07-03-2024, 12:05 AM
(06-03-2024, 11:45 PM)shropshireguy28 Wrote: Do you really think TNT would be so lovely and buy these FA cup rights just to end up with third and fourth pick matches. They are a greedy company. I am 99% Certain that BBC will end up with the scraps. Lets just hope they haven't paid millions to TNT because I bet TNT would then use that money for Six Nations rights. If they were that nice they would have given BBC all Quarter finals and both Semi finals.I’d hang on before making such definitive statements, because they aren’t backed up by previous deals - even if this one is being done in a different way. It is quite possible, verging on likely, that the FA deal with TNT has stipulations about the minimum and amount and ‘quality’ / picks that would need to be included in a FTA deal. The mistake has been made before (albeit 20 years ago) about how a poor FTA deal doesn’t do the competition any good.
This isn’t about TNT being ‘lovely’ - striking the right FTA deal is both a requirement and won’t do them much damage at all. They’re going to have a huge quantity of matches.
If the assuming reports are correct) BBC deal gives them first and third / fourth pick - which I suspect is most likely, and similar to the last shared FTA / Pay TV deal, TNT are still going to get some very good matches, along with being able to promote how they have every other game.
Also, this deal will have zero impact on what happens with the Six Nations rights. If they were to go TNT that would still have happened event without them getting a bit of money from the Beeb for an FA Cup deal they knew they’d have to make. (Whether it was with the BBC or ITV.)