FA Cup final remains on free-to-air list
The free-to-air public broadcasting of the FA Cup final is likely to continue for the foreseeable future following the Football Association’s decision to uphold the tournament’s status as a ‘crown jewels’ Group A listed event along with other sports events like the World Cup and European Championship finals.
At present only a handful of football fixtures are available on terrestrial broadcasters each year, and with these amongst the most-viewed sports events in the United Kingdom, FIFA and UEFA are keen to move them over to the lucrative pay-per-view broadcasting market.
At present the earlier rounds as well as the latter stages of the FA Cup, World Cup and European Championship are all broadcast via cable or satellite broadcasters, with terrestrial channels only permitted to broadcast the climax of these events.
Fans are therefore issuing opposing calls for more football matches to be screened for free by terrestrial broadcasters, with millions being deprived of access to top level English and club football by the current arrangement.
“We believe that the competitive qualifiers should be added to the list under the new review and we hope there will be a wide consultation,” Michael Brunskill of the Football Supporters’ Federation told the Telegraph.
