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Setanta scores with dish debut - Aug. 1, 2007
By Matthew Boyle, Fortune writer
August 1 2007: 10:03 AM EDT
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Setanta, a small Irish broadcaster, took another step towards joining the big leagues by signing a deal with EchoStar Communications' (Charts, Fortune 500) Dish Network to carry its 24-hour digital sports channel, Fortune has learned.
Beginning August 1, Dish Network's 13.4 million subscribers will be able to watch English soccer (including live Premiership matches), rugby and other international sports in a deal that will almost double Setanta's potential penetration in U.S. homes. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dish's satellite rival DirecTV (Charts, Fortune 500) already offers Setanta on an a la carte basis to its 16 million customers for $14.99 a month.
If you're wondering "What the heck is Setanta?" you're not alone. Save for the bleary-eyed English and Irish ex-pats in America who cram themselves into pubs on weekend mornings to watch Setanta's live broadcasts of big European soccer matches, privately-held Setanta barely registers on the sporting landscape here in the United States. But that might soon change, especially if America's on-again, off-again relationship with soccer heats up thanks to David Beckham's arrival in Los Angeles.
And even if soccer remains on the periphery here, Setanta's burgeoning presence across the pond in Britain - where it helped break Rupert Murdoch's stranglehold on live coverage of Premiership matches - and its blue-chip backing by Goldman Sachs and Benchmark Capital ensure that the broadcaster, whose name means "the little one" in Gaelic, should continue to punch above its weight.
Challenging Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting was probably the last thing on the minds of Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke when, in the summer of 1990, the two Irishmen rented out a club in London's Ealing neighborhood in order to watch their beloved national soccer team play the Dutch in the World Cup. As the game was not available on English television, the lads took matters into their own hands, charging close to 1,000 fans 10 pounds each to watch their jerry-rigged satellite feed.
"We were just friends who wanted to see a football match," recalls Ryan, who was 22 at the time and working for an insurance company. "We lost about 5,000 pounds doing it, but it showed us that there was a market for displaced sports fans."
The founders grew their nascent business by catering to that market - showing Gaelic sports to Irish fans in pubs across Europe, then soccer matches to Brits in the United States. In 2000, Setanta moved beyond bars by offering the European soccer championships on a pay-per-view basis to American homes via Dish and DirecTV.
"There were some hairy times early on," Ryan recalls. "We took some big gambles." One such gamble was outbidding the BBC for rights to broadcast Scotland's top soccer league in 2004. "We put the whole company on the line for that," Ryan says.
Then, last year, came twin coups - breaking Sky's monopoly on live Premiership matches by paying over $700 million for the rights to 46 games each season for the next three years. (The 2007-2008 Premiership season begins August 11.) Setanta also secured the final tranche of 400 million pounds in funding from a consortium that includes Goldman Sachs and venture capital firm Benchmark.
"As a group, no one company, including Sky, has such a wealth of experience in the UK sports market," says Ynon Kreiz, Benchmark's point man on the deal. For example, Trevor East, Setanta's director of sport and a former senior executive at Sky, has over 30 years of experience in the industry.
Setanta's war chest will go largely to beefing up its operations outside the United States - it broadcasts in close to 20 countries and is the number-two sports broadcaster in Britain, with nine separate channels covering various European soccer leagues, PGA golf, auto racing, English horseracing and other events. Ryan hopes that Setanta's enhanced content and distribution will boost the network's UK subscriber base to one million by the end of the year, up considerably from the current 350,000.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the next big step is cutting a distribution deal with a big cable system like Comcast (Charts), Charter or Time Warner (Charts, Fortune 500). "Eventually, it has to happen," says Benchmark's Kreiz, whose favorite soccer team is Manchester United. No deal is in place yet, but look for cable systems to test the waters with pay-per-view offerings in soccer-mad markets like Chicago and New England first.
