FA Cup first-round TV picks: BBC bets both games on non-league minnows

TL;DR: The FA Cup first-round TV picks are out. Eight ties will be shown live on TNT Sports from Friday November 6 to Monday November 9, and the BBC has used both of its picks on non-league hosts: Altrincham v Notts County on Saturday and Cray Wanderers v Stockport on Sunday. TNT opens the televised competition with Oxford City v Leicester City on Friday night, and closes it with the all-non-league Plymouth Parkway v Berkhamsted on Monday.

The FA Cup first round is the competition’s giant-killing weekend, and the broadcasters have leaned into it. The televised ties for the 2026-27 first round proper were confirmed on October 22: eight games live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, with the BBC taking two of them for BBC Two and iPlayer. Both of the BBC’s picks are hosted by non-league clubs, which is the kind of programming honesty the Cup’s early rounds deserve.

Why did the BBC pick these two ties?

Because both are the Cup in miniature. On Saturday November 7, the cameras go to Altrincham v Notts County. Altrincham are chasing a record 18th win over league opposition as a non-league club, per BBC Sport’s framing, which is exactly the kind of storyline the competition exists for. On Sunday November 8, it is Cray Wanderers v Stockport County at 2:15pm. Cray play in the seventh-tier Isthmian League, are London’s oldest club, and this is their first-ever appearance in the first round proper after beating Bedford on penalties in a replay. Sport Grill has the full BBC-picks detail. Jason Mohammad presents Saturday’s coverage, Alex Scott hosts from Cray on Sunday, and a highlights programme follows on Sunday at 5:10pm, per NewsATW. A note on times: most listings put Altrincham v Notts County at 5:15pm GMT on Saturday, while one specialist source lists 5:30pm, so check the BBC schedule closer to the date.

What is the full televised schedule?

TNT opens the competition on Friday November 6 with Oxford City v Leicester City at 7:45pm: sixth-tier hosts against former Premier League champions, at Oxford City’s 3,100-capacity MGroup Stadium. That is the tie Leicester will want no part of. Saturday’s primetime slot goes to Peterborough United v Reading at 8pm, where Peterborough manager Robbie Savage could face his son Charlie, who plays for the Royals. Sunday brings Stafford Rangers v Grimsby at 12pm, Wimborne v Crawley at 3pm and the all-EFL clash of Oldham v Sheffield Wednesday at 5:15pm. The round closes on Monday November 9 with the all-non-league Plymouth Parkway v Berkhamsted at 7:30pm, and the second-round draw takes place before that tie. The people behind the microphones matter for weekends like this, and this site’s guide to the English Premier League commentators explains who calls the big games on TV.

Which ties are the giant-killing threats?

Friday and Sunday, in that order. Leicester walking into Oxford City’s 3,100-capacity ground is the oldest Cup script: the gulf between the divisions is vast on paper and exactly the kind that disappears on a wet November night. Sunday’s two non-league hosts, Cray Wanderers and eighth-tier Stafford Rangers, carry the same threat in different packaging. Stafford reached the first round after beating Gateshead in a replay at Marston Road, per the Non-League Paper, and now host Grimsby at 12pm. Three of the eight televised ties feature seventh- or eighth-tier hosts, which tells you how this year’s selection was made: broadcasters pick ties for stories, and the part-time side ruining a professional’s month is the best story the Cup has.

Why do the broadcasters love the first round?

Because the maths is irresistible. The first round proper is the last stage where part-time clubs meet full-time ones, and every broadcaster’s Cup coverage lives off the possibility that a tie is decided in the first ten minutes. The fastest goals on record are a reminder of how quickly a game plan can collapse when the underdog scores first and the favourite spends 80 minutes chasing. That is the product TNT and the BBC are selling: not the eight ties, but the two or three minutes inside them when a seventh-tier club realizes it is winning. The selection of Cray, Stafford and Wimborne as televised hosts is the committee telling you exactly where it thinks those minutes will come from.

What else is worth knowing?

The Savage family affair is the weekend’s second storyline. Robbie Savage manages Peterborough, and his son Charlie plays for Reading, so Saturday’s 8pm primetime slot could stage a father-against-son tie if Charlie features. The BBC’s decision to put Alex Scott at Cray for Sunday signals how seriously the broadcaster is taking the minnow angle, and the fastest goals on record remind you how quickly a Cup tie can be decided when the underdog starts fast. For Leicester supporters, the less said about cupsets the better: the club has been on the wrong end of viral moments before, including the recent fan confrontation with Russell Martin, and Friday night at Oxford City is the fixture their season does not need.