The big guns enter the fray over the first weekend of the New Year as the oldest and greatest domestic cup competition in the world of football continues with the FA Cup Third Round and both BBC Sport and BT Sport will have comprehensive coverage.
Premier League and Championship clubs make their bow in this season’s competition and all will be desperate to get their names into the hat for the fourth round draw, but some are destined to be the victims of a famous cup upset.
This season’s Third Round will differ from usual as due to a full programme of Premier League fixtures on New Year’s Day, as many as half of the weekend’s ties have been moved from the traditional Saturday slot, with the main televised matches on BBC One and BT Sport to be played from Sunday to Tuesday.
The FA Cup returns to BBC Television this season after a six-year absence and the corporation will provide its usual extensive multi-platform coverage on TV, radio and online, along a raft of new innovations that it is hoped will revive TV coverage of the competition.
The BBC has given extra prominence to the early rounds of the competition, placing lower league clubs in the spotlight, and will dedicate the month of January to a plethora of FA Cup-themed programming, including two live games on BBC One from rounds three to six.
There will also be highlights of all the weekend’s cup ties in FA Cup Match of the Day on Saturday and Sunday, while there will also be special editions of Football Focus on Saturday lunchtimes during every FA Cup weekend.
In addition, the FA Cup draw moves back to a permanent slot this season on Monday nights, hosted by Mark Chapman, which will be held at different footballing venues around the country during the season.
BBC Sport will be sharing live coverage of the FA Cup for the next four seasons with BT Sport, running through to the 2017-18 season, after the two broadacsters secured a multi-million pound rights deal in the summer of 2013, with the BBC taking over free-to-air rights from ITV.
The BBC will broadcast the first pick of matches from the first and second rounds, while BT Sport will screen at least two live matches during the opening two rounds, as well as replays if required.
From rounds three to six, BBC TV will show the first pick games and BT Sport the second choice, plus a selection of two other matches from rounds 3-5, with the third and fourth picks alternating between the two broadcasters each round, while both will share two quarter-final matches each.
The first pick of the replays during this phase of the competition will alternate between the BBC and BT, with the BBC screening one match while BT has the option of screening at least two other games.
The BBC has first pick of the semi-finals with the other being screened by BT Sport, with both channels sharing live coverage of the 2015 FA Cup Final at Wembley in late-May.
In addition, one other live FA Cup tie featuring Welsh teams during the early rounds of the competition will be televised by either Welsh-language channel S4C or on BBC Cymru Wales.
Follow all the excitement of this season’s FA Cup live on the BBC and BT Sport from now through to the showpiece final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 30, 2015.
For more information about this season’s FA Cup, visit www.thefa.com/thefacup.
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| FRIDAY 2nd JANUARY |
| Cardiff City v Colchester United 3rd Round | 19:45 |
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| SUNDAY 4th JANUARY |
| Arsenal v Hull City 3rd Round | 17:30 |
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| MONDAY 5th JANUARY |
| AFC Wimbledon v Liverpool 3rd Round | 19:55 |
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January is FA Cup month across the BBC with three live ties to be shown over Third Round weekend, all of which will be complemented by the usual array of support programming.
The FA Cup has returned to the BBC this year with more coverage than ever before, starting on New Year’s Eve with a special BBC Three show counting down the FA Cup’s 50 greatest moments, presented by former England captain Rio Ferdinand and Helen Skelton.
This will be followed with all the action, reaction and stories of the Third Round, with three live games, nightly highlights and special editions of Football Focus and Final Score.
Gary Lineker will host live coverage of both live BBC One ties, the first of which will be the final match on Sunday at 5.30pm, as Arsenal take on Hull City in a re-run of last season’s final, which the Gunners came from behind to win 3-2 after extra-time.
Moving to Monday and memories of 1988 will come flooding back for a host of Dons supporters as League Two side AFC Wimbledon welcome Liverpool to south-west London for a 7.55pm clash, also live on BBC One, with this clash being preceded by the draw for the Fourth Round.
In addition to the two main live games on BBC One, Cardiff City’s home FA Cup third round tie against Colchester United will be broadcast live on BBC Two Wales, on Friday, January 2, kicking off at 7.45pm, a match which will also be available via the BBC Sport website.
Alongside the live games, BBC audiences will be able to go behind the scenes at one of the clubs involved in Third Round weekend on Football Focus, while a FA Cup special Final Score on Sunday will bring all the results and drama from the afternoon’s fixtures.
There will also be Match of the Day highlights shows covering the third rounds ties on Saturday and Sunday nights, both on BBC One.
Commenting on the BBC’s live third round ties, Mark Cole, lead executive for BBC football, told the BBC Sport website: “The quirk of the fixture list has presented a unique opportunity to have an extended three days of FA Cup coverage on BBC One.
“Saturday is a chance for any of the 32 teams in action to grab the spotlight on Match of the Day, while we’ve got six hours of coverage on Sunday to chart the progress of the 14 games.
“Add in Monday’s big game at AFC Wimbledon, preceded by the draw for the fourth round and it’s a great way to kick of our FA Cup Month, where there’s content every day across the BBC.”
In addition, other FA Cup-themed BBC TV programmes to watch out for include an FA Cup Question of Sport on Friday, January 2, and a Pointless special on BBC One on Saturday, January 3, while the next day commentator John Motson will be voicing the continuity on BBC One, with Guy Mowbray doing the same on January 5.
