ESPN Acquire FA Cup Rights For Next Season

US sports giant ESPN have added to their repertoire of sports related broadcasts by agreeing rights with the Football Association to broadcast some of the live FA Cup games from next season, which were previously owned by Setanta.

Setanta, who previously had a deal with the FA worth £150m for a four-year deal, collapsed after just one year into the contract citing financial difficulty. BBC Sport also stepped in to take the rights off Setanta’s hands, but due to budget constraints, ESPN won the battle with their financially stronger appeal.

ITV, the British channel who host some of the FA Cup matches will still have first choice on what matches they aquire, but ESPN are also able to pick two live games from every round.

This can be seen as an important acquisition for the American firm, as their extensive list of 46 games will be dwindled down to just 23 next season.

Source: Digital Spy