-air competition and look forward to bringing new viewers all along the road to Wembley Stadium.” – Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport
The Emirates FA Cup will be leaving BT Sport.
