A new TV broadcast deal has been announced for the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, which could see more of South Yorkshire’s clubs appear on TV in the future.
The deal, which runs to the end of the 2027/28 season, will see one game each from the first and the second round broadcast for the first time, which could see South Yorkshire’s lesser-known clubs be broadcast on national TV.
TNT Sports and Channel 4 will show 19 games each season, with one game each round, from the third round onwards, being also shown on free to air TV as part of the deal with Channel 4.
Media rights across Europe have grown significantly in recent years following the success of the 2022 Euros, and this recent deal continues this trend.
This ends the current 12-year run of the broadcast package being held by the BBC, while Channel 4 previously hosted coverage of the Women’s FA Cup Final in the 1980s and 1990s.
This season, up to eight games per round were broadcast on a new Women’s FA Cup YouTube channel, and through the FA’s own broadcast platform, FA Player.
This raises potential concerns around how accessible the new broadcast deal will be to fans of clubs from South Yorkshire, as matches could be behind a paywall.
Sheffield United have entered in the third round while they have been competing in the Women’s Championship, however, if they are confirmed to have been relegated to the National League, they are expected to enter the competition next season at the First Round proper stage, alongside other clubs in the National League Premier Divisions, which could see them more likely to be broadcast as they will be one of the biggest clubs at this level.
Fourth tier clubs such as Sheffield FC and Barnsley Women currently enter the tournament at the final qualifying round stage, and are more likely to feature in broadcasts, as they will be just one win off potentially appearing on TV, in front of potential audiences of hundreds of thousands.
