Why The Changes To FA Cup Coverage Are Incredibly Concerning

The Disgraceful Decline of FA Cup Coverage

The FA Cup is lauded as the greatest cup competition in the world, and I'm sure you've heard the cliche about the magic of the cup more times than you can count.

Over recent seasons, though, the cup has undergone some changes in style and, without beating around the bush, the future of the competition looks bleak.

Last season we had replays taken away at the request of Premier League clubs in an attempt to reduce their ever-expanding fixture congestion, to the detriment of the entire rest of the English football pyramid.

Replays offered fans an extra day out and more drama, as well as offering smaller clubs huge revenue boosts in the event of playing two games against bigger sides.

The damage of losing replays is going to be a long-term issue in English football, but this season has brought yet another negative change to the FA Cup, this one earning almost as many complaints from fans.

Changes In Coverage

Traditionally, FA Cup matches, especially in the third round, were broadcasted by the BBC. Now you can hold whatever opinions you'd like about the organisation, but providing fans with free (bar the cost of a TV license) FA Cup coverage always felt like part of what made the competition so appealing.

It offered the perfect excuse to watch teams that you never normally would, providing many smaller clubs with higher viewing numbers and larger audiences, which was great for getting their names out there onto the national stage.

Anyone remember when the FA Cup 3rd Round weekend in early January used to be one of the highlights of the season with full strength top flight sides, giant killing and midweek replays on Sportsnight rather than the irrelevant side show it has become? ⚽️ 😥 🏆

Beyond sad....

— Jamie Magill (@JamieMagill5) January 10, 2026

Unfortunately, as of this season, that has changed.

The weekend's Third Round action was broadcasted almost entirely by TNT, who require fans to pay a subscription to be able to watch any of their games.

All of a sudden, we were left with only two matches that were free to watch.

📺 The only FA Cup games on FREE terrestrial TV this weekend…

▪️ Macclesfield vs Crystal Palace — BBC One
▪️ Spurs vs Aston Villa — BBC One

That’s 2 matches out of 32.

An absolute disgrace. Once again, it proves modern football is driven by money, not fans. The FA Cup is… pic.twitter.com/7CEOj3cuZZ

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) January 10, 2026

As you can imagine, the inaccessability of most games has been met with outrage by fans, who already feel like they are being priced out of football.

From increased matchday tickets (I'm looking at you, Coventry) and the extortionate World Cup ticket prices to an increasing amount of subscription services blocking live football behind a paywall, fans are understandably starting to worry that they won't be able to watch matches at all going forward.

This is the latest installment in a fast-growing list of concerns about the financial dominance of modern football, and the belief that clubs and governing bodies are interested more in money than they are in fan experience.

Falling in love with football starts with live coverage on free-to-air television. That’s what the FA Cup was to me when I was a young boy. The @FA is denying the younger generation the romance of it all. Locking it behind a paywall is a disgrace. It’s absolutely criminal.

— FK (@fkhanage) January 11, 2026

Eight FA Cup 3rd round games today. Not a single one on terrestrial TV. £31 for TNT Sports? Get in the bin.

— Phil Bradley (@wolvesbradders) January 11, 2026

The only matches over the weekend that were available to watch for free were Spurs vs Villa and Macclesfield v Palace, with the latter providing us with the single greatest FA Cup upset in the history of the competition.

It's clear that the 'magic of the cup' is still well and truly alive and kicking, with John Rooney's side giving football fans one of the most incredible stories in the history of the English game, but frankly, we are incredibly fortunate that that game selected to be on terrestrial television.

Can you imagine the outrage if that game had been behind a paywall, and only subscribing viewers had been able to witness such an upset on TV?

Perhaps that would've caused enough of a response to put an end to this harmful regression in coverage.

They do *everything* they can to ruin the FA Cup (no replays, squeezed in between PL games) but in its essence its absolutely glorious. We need to protect it at all costs. What an incredible result that is for @thesilkmen....

— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) January 10, 2026

Other non-league clubs weren't quite as lucky, though, and suffered from a lack of viewership because people weren't prepared to pay such a large amount of money to watch them.

Weston-super-Mare, for example, are a National League South side, the same level as Macclesfield, who reached the Third Round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history this season.

They were unfortunate enough to draw Grimsby away on the other side of the country, but still brought an impressive 650 fans on the seven-and-a-half hour round trip.

Now had their game been free to watch on TV, I'm sure a fair few people at home would've tuned in to witness a club making history for themselves, even potentially hoping for the chance of another big upset.

Instead many have gone blissfully unaware of the club's historic journey this season, as they simply had no way to watch the game, so didn't even know such a story was unfolding.

It’s shameful that the FA Cup has largely been put behind a pay wall bar a couple of games.

Every game should be 3pm kick off on BBC, ITV, Red Button etc

— Jay (@MUFC99Box) January 10, 2026

Paywalls are damaging the very foundations of the FA Cup, the competition built on unlikely heroes and underdog stories, as we become less likely to hear about such events unless we are prepared to shell out even more money.

A Knock-On Effect?

With coverage becoming increasingly locked behind paywalls, the FA seem not to have considered what the consequences of the changes will be.

Fans are already struggling to afford to follow football as a result of the cost of living crisis, so the majority of them won't be inclined to spend even more money than they already are.

Instead, one of two things will happen. People will stop watching football, which could destroy the integrity and health of the game going forward, or people will lean further into the elegantly named 'dodgy sticks'.

Now I'm not condoning piracy, but when paywalls restrict fans from being able to watch football, it is natural that people will turn to finding a way to watch games for free again, which is why there's already been such a rise in the amount of people using such devices over the last few years.

Not a single FA cup game on free to air TV today. Shambles.

Well done FA.. you’ve sold out

Wonder why everyone has a dodgy stick (not me officer if you’re reading this)

— Keats (@KeatonFisher19) January 11, 2026

With the UK government cracking down on people who use 'dodgy sticks', it then becomes a risk to be able to have the privelidge of watching football for free, something that should be the norm for people in the FA Cup.

The future of the game is at serious risk of disaster if it continues in this manner, and if we lose the foundations of what makes the FA Cup so special, then it will become just another competition as far as football fans are concerned.

It would be a tragedy for the English game, and something needs to be done to stop it from progressing. Fans deserve appropriate coverage.