[Archived] Setanta Sports

[Tim Southampton Rover]

I originally paid monthly using my credit card but as they are going potentially going bust, I felt it was probably best to switch my payment to direct debit so I can stop money being sent to them if they suddenly switch off over night. If anyone is paying by credit card it might be worth ringing them up and switch to direct debit as you cannot halt your payments via credit card and only they (Setanta) can do that (the law sucks in this way!). I also got my monthly fee dropped to £3.33 per month instead of the £12.99 as well. Woot!

[stuwilky]

I originally paid monthly using my credit card but as they are going potentially going bust, I felt it was probably best to switch my payment to direct debit so I can stop money being sent to them if they suddenly switch off over night. If anyone is paying by credit card it might be worth ringing them up and switch to direct debit as you cannot halt your payments via credit card and only they (Setanta) can do that (the law sucks in this way!). I also got my monthly fee dropped to £3.33 per month instead of the £12.99 as well. Woot!

Yes you can. Both legally, and by reporting your credit card as lost!

[T4E]

corrected.

but my points still the same will the EPL or the FA do the same for us?

That was my point - its sod all to do with the FA.

The Premier League wont do the same for two reasons.

1) No PL teams will go to the wall over this. Several SPL teams could have.

2) The amount owed to the PL clubs is more than 10 times what the SPL had to find.

[Grabbi Graeme]

It was in one of the papers yesterday that the Premier League have given Setanta until Friday to come up with the money or they will strip them of their rights to show Premeir League football, Setanta are trying to find investors, apparently Endemol are interested in putting money into the stricken broadcaster.

[4ever&ever]

Talk sport reporting that Setanta have been stripped of their premier league package.

[Flopsy]

Also in the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/1...deal-terminated

[Ozz]

This is my only worry about Setanta going, that ESPN will disappear too. However the channel ESPN Classics is a Sky channel not a Setanta one, so maybe Sky could just be nice and take ESPN America.

Clare-Still looking for that VHS of Rovers/Brighton BTW!

[ABBEY]

bt on about bidding..ah well laying thousands off will pay for it .GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[Tris]

The PL have handled this quite well, by announcing on Monday that Setanta had until close of business today to pay up or lose the 46 games for next season - but at the same time giving notice to interested parties that they should prepare bids for a Monday (22nd) deadline. Showing support to the incumbent but making sure business as usual has a high priority.

It's important to get things moving because the packages Setanta have lost include 8 "second choice" matches. So as things stand, Sky can't make much progress in nominating their live games from Wednesday's fixture list.

The 46 games other broadcasters are now trying to win by Monday are: Packages C and D - 23 games each.

Package C = 23 third-choice matches shown at 8.00 pm on Mondays.

Package D = 8 second-choice matches + 15 fourth-choice matches shown at 5.15pm on Saturdays.

There are 38 "first-choice", 38 "second-choice", 38 "third-choice" and 24 "fourth-choice" games in the entire live offering over a season ... making a total of 138 games, sold by the Premier League in 6 packages of 23 games per package.

It's perfectly possible that the two packages now up for offer will go to two different broadcasters - the PL need to maximse their income given that they won't get Setanta's cash for the final year of this 2007-2010 deal. What happens for the next deal (starting August 2010) where Sky definitely have 113 games and Setanta only had 23 ... is anyone's guess.

[1864roverite]

Saturday evening and Monday night football will be an interesting agenda.

Itv would have to reschedule their PRIORITY programmes and Corry !

BBC would have to do something with deadenders.

Ch4/Ch5 can they accomodate or even consider paying for such a package ?

SKY will surely snaffle one of the slots.

Outside agency or alternative TV Season ticket to return ? possibly.

It will be interesting watching who bids.

[Tris]

SKY will surely snaffle one of the slots.