Mowbray will also present a new BBC Two series – FA Cup Rewind – which looks back at some of the most memorable FA Cup moments from each round.
On the BBC Sport website, Wimbledon’s 1988 final win over Liverpool will be given the ‘rewind’ treatment, with text commentary reliving the match as it happened.
There will also be highlights of a classic FA Cup match on the website every day of the month, starting with the 1973 final between Sunderland and Leeds on New Year’s Day.
BBC Sport’s dedicated FA Cup website – bbc.co.uk/facup – will be the place to see all the weekend’s goals on-demand, as well as live text commentaries, reports and opinion from the BBC pundits.
All TV/radio coverage will be available to watch/listen via the BBC Sport app on all mobile devices, while all of BBC TV’s FA Cup coverage will be available on catch-up via BBC iPlayer shortly after transmission.
Read more about BBC’s coverage in SOTB’s Q&A with head of football Mark Cole
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| SUNDAY 4th JANUARY |
| Dover Athletic v Crystal Palace 3rd Round | 13:00 |
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| Yeovil Town v Manchester United 3rd Round | 15:30 |
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| TUESDAY 6th JANUARY |
| Everton v West Ham United 3rd Round | 19:45 |
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BT Sport cameras will be in place at three grounds across the country on the first weekend of January as the road to Wembley continues in the Third Round of the FA Cup.
These ties kick off Sunday, January 4, as Conference side Dover Athletic’s home clash against Premier League Crystal Palace on BT Sport, kicking off at 1.00pm.
Non-league Dover have caused two upsets so far in the competition after beating League Two side Morecambe in the first round and then defeating Cheltenham Town – also of League Two – in the second.
It will be a double bill of action on BT Sport as immediately afterwards they will be screening Manchester United’s visit to Yeovil Town at 3.30pm.
The League One side saw off Chester 2-0 in a second-round replay to set up a dream clash with the 11-time FA Cup winners.
Reds boss Louis van Gaal will get his first taste of the world’s oldest cup competition at Huish Park and a bumper home crowd will be hoping to inflict more knock-out despair on United, who were infamously handed a 4-0 humbling by MK Dons in the Capital One Cup earlier this eason.
The televised games will then conclude with an all top-flight tie on BT Sport as Everton welcome West Ham United to Merseyside on Tuesday, January 6, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
Sam Allardyce’s West Ham have made a brilliant start to the season and are currently riding high in fourth place, while Everton are unexpectedly down in 11th place.
BT Sport’s live FA Cup coverage will be anchored by Jake Humphrey from pitchside alongside regular pundits including Michael Owen, Robbie Savage, Owen Hargreaves and Steve McManaman, as well as a number of special guests.
Ian Darke, Darren Fletcher and Derek Rae lead commentary duties on all of BT Sport’s FA Cup ties, while Ray Stubbs and Darryl Currie provide reports and interviews from pitchside.
As well as the live games, BT Sport will broadcast highlights and goal clips from each round of the competition in programmes throughout each FA Cup weekend.
BT Sport will also simulcast live coverage of the draw for the Fourth Round, which will be made on Monday, January 5, presented by the BBC’s Mark Chapman, during Football Tonight on BT Sport 1 from 7.00pm.
Alongside comprehensive TV coverage, fans can enjoy all the action on the go throughout each FA Cup weekend via the BT Sport app, while match highlights, goal clips, interviews and special features will also be available to watch on the app and via btsport.com.
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Friday 2nd January
CARDIFF CITY v COLCHESTER UNITED Kick-off: 19:45
LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm BBC Two Wales / BBC Sport Website
Saturday 3rd January FA Cup Rewind: Third Round Classics (Episode 1) Featuring: Hereford v Newcastle (1972) & Shrewsbury v Everton (2003) 11.00am-12.00pm BBC Two Football Focus: FA Cup Special Live from Blyth Spartans Preview: 12.10pm-1.00pm BBC One Final Score LIVE: 2.30pm-6.00pm BBC Red Button / 4.30pm-5.20pm BBC One FA Cup Goals Highlights Loop: 6.00pm BBC Red Button Highlights: 7.00pm-8.00pm BT Sport 1 Match of the Day: FA Cup 3rd Round Highlights: 10.50pm-12.00am BBC One (repeated Sunday 7.55am)
Sunday 4th January FA Cup Rewind: Third Round Classics (Episode 2) Featuring: Sutton v Coventry (1989) & Wrexham v Arsenal (1993) 9.00am-10.00am BBC Two DOVER ATHLETIC v CRYSTAL PALACE Kick-off: 13:00 LIVE: 12.30pm-3.00pm BT Sport 1 FA Cup Final Score LIVE: 2.55pm-5.20pm BBC Red Button / 3.50pm-5.00pm BBC One YEOVIL TOWN v MANCHESTER UNITED Kick-off: 15:30 LIVE: 3.00pm-6.00pm BT Sport 1 ARSENAL v HULL CITY Kick-off: 17:30 LIVE: 5.20pm-7.30pm BBC One FA Cup Goals Highlights Loop: 5.20pm BBC Red Button Match of the Day: FA Cup 3rd Round Highlights: 10.30pm-11.50pm BBC One
Monday 5th January AFC WIMBLEDON v LIVERPOOL Kick-off: 19:55 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm BBC One FA Cup 4th Round Draw LIVE: 7.35pm approx BBC One / BT Sport 1
Tuesday 6th January EVERTON v WEST HAM UNITED Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 1 .
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