Setanta, which employs 300 and should double its 2006 revenue figure of 75 million euros this year, has also boosted its profile by sponsoring the USA Rugby team. Setanta's U.S. CEO Roger Hall says a similar deal in the soccer world is possible. What else is on the horizon? Perhaps live cricket, which is "the big unknown for us," says Hall. "It's a big sport worldwide, but that's a lot of hours [to broadcast]."
Cricket in America? An unlikely pairing for sure, but then, few would have ever thought that David Beckham would ply his trade on American turf.
By Matthew Boyle, Fortune writer
August 1 2007: 10:03 AM EDT
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Setanta, a small Irish broadcaster, took another step towards joining the big leagues by signing a deal with EchoStar Communications' (Charts, Fortune 500) Dish Network to carry its 24-hour digital sports channel, Fortune has learned.
Beginning August 1, Dish Network's 13.4 million subscribers will be able to watch English soccer (including live Premiership matches), rugby and other international sports in a deal that will almost double Setanta's potential penetration in U.S. homes. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dish's satellite rival DirecTV (Charts, Fortune 500) already offers Setanta on an a la carte basis to its 16 million customers for $14.99 a month.
If you're wondering "What the heck is Setanta?" you're not alone. Save for the bleary-eyed English and Irish ex-pats in America who cram themselves into pubs on weekend mornings to watch Setanta's live broadcasts of big European soccer matches, privately-held Setanta barely registers on the sporting landscape here in the United States. But that might soon change, especially if America's on-again, off-again relationship with soccer heats up thanks to David Beckham's arrival in Los Angeles.
And even if soccer remains on the periphery here, Setanta's burgeoning presence across the pond in Britain - where it helped break Rupert Murdoch's stranglehold on live coverage of Premiership matches - and its blue-chip backing by Goldman Sachs and Benchmark Capital ensure that the broadcaster, whose name means "the little one" in Gaelic, should continue to punch above its weight.
Challenging Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting was probably the last thing on the minds of Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke when, in the summer of 1990, the two Irishmen rented out a club in London's Ealing neighborhood in order to watch their beloved national soccer team play the Dutch in the World Cup. As the game was not available on English television, the lads took matters into their own hands, charging close to 1,000 fans 10 pounds each to watch their jerry-rigged satellite feed.
"We were just friends who wanted to see a football match," recalls Ryan, who was 22 at the time and working for an insurance company. "We lost about 5,000 pounds doing it, but it showed us that there was a market for displaced sports fans."
The founders grew their nascent business by catering to that market - showing Gaelic sports to Irish fans in pubs across Europe, then soccer matches to Brits in the United States. In 2000, Setanta moved beyond bars by offering the European soccer championships on a pay-per-view basis to American homes via Dish and DirecTV.
"There were some hairy times early on," Ryan recalls. "We took some big gambles." One such gamble was outbidding the BBC for rights to broadcast Scotland's top soccer league in 2004. "We put the whole company on the line for that," Ryan says.
Then, last year, came twin coups - breaking Sky's monopoly on live Premiership matches by paying over $700 million for the rights to 46 games each season for the next three years. (The 2007-2008 Premiership season begins August 11.) Setanta also secured the final tranche of 400 million pounds in funding from a consortium that includes Goldman Sachs and venture capital firm Benchmark.
"As a group, no one company, including Sky, has such a wealth of experience in the UK sports market," says Ynon Kreiz, Benchmark's point man on the deal. For example, Trevor East, Setanta's director of sport and a former senior executive at Sky, has over 30 years of experience in the industry.
Setanta's war chest will go largely to beefing up its operations outside the United States - it broadcasts in close to 20 countries and is the number-two sports broadcaster in Britain, with nine separate channels covering various European soccer leagues, PGA golf, auto racing, English horseracing and other events. Ryan hopes that Setanta's enhanced content and distribution will boost the network's UK subscriber base to one million by the end of the year, up considerably from the current 350,000.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the next big step is cutting a distribution deal with a big cable system like Comcast (Charts), Charter or Time Warner (Charts, Fortune 500). "Eventually, it has to happen," says Benchmark's Kreiz, whose favorite soccer team is Manchester United. No deal is in place yet, but look for cable systems to test the waters with pay-per-view offerings in soccer-mad markets like Chicago and New England first.
