Community Shield will be shown by broadcaster who have never televised it before
The FA Community Shield clash between Liverpool and Crystal Palace will not be broadcast on free-to-air television on Sunday.
Premier League champions Liverpool and FA Cup holders Palace will go head-to-head at Wembley on Sunday.
Usually, the season’s curtain raiser is broadcast on free-to-air television via the BBC or ITV, but this has changed.
The match will be broadcast behind a paywall, with TNT Sports exclusively showing the action, with coverage set to get underway at 2 pm until around 6 pm.
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Viewers can get TNT Sports on Prime Video as part of the discovery+ Premium Plan (from £30.99 per month).
The change was confirmed by the Football Association (FA) earlier this week.
A statement read: “Fans can tune in to watch the 2025 FA Community Shield across the globe, with this year's competition set to take place this weekend.
“The match will be contested by the 2024-25 Emirates FA Cup winners, Crystal Palace, and 2024-25 Premier League champions, Liverpool.
“The game will take place at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Sunday, 10 August. It will be broadcast live and exclusively on TNT Sports 1, with kick-off at 3 pm BST.”
TNT Sports is the home of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, as well as boasting rights for 52 Premier League fixtures during the 2025/26 campaign.
TNT also starts a new four-year deal for the FA Cup this season, with the Community Shield included in the contract.
The broadcaster bought exclusive rights for the domestic cup competition, while the BBC will show 14 games, including the two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final.
And some fans are not pleased with the fact that they now have to pay to watch the Community Shield.
Several took to social media to offer their thoughts.
One said: “They need to rename the Community Shield, because with it being available via subscription only on TNT Sports, it’s anything but for the community.”
Another added: “Community Shield being on TNT Sports is a disgrace. This is a game that should be free and accessible to everyone."
A third claimed: “So the BBC and ITV had the rights to the FA Cup and Sky has the largest share to show Premier League football. And the winners of both play each other in the Community Shield, but that’s being shown on TNT Sports.”
Topics: Community Shield, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Football, FA Cup, Premier League
Luke Davies