All 4 were on Fox Sports World Canada...3 live, 1 SDD....one of the few things that FSWC shows that is worthwhile....aside from some Seria A.... With only 1 PL team left, the impetus to get the games on regular FSC is pretty low, IMHO.
I believe the usual practice is to have one of the semifinals on FOX Soccer Channel, and the other semifinal and the final on America's Soccer Channel, Pay Per View.
Will anyone pay for the FA Cup without any of the big clubs left? I'm sure they'll continue with their usual practice but it just doesn't make much sense to me because none of the remaining clubs have a huge following. I wish they would show all of them on FSC because it is much more interesting than usual.
I believe FOX Sports Int'l is contractually obligated to place 1 semifinal and the final on pay-per-view in order to fulfull contractual terms with iNDemand, DirecTV, DISH Network, and Setanta Premium Closed-circuit TV. FOX Sports Int'l will lose money on the FA Cup this season. The big 4 are all out. Only one Premier League side, Portsmouth, is left. Who is gonna pay $24.95 for Barnsley vs Cardiff? I sure wouldn't.
The last time I paid to watch the final live (Arsenal and Southampton, IIRC) it was a crap game, and last year's final with two "real" clubs was a craptastic final as well, so actually watching Englishman play at Wembley might be interesting. I realize that the soccer business nowadays runs on the man-crushes of fanobys, Oliver, but to some of us that aren't just consumers this has been the best tournament ever. You're probably right that FSI will lose money on it this year, and that's a shame. I might buy the final after all...
I'm much more interested in the semifinal matchups now than I would be if 2 or more of the "Big 4" were still alive. It's great to watch real fans of these "smaller" clubs go crazy with each step their team makes towards Wembley. This FA Cup will be remembered for a long time, while the ones in recent seasons all sort of blend together.
It is what is... FSC will probably have Cardiff-Barnsley, and PPV for Portsmouth-WBA. Next deal cycle will probably see them just sublicense a chunk of games/timeslots to Setanta in advance as they do with the Premier League.