Setanta, which employs 300 and should double its 2006 revenue figure of 75 million euros this year, has also boosted its profile by sponsoring the USA Rugby team. Setanta's U.S. CEO Roger Hall says a similar deal in the soccer world is possible. What else is on the horizon? Perhaps live cricket, which is "the big unknown for us," says Hall. "It's a big sport worldwide, but that's a lot of hours [to broadcast]."
Cricket in America? An unlikely pairing for sure, but then, few would have ever thought that David Beckham would ply his trade on American turf.
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6097 views
I agree: it's First, Second, Third and Fourth Divisions, period.
One of the big reasons I get Setanta is I enjoy seeing the lower leagues: usually there IS a 2nd division match on Friday afternoons, as you pointed out, but they also are scheduled pretty much all through the week, not so much on the weekends though, and often alternate with Rugby on Fridays. It's best to check the Setanta schedule each week.
I thought I read somewhere that they might actually show some Conference matches as well, but don't know for sure. Don't ask me why I'd like to see those.
=NLK=
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68518 Replies
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2671986 views
Ham Radio 2.0
Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K5qI_-JKD8
Direct YouTube Link - The Truth About Cheap CB Radios for Off-Grid Travel
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K5qI_-JKD8
Direct YouTube Link - The Truth About Cheap CB Radios for Off-Grid Travel
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
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10 views
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
No idea what improvements might be involved.
13 Replies
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614 views
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Please post your remote make/model here and any details of your issue. We are looking to collect as many examples as possible. I may reach out to you for your receiver number, but please do not post it here.
If you've already reported this to me, please repost it here so I can track all instances in one thread.
Thanks!
Brittany
If you've already reported this to me, please repost it here so I can track all instances in one thread.
Thanks!
Brittany
24 Replies
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755 views
I was having similar issues last night while watching and recording the NLCS game on 148. When I tried resuming the game at one point the screen went blank and I couldn't get my H3 to respond to any remote commands. Eventually the Hopper went to a HD channel but still no remote response. After a while the Hopper went into a re-boot cycle. This happened at least 3 times. I was using an IR universal remote only.
A little frustrating to have the game broken up like that but at least the Brewers won
Yea, I've only been a CIO for the last 30 years!
Trust me, when something important breaks, they get to own it!
This started a couple months ago. I have 2 H3s on one network, both with 2 EHD identical 3 TB seperately powered so all recordings are accessible by all 4k & J4s (8 of them).
On one H3 (not the main one that controls the MOCA network), after it reboots, it doesn't recognize it has two EHDs plugged into it. Rebooting the EHD by their power source doesn't fix it. Resetting the network doesn't. Software h3 reset doesn't fix it. Rebooting MOCA h3 doesn't fix it but so far, after 3+ cold boots (unplug pwr to H3 with unrecognized EHDs), it finally it figures out they are plugged into it. BUT.... Then when you open a program it only partially shows series and episodes, but instead of showing recordings, it only shows upcoming airings. HELP!!!!
On one H3 (not the main one that controls the MOCA network), after it reboots, it doesn't recognize it has two EHDs plugged into it. Rebooting the EHD by their power source doesn't fix it. Resetting the network doesn't. Software h3 reset doesn't fix it. Rebooting MOCA h3 doesn't fix it but so far, after 3+ cold boots (unplug pwr to H3 with unrecognized EHDs), it finally it figures out they are plugged into it. BUT.... Then when you open a program it only partially shows series and episodes, but instead of showing recordings, it only shows upcoming airings. HELP!!!!
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341 views
Thanks JohnGalt1234 - That's interesting. I wonder are the Boot Strap versions different between a Hopper 3 only and a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus setup as I have the later. I guess when charlesrshell is able to since he has both setups, he can do the test. Unless the bootstrap version is tied to when the specific Hopper 3 is manufactured, in my case, mines is from February 2016 when it was installed.
At least Google Search AI is saying the bootstrap version will never change and unique to each Hopper 3.
