After a six-year absence, the FA Cup returns to BBC Television for the 2014/15 season with live games and comprehensive highlights from every round of the competition proper.
The corporation, which won back free-to-air rights from ITV in a four-year deal running through to 2018, has unveiled its initial plans to revitalise and enhance television coverage of the world’s most famous and oldest domestic cup competition.
BBC TV will be airing at least 16 live matches from the FA Cup each season in an broadcasting arrangement believed to be similar to the previous ITV deal, which guarantees that the top pick of live matches will be shown on free-to-air television throughout the entire competition.
The pick of the first and second round games will shown live on BBC TV; then from rounds three to six, the BBC will screen the 1st and 3rd pick games, with all games airing on BBC One.
The first pick of the replays during this phase of the competition, as well as the first choice semi-final, will also be shown live on the BBC, with both BBC One and BT Sport sharing live coverage of the final at Wembley in May.
Alongside the traditional live games and highlights programmes, the BBC has promised a number of new innovations that they hope will drive forward TV coverage of the competition and boost its popularity, which many from within the game feel has waned, as a result of many factors, in recent seasons.
Innovations include access-all-areas coverage at the grounds for each live match, interactive Final Score programmes and Football Focus roadshows, as well as moving the draw to a prime time slot on Monday nights and basing it at various venues across the country.
A key part of the BBC’s initial plans for its FA Cup coverage is the extra prominence it is promising to give to the early rounds of the competition.
The BBC hopes to achieve this by maximising its unrivalled multi-platform capabilities across TV, radio and online to bring the full magic of the tournament by putting the lower league clubs in the spotlight.
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FINAL SCORE SPECIALS: For the first and second rounds of the competition, eight matches will be moved to a new Sunday slot at 2.00pm as part of an interactive Final Score, with goals and key moments shown as they happen in a special programme airing on BBC One.
Jason Mohammad and the team will show live action and goals as they happen, as well as interviews with players and managers before the games kick off, savouring all the pre-match build-up.
Fans will be able to enjoy every twist and turn of the action on both afternoons. If there’s a goal in any of the eight games, Final Score will show it, if there’s a penalty, the programme will go live to see it being taken, and if a match is reaching an exciting conclusion, the audience will be able to watch it as it happens.
FOOTBALL FOCUS ROADSHOWS: As part of the programme’s 40th anniversary, Football Focus will go out on the road for every round of the FA Cup to bring fans the magic of the competition ahead of each matchday.
Dan Walker and the team will have a series of live outside broadcasts from some of the grounds playing host to must-watch matches, as teams from all leagues battle it out for the coveted cup.
FA CUP MONTH: As part of the FA Cup’s TV revamp for this season, the BBC will turn the competition’s key month of January into ‘FA Cup month’, which will see the BBC, as well as BT Sport, give enhanced prominence to the competition on their channels.
Further details of the plans for FA Cup Month are set to be announced in due course.
MONDAY NIGHT DRAWS: The BBC has moved the famous FA Cup draw back to a fixed slot on Mondays for this season in a new regular prime time evening slot, with the hope of evoking memories of families huddled around to listen to those all-important fixtures being announced.
Match of the Day 2 and Radio 5 live host Mark Chapman takes over as presenter of the draw proceedings, which will be staged at a different footballing location throughout the competition.
The draw for the first round of this season’s competition will be broadcast live from the FA’s new National Football Centre at St George’s Park on BBC Two and Radio 5 live at 7.00pm on Monday, October 27, with guests to be confirmed.
In contrast to the majority of the ITV era, when the draw was usually held before several games from each round had even been completed, the new Monday night slot means that all teams should get a clearer picture of who they will face in the next round, with the only exceptions being matches which go to replays and any BT Sport-televised Monday evening matches.
“We’re delighted to bring back the tradition of the FA Cup draw on Mondays,” said BBC Sport’s football editor Mark Cole. “We hope the new early evening show will generate a great interest for our audiences on TV, radio and online.”
FA Cup media officer Matt Phillips added: “The draw at St George’s Park is going to be a very special occasion and totally different to anything we’ve done before with a studio audience that will represent all levels of our national game.
“The FA Cup is a real adventure and we’re delighted that the BBC will be there to tell the story to football fans across the globe.”
DIGITAL COVERAGE: The extensive BBC digital offering will include a total of 16 games streamed live on the BBC Sport website, via a new online Match Centre.
There will be a special FA Cup Catch Up service providing downloadable highlights at every stage of the competition via BBC iPlayer, while supporters will also be able to enjoy enhanced coverage and live video text commentary via the BBC Sport website.
RADIO: The FA Cup has a longstanding relationship with BBC radio and 5 live will continue to provide all the news, goals and analysis from the start.
There will be live commentary of selected first and second round matches on 5 live sports extra and 5 live will pick up fully from the third round onwards.
In addition, local BBC regional radio will chart the route to the first round proper, as hundreds of amateur clubs aim to earn a match with a league team.
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Commenting on the return of the FA Cup to the corporation, BBC Director-General Tony Hall said, “Bringing the FA Cup back to the BBC was something I really wanted to do and I am so pleased that we have achieved it for football fans everywhere.
“There is something very special about big national moments on the BBC and the FA Cup should absolutely be one of them.
“The Olympics, Wimbledon and Glastonbury have shown how our audiences love it when we put the full weight of all our services on TV, radio and digital behind covering these events in depth and in ways no one else can.
“Working closely with the FA, I believe we will change the way we view the FA Cup forever.”
FA chairman Greg Dyke said: “The BBC is obviously an organisation I know very well but I don’t think anyone would dispute that their name goes hand in hand with some of the most famous FA Cup moments of yesteryear.
“We’re delighted that the competition is back on their channels, not just through television but with significant online presence as well.”
Despite the move back to the BBC this season, the FA Cup final will continue to kick-off at 5.30pm during the length of the new TV deal, despite strong opposition to the axing of the long-standing traditional 3.00pm slot.
Dyke added: “The final will continue to be held in late afternoon, which is where it’s been moved to.
“I’m certainly happy with that because if you look at the viewing figures for the past two FA Cup finals they were much bigger than they would have been had the match kicked off at 3pm. The world changed and we had to change with it.”
The draw for the first round of the 2014/15 FA Cup takes place on Monday, October 27, with the first round proper being staged on the weekend of November 8-9.
Further details of the BBC’s plans to reinvigorate television coverage of the FA Cup are expected to be confirmed in due course. Visit the BBC Sport website for more information about its football coverage.
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