Nine games from the FA Cup fourth round will be shown live on television in early February, as the BBC and ITV confirm their picks.
- Fourth round takes place between Friday 7th and Tuesday 11th February 2025.
- BBC to screen five games live, but only three will be shown on its main channel.
- ITV will showcase four games, including Manchester United v Leicester City and Exeter City v Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United’s fourth round FA Cup match against Leicester will be given a primetime slot on ITV on Friday 7th February as another weekend of free-to-air football gets underway.
ITV’s channels and streaming service will also screen games featuring Brighton & Hove Albion and Plymouth Argyle. ITV’s fourth round coverage will end on Tuesday 11th February, with live coverage of Exeter City v Nottingham Forest. The fixture is due to get a primetime slot on ITV1.
Over on the BBC…
Meanwhile, BBC coverage will include the Saturday teatime fixture between Birmingham City and Newcastle United. It will also cover games featuring Blackburn, Aston Villa and Leyton Orient. The fourth round TV games on the BBC all feature sides based in England, avoiding the BBC Wales only coverage of two of the third round games.
Blackburn Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers and Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace are to be live streamed on the BBC iPlayer. In the third round, all matches billed as iPlayer only were also broadcast on the BBC Red Button channel on Sky satellite & Freesat 970, Freeview 601 and Virgin Media 991. However, the BBC hasn’t confirmed if this arrangement will be replicated for the fourth round.
This is the last season that the BBC and ITV will be sharing FA Cup rights, allowing all games to be shown on Freeview. From next year, some games will switch to pay TV via TNT Sports and soon-to-launch streaming service Max. The BBC will continue to show a selection of free-to-air games and highlights.
▶ Overview: FA Cup – 4th Round 2025 – TV and streaming coverage
FRIDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2025
- Manchester United v Leicester City, kick-off 19:00, ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player*
SATURDAY 8th FEBRUARY 2025
- Leyton Orient v Manchester City – kick-off 12:15, BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
- Birmingham City v Newcastle United – kick-off 17:45, BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
- Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea – kick-off 20:00, ITV4 and ITVX.
SUNDAY 9th FEBRUARY 2025
- Blackburn Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers, kick-off 12:30, BBC iPlayer & BBC RB 1.
- Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool, kick-off 15:00, ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player*
- Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur, kick-off 17:35, BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
MONDAY 10th FEBRUARY 2025
- Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace, kick-off 19:45, BBC iPlayer and BBC RB1.
TUESDAY 11th FEBRUARY 2025
- Exeter City v Nottingham Forest, kick-off 20:00, Live on ITV1, ITVX***.
*STV Player in STV’s broadcast area only (Central and Northern Scottish postcode areas). ***STV availability to be confirmed.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: FA