Championship clubs ignored as Challenge Cup Fourth Round broadcast picks revealed

Ben Olawumi 19 Feb 2025 8:34 PM

Mark Chapman — The BBC will stream one Challenge Cup game this weekend.

The five Championship clubs remaining in this year’s Challenge Cup have all been overlooked, with two all-Super League ties to be broadcast from the Fourth Round instead.

Batley Bulldogs, Bradford Bulls, Featherstone Rovers, Oldham and Widnes Vikings all remain in the competition from the second tier – and all five are taking on top-flight clubs.

But the cameras have instead opted to show two ties comprising solely of Super League clubs in the shape of Wigan Warriors’ game against Hull FC and Leeds Rhinos’ trip to St Helens.

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Championship clubs ignored as Challenge Cup Fourth Round broadcast picks revealed

Challenge Cup holders – and reigning Super League champions – Wigan will host Hull on Saturday, March 15 (5.45pm KO) in a repeat of the competition’s 2017 final.

That tie will be shown live by BBC Sport, but not on terrestrial channels. Instead, it will be shown via the iPlayer, the Red Button and on the BBC Sport website.

The night prior, on March 14, the tie between Saints and Leeds will be shown live on The Sportsman’s YouTube channel with an 8pm kick-off.

This will be the second consecutive year that Saints and the Rhinos have squared off in the last-16 of the Challenge Cup, with Paul Wellens’ side winning at Headingley at this stage of the competition in 2024.

Full details of the remaining six ties will be announced in due course, but Warrington Wolves’ trip to Widnes has already been confirmed as a 5pm kick-off at the DCBL Stadium on Saturday, March 15.

All eight ties in the Fourth Round of the Challenge Cup are listed below…

Friday, March 14