TNT Sports agree four-year deal to broadcast FA Cup from 2025-26 season

The Football Association has agreed a four-year deal with UK broadcaster TNT Sports to broadcast the FA Cup from the 2025-26 season.

TNT will share rights with a free-to-air broadcaster, whose identity hasn’t been announced yet but will be confirmed at a later date. In the current deal, both the BBC and ITV share rights to show the competition with all games free to the UK audience.

TNT Sports will showcase live matches from the first round, with every game from the third round outside of 3pm kick offs on display through to the final whilst selected matches from every round will be available free-to-air, and highlights of every game will be made available free on YouTube.

In addition to the Emirates FA Cup ties, TNT Sports will also broadcast the English football season’s traditional curtain raiser, the FA Community Shield, and the FA Youth Cup semi-finals and final. They join the Vanarama National League, which TNT Sports also has the rights to in a long-standing commitment.

The FA Chief Executive, Mark Bullingham, explained the decision behind pay walling a chunk of the FA Cup fixtures.

“The Emirates FA Cup is our crown jewel, and it helps us to provide vital investment across every level of English football, supporting clubs, communities, facilities and the wider grassroots game.” he said in a press release.

“TNT Sports are an outstanding broadcaster with an impressive 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 Emirates FA Cup continues to thrive over the coming years.”

In a rather controversial move, the FA has opted to paywall matches from the oldest football club competition in the world in order to earn and utilise more money to invest in English football’s future.

Whilst it is wildly unpopular with the fans, it does showcase just how quickly the whole sport is being monetised, and unfortunately just how little say the fans get in having their desires met when it comes to free access to watch football.

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How James Johnson Is Shaping Canada Soccer’s Billion-Dollar World Cup Commercial Future

Canada Soccer has confirmed a renewed long-term commercial agreement with Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment, marking a significant reset in the federation’s revenue strategy as the country prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The updated partnership extends CSME’s control of Canada Soccer’s commercial rights, including sponsorship, broadcast and media licensing, while introducing revised financial terms designed to provide the federation with greater long-term revenue certainty and growth potential. The agreement replaces a previous deal that faced heavy scrutiny from players and stakeholders over concerns surrounding commercial valuation and distribution of revenues.

CSME, led by Group Chief Executive James Johnson, played a central role in renegotiating the structure, which aims to better align commercial returns with the sport’s accelerating domestic and international profile. The revised framework is expected to support increased investment across national team programs, commercial development and broader football growth initiatives.

The agreement arrives at a pivotal moment for Canadian football, with momentum building across both men’s and women’s programs and global attention increasing ahead of 2026. Securing a more sustainable commercial model is viewed as critical to ensuring the federation can maximise opportunities generated by hosting football’s largest tournament.

The renewed partnership also signals a shift toward long-term commercial planning, providing Canada Soccer with a more stable financial platform as it looks to strengthen its competitive standing and expand participation nationwide.

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