I can't see Sky being too bothered with this ... they already schedule their football league offering directly against Setanta's PL on a Monday night. Sky also have the security of knowing that whoever wins this mini-auction for a single season ... they themselves alreadly hold the rights to half of this unexpected one season bonanza, for the following 3 years (2010-2013).

I would think that ESPN are favourites, but only because they have a great offering already which shows lots of live sport from the USA, which Setanta subscribers stand to lose if Setanta do fail completely (ESPN America being part of the Setanta package). ESPN need to keep their own offering available on every platform, and could cross-subsidise that by bagging these rights to PL games on the cheap - this would keep most current subscribers I think.

Abbey says that BT are bidding .. but to make it work they would surely need a partner to give them the satellite platform (rather than being constrained by their own cable and fixed line based offering). Virgin got into bed with Setanta (part funding Setanta Sports News) ... doesn't leave much. Maybe C5 will take a gamble and win. The whole thing is distorted because it's a one year wonder, with 23 of the 46 games already spoken for from August 2010.

[bubblerrovers]

If espn won how can you get espn? as far as i know there is no english espn channel on sky/cable/freeview??

[Beta Ray Bill]

If espn won how can you get espn? as far as i know there is no english espn channel on sky/cable/freeview??

They'd have three options -

1. quickly set up their own channel and hope that Sky & Virgin come to a carriage deal

2. rent out the rights to another channel and be effectively the middle man in the set up

3. purchase another channel or carry on one of their existing ones. this could mean footie on the Disney Channel!

[Tris]

If espn won how can you get espn? as far as i know there is no english espn channel on sky/cable/freeview??

ESPN America on channel 417 on Sky ... they have loads of live sport from the USA but that only kicks in late afternoon / early evening (and then you can watch a live baseball game from the west coast starting at midnight / 1am UK time ie 6pm local).

Before that it shows repeats, so bagging a PL package would give them great exposure and not disrupt what they already show live.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

I think it'd be brilliant if ITV could snag the Monday games, but I can't see them doing it unless they move Corrie to Sunday/Tuesday doubles or singles, I can't remember if it's on on those days or not though...

[Billy Castell]

Not sure I'd really be big on ITV getting it, as their commentators are crap, but it would be good to see it on normal TV.

[American]

Why doesn't BBC go for it? They have enough cash from their overseas ventures....

[ABBEY]

Abbey says that BT are bidding ..

RUMOURED ONLY TRIS.....

[Tris]

I would think that ESPN are favourites

ESPN have get all 46 games for next season, and 23 per season for 2010-2013.

[bubblerrovers]

I'm gutted as have bt vision and now i've lost my live matches, sky are the only winner in this as to get espn you need sky

[Tris]

I'm gutted as have bt vision and now i've lost my live matches, sky are the only winner in this as to get espn you need sky

Looks like they will try and make it much more widely available than that ...

ESPN plans to make its Barclays Premier League coverage widely available across multiple pay-TV platforms. As a first step to this distribution strategy, ESPN has reached an agreement for its coverage to be retailed by Sky to residential and commercial customers.

Soccernet

[rog of the rovers]

I wonder how much more it will be for the ESPN games?

I think a one off payment, like the old Premiership Plus games would work well and see people joining.

For example, £50 for all the games if you buy before the season starts, then £5 a game afterwards.

[Hasta]

I'm on Virgin Media's XL TV package which includes Setanta. Be interesting to see if they ditch that and go for the ESPN channel as by far Setanta's biggest draw was the footy.

I've got another problem as Racing UK was a £10 a month standalone channel until they got bought by Setanta and became part of their package. Once the administrators are in again they say they will go back to being standalone. I doubt Virgin Media will see offering a horse-racing channel as being that attractive as part of their TV offer so I'll probably hav eto decide whether or not to fork out for that.

Bit of a ball-ache is this.

[ABBEY]

how much is espn now?

[Tris]

Setanta GB now in administration.

Their channels will go off air in the next few hours. They say that no subscriptions will be collected as from today.