After much deliberation, ITV have extended their deal with the Football Association to show the FA Cup and most England internationals until 2014.

The contents of the agreement are similar to what they are currently receiving, with up to 16 live matches from the FA Cup each season (including the first pick throughout), plus all of England’s friendly internationals, and their home qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Away qualifiers are sold through the relevant FA from each country, so are not covered by this contract.

A couple of extras have also been tossed in, mainly the Community Shield, the traditional curtain-raiser to the season. While it is a glorified friendly, it usually is an attractive prospect for broadcasters at the start of the year, and has been shown by Sky Sports in recent years. Also, ITV4 will show six matches from the later rounds of the FA Youth Cup, which has been without a home since the demise of Setanta Sports in 2009.

However, the main bonus for ITV is the cost of the deal-£90m. It sounds a lot, but in comparison to the £275m they have paid under the current four-year contract which expires in the summer, it works out at more than a 30% saving (£20m a year) for the broadcaster.

The 2008-2012 contract was signed at the height of the television sports rights market back in 2007 before the global recession, which has seen a marked drop in most TV rights fees for all bar the elite competitions in sport.

The deal summed up:

• £90m over two years

• One live FA Cup match in rounds 1 and 2, two live matches in rounds 3-6, one semi-final, and the final

• First choice of matches in every round, plus the fourth pick in rounds 3 and 4, and the third pick in rounds 5 and 6

• First choice on replays in rounds 3-6

• England’s home 2014 World Cup qualifiers live

• All England friendlies live, both home and away

• Community Shield live

• Six FA Youth Cup matches per season, including the semi-finals and the final

• Covers online as well as television, plus mobile rights if necessary