Eighty-three of Manchester United’s last 84 outings in the FA Cup have been broadcast live on television in the United Kingdom.
Given the viewing figures that United regularly draw in, it’s no surprise that the broadcasters almost always make the choice to televise the Red Devils.
However, the decision to always show their FA Cup matches – particularly the more forgettable and routine fixtures in the early rounds – has often drawn criticism for taking up a slot at the expense of a side lower down the footballing pyramid in England.
“When we beat Cardiff City here in the third round, the scenes at our stadium were magnificent and a giant-killing could be on the cards again. No disrespect, but is Manchester United playing Fulham more attractive to a football purist?” said former Macclesfield Town chief executive John Harris back in January 2013.
“For us, that money, £135,000, would be massive, it would save our season after relegation to the Conference, which was a huge blow. If David Gill [United’s chief executive] is feeling generous one morning and wants to divert that money down the A34 to Macclesfield, it would be very welcome.”
“We understand the rationale for our games being chosen,” responded a United spokesperson. “It also allows many more of our fans to see the matches than would otherwise be the case.”
The one United match in the FA Cup not picked up by UK broadcasters in the last 18 years was a third-round clash at home to Derby County back in 2018. Late goals from Jesse Lingard and Romelu Lukaku secured Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils a 2-0 win against Gary Rowett’s Championship Rams.
Since then normal service has been resumed, with the rest of United’s run to the Wembley final against Chelsea that season picked up by the BBC and BT Sport. The club are now into a run of 25 successive FA Cup matches being selected for broadcast.
Prior to that Derby match, the last United match in the FA Cup not to be selected for UK broadcast was a 0-0 draw at home to non-league Exeter City in the third round. The replay, a 2-0 away win at St. James’ Park, was shown on the BBC, and with it began a remarkable run.
Here’s Manchester United’s full list of FA Cup fixtures going back to 2005:
1. January 19, 2005 Third round replay vs Exeter City (A) 2-0
2. January 29, 2005 Fourth round vs Middlesbrough (H) 3-0
3. February 19, 2005 Fifth round vs Everton (A) 2-0
4. March 12, 2005 Sixth round vs Southampton (A) 4-0
5. April 17, 2005…
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