No more FA Cup Premier League ties on TV

FA Cup weekends are regularly a joyous occasion. England's famous cup competition rightfully commands prime-time TV viewings across the Saturday and Sunday, with the chance of a cliched 'Cupset' often a possibility. Which is why Saturday's viewing was made all that much worse, especially when compared to Sunday.

For some peculiar reason, unbeknownst to many, ITV and ESPN – the two designated networks dedicated to bringing the action to the fans – opted to showcase two all Premier League ties on the Saturday, regardless of the possibility of showcasing a team from the upper echelons of English football take on a team in the lower leagues.

Stoke City's defeat to Manchester City, not to mentioning Manchester United hosting Fulham – the latter of which is on TV again this coming weekend – warranted a place in the lunchtime and evening kick off, respectively, regardless of Queen's Park Rangers hosting MK Dons and Luton Town's trip to Norwich City, both of which provided genuine cup upsets.

Results on Sunday provided fans with genuine excitement, not to mention showcasing the 'Magic of the Cup' as Chelsea stuttered to a 2-2 draw with Brentford, while Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool both crashed out of the competition in comparative circumstances.

It's no surprise that fans have lauded the efforts of ITV and ESPN for showcasing the encounters on Sunday, a day after criticising them for Saturday's offerings. The FA Cup is all but made for the lower league teams to shock the 'big boys'. For all that is good and great, can the two TV networks resist from showing all Premier League ties in the foreseeable future? It makes for a far more interesting watch when viewing those in the Championship and below taking on those in England's top tier.  

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