ITV Close To Extending Deal For FA Cup, England National Team Through '14

ITV reportedly is “close to securing a deal to continue broadcasting the FA Cup and England home games until 2014, with the value of the rights expected to be at least 20% less" than the $104M (all figures U.S.) a year paid under the existing agreement, according to Mark Sweeney of the GUARDIAN. ITV's current four-year, $440M deal “expires at the end of this season.” Sources said that ITV is “close to securing a cut-price, two-year deal ... with few other credible bidders on the radar.” The FA “effectively lost a major player in the negotiations when the BBC pulled back its commitment to [the] sport with a 15% cut to its rights budget” (GUARDIAN, 10/25).