TAYLOR MADE FOR A KITTY INCREASE
JUST ASK the NFL about the importance of eyes on their product. Even the most-watched sport in America can do with more attention – and the Taylor Swift effect has been clear to see.
When the Kansas City Chiefs scored their winning touchdown in last Sunday’s Super Bowl one of the first cutaways by the director was to a celebrating Swift.
Since the music megastar’s relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce became public last year, both the NFL and other broadcasters have been quick to milk every second of air time they possibly can.
Has it been annoying? Yes. Do the NFL, with suggestions ‘Swifties’ have helped bring in more than $300m of revenue, care? Probably not. People are watching and that is good for business.
Which brings us onto the reaction of this week’s announcement TNT Sports have won the FA Cup rights from the 2025-26 season in a four-year multi-million pound deal.
It promises more live games than ever and will mean every non-Saturday 3pm kick-off from the third round onwards is shown live. Reports suggest it will be worth £66million-peryear, an increase of 15 per cent on the current deal.
Social media reaction has been, predictably, mixed with games set to move away from solely free-to-air as they have been on BBC and ITV for the last four seasons.
FA Cup ties being behind a ‘paywall’ is nothing new. Sky Sports, Setanta, ESPN and BT Sport have all had deals in the past with another channel showing games free.
Games will be free-to-air under this deal too. We just we don’t yet know by who, with TNT Sports apparently now going through the process of exactly how – or by who – free to air games will be shown.
So there’s a lot of wait and see. Suggestions are at least two games per round will be free to view – as well the final – but, you have to imagine having stumped up the big bucks, TNT will get first dibs.
Passion
It should be said the way National League – and even Step 2 games – are covered by the broadcaster is excellent and professional. Far from some of the patronising coverage Non-League often has to put up with, the National League story is told with knowledge and passion.
But there’s no hiding, a myriad of subscriptions is frustrating the armchair football fan and we’ve got used to the FA Cup at our fingertips again.
Although if some of this season’s choices – Crystal Palace v Everton anyone – are anything to go by, it made you wonder if the TV directors were looking at the same storylines the rest of the county are or just chasing ratings.
There has to be a sense of realism that the pound notes are being splashed for the chance to show the Premier League big guns. But while opinion rages around this deal, the focus should also be on the extra revenue coming in and what it can do.
Broadcast money is a key stream for the FA to invest back into the game. It’s why they are walking this tightrope between keeping top clubs happy and opening up to criticism they are allowing their flagship cup to be chipped away at. Take the upcoming ‘midweek’ round!
But the FA also know the good that can be done with the money and how much it is needed.
The fall-out from Covid saw the prize pot slashed. Having seen it doubled from previous years, it had to be trimmed back.
Let’s see the FA Cup fund topped up again, especially in the early rounds, and use sporting merit to put money directly into the accounts of the clubs who, ultimately, make the FA Cup so special.
Non-League deserves as many eyes on it as possible. And some more cash in its kitty.