The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has recently secured the free-to-air rights to the men's Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) for four years, starting from the 2025-26 season. This development is a significant win for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts alike, as it ensures continued access to one of football's most prestigious tournaments.

In this new arrangement, BBC will continue its role as a free-to-air broadcaster alongside TNT Sports' pay-TV deal. The partnership between these two broadcasting giants promises an exciting and comprehensive coverage of the FA Cup games.

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Under this agreement, BBC Sport will broadcast 14 games throughout each season. This includes: two live matches from each round up to the quarter-finals, one semi-final match and final match. Additionally, viewers can look forward to highlights and digital clips across various BBC platforms.

TNT still holds the major rights for the competition

On TNT's end, they will air live matches starting from the First Round and every game from the Third Round onwards outside of 3pm kick-offs. This follows an agreement made earlier in 2021 where TNT announced its intention to sell on free-to-air rights for selected matches.

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.”

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Trojan Paillot, SVP sports rights acquisitions and syndication at WBD Sports Europe, said:

“TNT Sports will broadcast every single game outside of 3pm kick-offs, starting from the first round, ensuring fans can watch more of the Emirates FA Cup than ever before all 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 are an outstanding partner to ensure that alongside more games we also make the competition as widely available as possible.”

BBC hold historical partnership with FA Cup

Before this recent development, both BBC and ITV had been airing the competition. Prior arrangements saw shared broadcasting responsibilities between BT Sport - TNT’s predecessor - and BBC. However, with this new deal in place, fans can expect more streamlined access to their favourite football tournament on both paid TV via TNT Sports and free-to-air on BBC Sport.

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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.”

This latest move by BBC secures not only their position as a leading broadcaster but also guarantees that millions of football fans worldwide won't miss out on any action from one of England's premier football tournaments. Whether you're a casual sports fan or an avid sports betting enthusiast, this development promises to keep you on the edge of your seat for seasons to come.

Pos	Team	W	D	L	M	Pts
1	Sogndal	4	3	1	8	15
2	Kongsvinger	4	3	1	8	15
3	Egersund	4	2	1	7	14
4	Stabaek	3	4	0	7	13
5	Bryne	4	0	4	8	12
6	Lyn 1896 FK	2	5	1	8	11
7	Moss	3	2	3	8	11
8	Valerenga	3	2	3	8	11
9	Levanger	2	4	2	8	10
10	Mjondalen	2	3	2	7	9
11	Sandnes Ulf	2	3	3	8	9
12	Raufoss	2	2	4	8	8
13	Aasane Fotball	1	4	2	7	7
14	Ranheim	1	4	3	8	7
15	IK Start	1	3	4	8	6
16	Aalesund	1	2	5	8	5

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