Part of the magic of the FA Cup comes from the fact it is freely available on UK television, and Liverpool have helped set a new third-round viewing record with their win at Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp and his team were the masterminds behind the Gunners’ downfall on Sunday, with tactical and personnel tweaks key as Liverpool scored two unanswered goals at the Emirates.
The result keeps the Reds competing in all four competitions this season, and they will now host either Norwich or Bristols Rovers in the next round of the FA Cup.
Whether that is selected for live broadcasting in the UK remains to be seen, but both the BBC and ITV will know the audience they can attract, especially when you now consider the figures against Arsenal.
RECORD BREAKER ?@Arsenal and @LFC‘s #EmiratesFACup clash set a new peak audience record for the third round, with 7.6 MILLION viewers tuning into @BBCMOTD! ? pic.twitter.com/dytC5NOya5
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 9, 2024
Sunday’s tie attracted a peak audience of 7.6 million on BBC One, it breaks the all-time record for the most viewers for a third round tie in the FA Cup – the previous record was 7.3m, when Liverpool beat Everton in 2020.
The new figure is almost equivalent to the entire population of the country of Laos!
It is not the first time this season that Liverpool and Arsenal have broken viewing records when playing against one another.
Their league clash on December 23 was the most-watched Premier League coverage ever in the United States, with nearly 2.5 million tuning in across various channels.
The Reds now feature twice in the top-five most-watched top-flight games in the US, with their goalless draw against Man United the week prior sitting third in the list with 1.77 million viewers.
Broadcast revenue made up 40.3 percent of Liverpool’s valuation breakdown, via Forbes, in 2023, with the sums heavily relied upon by the club each and every season.
The date and time, and the opponent, for Liverpool’s fourth round FA Cup clash is yet to be confirmed, but it will take place across the weekend of January 27.
