UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB, telecommunications company BT, public-service broadcaster the BBC and commercial broadcaster ITV have all submitted bids for the next cycle of domestic rights to the FA Cup club football competition, according to the Financial Times newspaper.
The rights on offer cover four seasons, from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
BT, which acquired pay-television broadcaster ESPN’s football rights ahead of launching a new pay-television sports service this summer, will share the rights to the tournament with ITV until the end of the 2013-14 season.
The English Football Association, the sport’s governing body in England, issued an invitation to tender for the domestic rights to England national team friendly matches as well as the FA Cup for the four-year period.
The ITT includes rights to England U-21 games and men’s national development teams plus the FA Youth Cup and FA Trophy knockout competitions and the annual FA Community Shield match between the winners of the FA Cup and the top-tier Premier League.