Join The Club
The world’s oldest club competition concludes this weekend as one of Chelsea or Man City will be crowned FA Cup winners, with FourFourTwo providing a comprehensive broadcast guide to TV coverage and live streams wherever you are in the world.
• UK: BBC (FREE), TNT Sports / HBO Max
• US: ESPN Select
• Australia: Stan Sport
• Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk free
The FA Cup Final hits our screens this weekend as a struggling Chelsea side face a treble-chasing Man City.
Unlike most other football competitions, the FA Cup gets some airing on free-to-air television in the UK, although ITV no longer has any rights and the BBC's coverage has diminished as TNT Sports steps in this season as the main broadcaster.
There are plenty of international options, with ESPN in the US and Stan Sport in Australia showing all games from every round of the FA Cup.
Where to watch the FA Cup in the UK
UK broadcast rights for the 2025/2026 FA Cup are split between TNT Sports / HBO Max and the BBC.
There has been a change for this season, with a vast reduction in the level of free-to-air coverage of the FA Cup in the UK. ITV has left the stage entirely, while the BBC has been limited to 14 games throughout the competition.
That's because the FA Cup has agreed a new commercial deal with the pay-TV broadcaster TNT Sports. The streaming platform provider is now HBO Max as of 26 March.
Free BBC Final Fixture
Chelsea vs Man City (Saturday, May 16 at 3pm)
How to watch the FA Cup in the US
Sports broadcasting giant ESPN is the exclusive US rights-holder for the 2025/2026 FA Cup. Every game from now on is available to stream live through the ESPN Select streaming platform.
❗Coverage is geo-restricted. If you're not in the States right now, you can still access your ESPN+ subscription by using a VPN such as NordVPN.
How to watch the FA Cup in Australia
The FA Cup has a new home Down Under: Stan Sport, which took over Optus Sport from the start of the 2025/2026 season.
❗Coverage is geo-restricted. If you're not in Australia right now, you can still access your Stan Sport subscription by using a VPN such as NordVPN.
Watch the FA Cup from anywhere
If you’re overseas when the FA Cup is on, that doesn't mean you have to miss out on the action. Geo-restrictions will apply to major broadcasters but there's a simple way around this: a VPN.
A Virtual Private Network - to give it the full name - is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make it look like your device is still back at home. Assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock your streaming services when abroad, and you'll get a host of internet security benefits on top.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, but FourFourTwo’s brainy office mates TechRadar are big fans of NordVPN.
FA Cup final fixtures and TV channels
The final of the FA Cup take place this weekend with Chelsea vs Man City taking place on Saturday, May 16.
Saturday, May 16
Match | Kick-off time | UK | US | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chelsea vs Man City | 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET | BBC One & BBC iPlayer (FREE) / TNT Sports 1 & HBO Max | ESPN Select | Stan Sport |
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