ESPN and ITV have decided against televising The FA Cup Fourth Round games involving Macclesfield Town and Luton Town.
The two Conference Premier outfits sprung huge surprises in Round Three, beating Championship outfits Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City, respectively.
They were then handed high-profile (albeit not blockbuster) Fourth Round draws, with Luton traveling to Premier League side Norwich City and Macclesfield hosting either Wigan Athletic or AFC Bournemouth.
Despite the national coverage given to the two clubs and the proclamations that their Third Round wins embody “the magic of the Cup”, both the Hatters and the Silkmen have been snubbed by the broadcasting powers that be.
The games that will instead be shown all unsurprisingly involve welathy Premier League sides. They are: Oldham Athletic v Liverpool, Crystal Palace or Stoke City v Manchester City, West Ham or Manchester United v Fulham or Blackpool, Chelsea v Brentford or Southend and Leeds United or Birmingham City v Tottenham Hotspur.
Each one of the ten clubs involved will pocket £135,850 from The FA’s Prize Fund for the pleasure of being shown live. For the Premier League clubs, this figure will presumably go towards paying the salary of a couple of their players for a week or so. That amount could go a long, long way at either Kenilworth Road or Moss Rose.
Clearly as businesses, ESPN and ITV need to attract as many viewers as possible and by selecting the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea they are guaranteeing a sizable audience.
But in an era where many argue that money is destroying the beautiful game, is it right that against-the-odds Non-League success stories are overlooked in favour of filling the pockets of the already super wealthy?
Of course, the likes of Southend and Oldham would argue they deserve their time in the limelight and so they do. However, considering the importance of the grassroots game should broadcasters not do more to encourage its support and growth?
What do you think? Did ESPN and ITV get it right with their game choices? Do we simply have to accept that such decisions are taken purely for financial reasons?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Mel Ridley
9 January 2013 at 4:17 pm
Poor choices again by ITV/ESPN. do they ever not cover Man Utd? And Chelsea at home to a lower league side, whats the point of that?. Have ITV ever heard of the phrase’ The magic of the FA Cup’ ITV Sport Pathetic as usual!!