Reading v Sheffield United and Leicester City v Birmingham City will be shown through the platform
Facebook has reached an agreement with the FA to stream two FA Cup fifth round matches this week.
The social media giant will show Reading v Sheffield United and Leicester City v Birmingham City through its Facebook Watch platform in the UK only.
Fans will be able to view the games on mobile, or on TV if they download the Facebook Watch TV app – which is available on platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV.
The other six games will be shown on the BBC and BT Sport, with the BBC creating a pop-up iPlayer channel to cover two additional games as well as two on BBC One.
FA Cup Fifth Round matches and live broadcasters
Monday 2 March
Portsmouth v Arsenal (7.45pm) – BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate
Tuesday 3 March
Chelsea v Liverpool (7.45pm) – BBC One and BBC iPlayer
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United (8pm) – BBC iPlayer
Reading v Sheffield United (8pm) – Facebook Watch
Wednesday 4 March
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City (7.45pm) – BBC One and BBC iPlayer
Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City (7.45pm) – BBC iPlayer
Leicester City v Birmingham City (7.45pm) – Facebook Watch
Thursday 5 March
Derby County v Manchester United (7.45pm) – BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate
Highlights will be posted shortly after each game by the FA, through its various social media channels and site.
The agreement comes after controversy surrounding the FA’s prior decision to broadcast matches through betting firms. Seven firms previously had exclusive rights to show games that didn’t kick off at 3pm on a Saturday and weren’t picked by the BBC or BT Sport.
The Betting and Gaming Council, on behalf of the companies – Bet365, Betfair, William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes, Unibet and Paddy Power – offered to cancel this deal in January without asking for a refund, in the face of public pressure.
Facebook has now jumped in to the space, enabling for all eight FA Cup fifth round games to be broadcast this week.