This is probably why different people seem to either have the issue or they don't because the bootstrap code could also be tied to the hardware revision and
components other than the internal HD.
At least Google Search AI is saying the bootstrap version will never change and unique to each Hopper 3.
This is probably why different people seem to either have the issue or they don't because the bootstrap code could also be tied to the hardware revision and
components other than the internal HD.
JohnGalt1234 - So you basically have 2 Hopper 3's. The CasinoH3 is the one that is Hopper 3 only while Master Bedroom is a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus setup.
Master Bedroom uses Android TV (ATV) software so the DISH part is actually a app and will behave differently as you can probably tell the Guide's are different on the Master Bedroom which will resemble the same guide used on other ATV devices such as the Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4. If I am correct, the CasinoH3 is the one with the problem since you did say the one dated 09/05/2026 is the naughty one while 08/15/2026 named Master Bedroom is the nice one. Usually I would expect the CasinoH3 to be the one without the problem because it's Hopper 3 only and Master Bedroom would be the one with problems because it has the Hopper Plus involved. That is why they behave differently because CasinoH3 is running the native Hopper 3 software while Master Bedroom is running the Android TV software and also it runs a app called DISH known as package com.dish.atv.launcher, the version for mines is P15403 2026100917 so it's probably the same version as the Hopper Plus software version with the date of October 9, 2026, not sure what the 17 means except maybe revision 17?
This explains it better than I can. Sorry, had to take all the ads out.
Master Bedroom uses Android TV (ATV) software so the DISH part is actually a app and will behave differently as you can probably tell the Guide's are different on the Master Bedroom which will resemble the same guide used on other ATV devices such as the Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4. If I am correct, the CasinoH3 is the one with the problem since you did say the one dated 09/05/2026 is the naughty one while 08/15/2026 named Master Bedroom is the nice one. Usually I would expect the CasinoH3 to be the one without the problem because it's Hopper 3 only and Master Bedroom would be the one with problems because it has the Hopper Plus involved. That is why they behave differently because CasinoH3 is running the native Hopper 3 software while Master Bedroom is running the Android TV software and also it runs a app called DISH known as package com.dish.atv.launcher, the version for mines is P15403 2026100917 so it's probably the same version as the Hopper Plus software version with the date of October 9, 2026, not sure what the 17 means except maybe revision 17?
This explains it better than I can. Sorry, had to take all the ads out.
Supporting Founder
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
146 Replies
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1598 views
Nah, you just don't understand how ignore works, which is why you made your own NFL thread thinking there wasn't one
Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll callThey ought to have fun with this…
Lifetime Supporter
A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.
Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.
View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k
We've literally got a movie already about this
View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.
View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k
We've literally got a movie already about this
View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
62 Replies
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1066 views
Oops.
futurism.com
AI Agent Blamed for Deleting Entire Upcoming Season of TV Show
An AI agent reportedly deleted the entire final cut of the upcoming season of a Swedish reality competition show.
futurism.com
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I was watching some of this guy's stuff and realized some of you may not be familiar. Basically his show is Candid Camera meets a magician. This is a comp of a few of his exploits. I first learned of him when I was out at a meeting in Denver about 10yrs ago. The men I was sitting at the table with started talking about this show and said it was one of the funniest things they had seen. When I got home I started watching it....yes, it is funny.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIU09F8jdwc
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIU09F8jdwc
2 Replies
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64 views
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Additional tabs provide:
OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
2142 Replies
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930074 views
Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.
I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
2135 Replies
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214833 views
Tony as the director.
Would you rather have LaRoche ???Tony as the director.
No. Bring in someone new.
Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
I don't think Tim and Tony are that far apart in Age ...No. Bring in someone new.
Remember what Tony said to Tim when they first got back together ...
Tony said: I am the New Tony, Tim .... (something to that effect)
Tony has changed, he's been running his Security Business ... I'm sure he has grown up.
Give it time ... your judging the New Tony from the old Tony.
It sounds like Tim won't be around the Team much longer either.
