The 2023-24 FA Cup began with the first qualifying round back in August, but this is when most people start paying attention to the competition.
That’s because the third round is upon us. It sees the 44 Premier League and Championship sides added to the 20 that have made it through earlier rounds.
With 32 matches across five days and loads of matches broadcast live, there’s plenty to look forward to. Here’s how to watch the FA Cup if you’re based in the UK, US or elsewhere.
Which FA Cup third round matches are on TV?
Every match from the FA Cup third round is being broadcast in the US, but only selected matches are being shown in the UK:
Thu 4 Jan
- Crystal Palace vs Everton – KO 8pm UK/3pm ET/12pm PT – ITV/ESPN+
Fri 5 Jan
- Brentford vs Wolves – KO 7.15pm UK/2.15pm ET/11.15am PT – ESPN+
- Fulham vs Rotherham – KO 7.30pm UK/2.30pm ET/11.30am PT – ESPN+
- Tottenham vs Burnley – KO 8pm UK/3pm ET/12pm PT – ITV/ESPN+
Sat 6 Jan
- Maidstone vs Stevenage – KO 12.30pm UK/7.30am ET/4.30am PT – ESPN+
- Millwall vs Leicester – KO 12.30pm UK/7.30am ET/4.30am PT – ESPN+
- AFC Wimbledon vs Ipswich – KO 12.30pm UK/7.30am ET/4.30am PT – ESPN+
- Coventry vs Oxford – KO 12.30pm UK/7.30am ET/4.30am PT – ESPN+
- Sunderland vs Newcastle – KO 12.45pm UK/7.45am ET/4.45am PT – ITV/ESPN+
- Luton vs Bolton – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – ESPN+
- Hull vs Birmingham – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Stoke vs Brighton – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Norwich vs Bristol Rovers – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Southampton vs Walsall – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Watford vs Chesterfield – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Gillingham vs Sheffield United – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- QPR vs Bournemouth – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Plymouth vs Sutton – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Newport vs Eastleigh – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Blackburn vs Cambridge – KO 3pm UK/10am ET/7am PT – ESPN+
- Sheffield Wednesday vs Cardiff – KO 5.30pm UK/12.30pm ET/9.30am PT – ESPN+
- Swansea vs Morecambe – KO 5.30pm UK/12.30pm ET/9.30am PT – ESPN+
- Middlesbrough vs Aston Villa – KO 5.30pm UK/12.30pm ET/9.30am PT – BBC/ESPN+
- Chelsea vs Preston – KO 5.30pm UK/12.30pm ET/9.30am PT – BBC/ESPN+
Sun 7 Jan
- Man City vs Huddersfield – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – BBC/ESPN+
- Shrewsbury vs Wrexham – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – BBC/ESPN+
- West Ham vs Bristol City – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – ESPN+
- Peterborough vs Leeds – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – ESPN+
- Nottingham Forest vs Blackpool – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – ESPN+
- West Brom vs Aldershot – KO 2pm UK/9am ET/6am PT – ESPN+
- Arsenal vs Liverpool – KO 4.30pm UK/11.30am ET/8.30am PT – BBC/ESPN+
Mon 8 Jan
- Wigan vs Man Utd – KO 8.15pm UK/3.15pm ET/12.15pm ET – ITV/ESPN+
How to watch the FA Cup in the UK
The FA Cup rights have been split between the BBC and ITV this year, with both showing the final live.
These channels are free to watch, provided you have a TV Licence. This currently costs £159 per year, and is a requirement if you watch any live TV or use BBC iPlayer. Once that’s sorted, just navigate to BBC One on your TV or head to iPlayer to start streaming.
ITV matches are available on ITV1 or ITV4 via your TV, or ITVX (previously ITV Hub) when streaming. Catching up on ITV content is exempt from the TV Licence, but you’ll need one if you watch live.
How to watch the FA Cup in the US
In the US, the FA Cup is only available via ESPN+, meaning you’ll need to pay for a subscription.
Paying $10.99 for a month’s access makes most sense, but $109.99 gets you the channel for a full year. ESPN+ is also the place to watch many American football, hockey, golf and basketball matches, plus several top European football (soccer) leagues.
You can sign up now via the ESPN website.
How to watch the FA Cup outside the UK or US
Before trying to watch UK or US TV from abroad, it’s worth checking which broadcaster has the rights to the Premier League where you’re based. See the full list of international broadcasters on the FA website.
But if you’re just visiting another country, it makes sense to access your US or UK subscription, which requires a VPN. We’re using NordVPN for the purposes of this tutorial, but there are plenty of great alternatives in our best VPN chart.
Download the relevant VPN app
![NordVPN download page](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/download-nordvpn.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Head to the download page for the VPN you’d like to install and click ‘Download App’. The likes of NordVPN are available on a range of devices.
Sign in and connect to a UK or US server
![NordVPN connected to a UK server](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/nordvpn-connected-to-uk-server.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Open the app and sign in to your account if necessary. Then, select any US or UK server and connect to it.
Depending on the service you’re using, it might look quite different to the above. But this should be relatively easy to find.
Start watching as usual
![BBC iPlayer homepage](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bbc-iplayer-homepage.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Head to the website or app you’d usually use to start watching. You should now be able to stream content as normal and without any restrictions.