BBC And BSkyB Announce FA Cup Football Rights Deal
After a week of delays, the BBC and BSkyB have finally reached an agreement with the Football Association over a new four-year television rights deal for England international games and the FA Cup.
The deal, rumoured to be worth up to £300 million between the 2004/2005 and the 2007/2008 seasons, will see all of England’s home games broadcast live on the BBC, along with three FA Cup matches per round and the first choice of replayed games.
BSkyB will show highlights and delayed coverage of England games and will broadcast one live FA Cup match per round. The FA Cup final will be shown live on both the BBC and Sky Sports.
The announcement, which follows a lengthy negotiation process, means the FA will have now guaranteed income for the next four years. However, it is thought the deal is worth significantly less than the existing three-year contract.
Reports also suggest the deal could anger the FA’s main sponsors, who are concerned that their ability to advertise during the build-up to games and in commercial breaks will be limited as the majority of coverage is on the BBC.
Commenting on the agreement, the FA’s new chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be renewing our partnerships with both BBC and BSkyB. Both broadcasters have given us fantastic support in the past two years and we are looking forward to cementing our excellent relationships for a further period.”
He added: “The deal is an important step in the process of providing financial stability to the FA. It also enables much greater access to top quality football for an even larger number of people.”
The deal also includes all home England under 21 matches, the Community Shield and the FA Women’s Cup. The new contract period covers the entire 2006 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA 2008 European Championship qualifying campaigns.
BBC and BSkyB will continue to support the FA’s other brands with match, news and feature coverage, while providing the FA’s commercial partners with similar levels of exposure as in the current domestic television contract.
The BBC director of sport, Peter Salmon, said: “The new partnership will enable the BBC to give terrestrial audiences access to the England team during their passage to the World Cup in 2006.”
Last month it was revealed that live Premiership football matches could return to ITV and the BBC for the first time in over a decade as the Premier League announced major changes to the way it sells its main media rights package (see TV Giants Battle For Live Premiership Football Rights).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk BSkyB: 0207 705 3000 www.sky.com Football Association: 0207 745 4545 www.thefa.com
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