ITV scores in FA Cup rights fight

 

The FA television contract is now worth more than £100m a year

ITV and Irish broadcaster Setanta have secured the rights to show the FA Cup and England home internationals in a £425m four-year deal.

 

The Football Association confirmed the deal, beginning in August 2008, saying that it was "delighted" at the outcome.

 

The deal is a substantial increase from the current £300m rights deal held jointly by the BBC and BSkyB.

 

Snatching the FA Cup and England rights is a major coup for ITV and its executive chairman Michael Grade.

 

The BBC and BSkyB have held the FA Cup rights since 2001.

 

'Sporting highlight'

 

Mr Grade made boosting ITV's coverage of live sporting events a priority when he left the BBC to join ITV in December.

 

WHAT ITV WILL SHOW

FA Cup live coverage

FA Cup highlights

England home internationals

England away friendlies

FA Women's Cup Final

 

ITV already has the terrestrial rights to the Champion's League, which it shares with BSkyB.

 

Mr Grade hailed the agreement - through which ITV will show England home internationals exclusively and about 16 FA Cup matches a year - as a "great deal".

 

"ITV is pleased to be returning both the FA Cup and England games to our viewers and advertisers," he said. "Our position is now substantially enhanced as the leading terrestrial free-to-air sports broadcaster."

 

WHAT SETANTA WILL SHOW

FA Cup live coverage

England home friendlies

England women's internationals

England Under-21 matches

Community Shield

Youth Cup

FA Trophy

FA Vase

 

As well as live coverage, the deal encompasses highlights via video-on-demand and goal clips sent to mobile phones.

 

FA chief executive Brian Barwick, a former BBC and ITV executive, said the winning bidders had shown "innovative ideas" and a "commitment to help promote all sectors of the game".

 

Pay-TV battle

 

BSkyB and Setanta, which will have exclusive pay-TV coverage of the FA Cup under the new deal, are involved in an increasingly fierce battle for pay-per-view sports rights.

 

Setanta Sports said it would be showing 25 FA Cup matches a year as well as eight England friendlies over the lifetime of the contract.

 

"The FA Cup is a great highlight in the English football calendar and an excellent addition to the Setanta line-up," said Trevor East, Setanta Sport's director of sport.

 

Last year the Irish broadcaster secured a six-year deal to televise the PGA golf tour featuring 40 leading tournaments, rights previously held by Sky.

 

BSkyB and Setanta won a £1.7bn auction to screen Premiership games last year.

 

The decision leaves the BBC without any live domestic football coverage, although it has the rights to Premiership highlights until 2010.

 

"Whenever we bid for a contract, we have to bear in mind the interests of licence-fee payers and we always have to seek value for money," the BBC said in a statement.

 

BBC News

 

I'm very pleased about that, as everything will be available on Freeview. :D And aside from the odd FA Cup game, most of it will be on ITV so there's no extra cost. :funky:

I think this is a disaster.

 

BBC coverage of Football has been excellent, where as ITV's coverage of Football is abysmal.

 

While Setanta have speculated to accumulate with this deal, who knows they might go bust, like On-Digital the previous company who bought non Premiership Football a few years ago.

 

I think this is a disaster.

 

BBC coverage of Football has been excellent, where as ITV's coverage of Football is abysmal.

 

While Setanta have speculated to accumulate with this deal, who knows they might go bust, like On-Digital the previous company who bought non Premiership Football a few years ago.

I prefer ITV's all the way to BBC's. You don't get the irritating Jon Motson or the whining Mark Lawrenson on ITV. :manson: Clive Tyldesley on the other hand is excellent. :D

ITVs coverage is dire. John Motson hardly does them any more he's almost retired. And the rest of the commentary team are better too. Apart from Mark Bright BBC don't have a single idiot as the second commentator where as on ITV they're ALL idiots!

 

We also don't get adverts and much better coverage on the BBC. You're lucky to get a minute of analysis on ITV as you have to get the two advert breaks in before the next program.

 

Dreadful, completely dreadful.

I'm very pleased about that, as everything will be available on Freeview. :D And aside from the odd FA Cup game, most of it will be on ITV so there's no extra cost. :funky:

How will it all be on Freeview? Setanta is PPV.

How will it all be on Freeview? Setanta is PPV.

You can get Setanta on Freeview though.

ITVs coverage is dire. John Motson hardly does them any more he's almost retired. And the rest of the commentary team are better too. Apart from Mark Bright BBC don't have a single idiot as the second commentator where as on ITV they're ALL idiots!

 

We also don't get adverts and much better coverage on the BBC. You're lucky to get a minute of analysis on ITV as you have to get the two advert breaks in before the next program.

 

Dreadful, completely dreadful.

 

Totally agree.

 

Can anyone honestly name a good ITV Football commentator. Gabby Yorath is OK as a host, but their European Champions League commentary & analysis is grim compared to Sky Sports or the BBC. One of the reasons I'm glad I've got Sky Sports is that they show other matches on a Tuesday evening, so I don't have to put up with the annoying commentary & moronic analysis on ITV unless it is a really good match.

Gabby is at the BBC now!!

 

Their only Sports presenters are Steve Ryder and Jim Rosental who are both c**p and don't specialise in any one thing, making them worse as it's as if they don't really care!

That was a bad on ITV's part. They should never have let Gabby go. :o Steve Rider's ok... but Jim Rosenthal's just eugh. Saying that, Gabby will be third in line at the BBC behind Lineker and Stubbs and with less games on the BBC now she'll have f*** all to do. :manson:

Stubbs does less all the time though. His priority is Score and he hosts other stuff too...

Eugh Score is a waste of space. :( Gillette Soccer Saturday is FAR superior. :wub:

It is. Purely because they don't have Garth Crooks :arrr: But Damn Sky, wanting too much money :cry:

I'm afraid that Sky are gonna take Sky Sports News/Sky News off Freeview and I'll be stuck with BBC News 24 and Score. Arrrrrgh. :(

ITVs coverage is dire. John Motson hardly does them any more he's almost retired. And the rest of the commentary team are better too. Apart from Mark Bright BBC don't have a single idiot as the second commentator where as on ITV they're ALL idiots!

 

We also don't get adverts and much better coverage on the BBC. You're lucky to get a minute of analysis on ITV as you have to get the two advert breaks in before the next program.

 

Dreadful, completely dreadful.

Agreed. BBC give much better coverage of the football. ITV have so many advert that they don't get a change to comment well or re-show highlights of the first half in the break.

Setenta seem to be slowly taking over the whole of the British football coverage, and I reckon it's gonna blow up in their faces. I know I for one won't bother with paying for their coverage of games and i'm sure a lot of people will be within the same mentality as well.

 

BBC is better than ITV for coverage as well. Better analysis, better presenters etc etc and no adverts, still at least the BBC still has the Premiership highlights coverage for a few more years yet.

I completely agree -_- BBC pisses all over ITV, I especially don't like Ally McCoist as despite him being a VERY successful footballer he never knows what he's talking about :blink:

i bet Gabby Logan is kicking herself :lol:

 

as for Setanta meh!. It's the fans who end up paying for this, as most have Sky Sports, and not Setanta, and they'll need both now if they want all the games -_-

ITV Digital fell flat on its arse so Setanta might too...