Any Word On Setanta Sport??

It's good to see Setanta is still what is really important. It is always squeaky bum time during the time period when a channel is strongly rumored, and when it is actually launched.

What is actually offered on Setanta Extra? I have asked a friend who has D* and he swears he doesn't have it, only Setanta USA. Does Extra show any EPL matches that aren't offered on Setanta USA? I want to make sure I don't miss any United league matches this year...of course Europe and FA Cup could be a different story. Then again, hopefully I will see all of the United's Champions League matches either on ESPN2, or Setanta.
 
It's good to see Setanta is still what is really important. It is always squeaky bum time during the time period when a channel is strongly rumored, and when it is actually launched.

What is actually offered on Setanta Extra? I have asked a friend who has D* and he swears he doesn't have it, only Setanta USA. Does Extra show any EPL matches that aren't offered on Setanta USA? I want to make sure I don't miss any United league matches this year...of course Europe and FA Cup could be a different story. Then again, hopefully I will see all of the United's Champions League matches either on ESPN2, or Setanta.

Mainly spillover coverage of live EPL matches, some rugby spillover if there's a conflict. It's not a 24 hour channel, more like a college GameDay channel, only on when needed.
It's channel 670 on Direct.
 
I just got confirmation from a very reliable source at DISH. Setanta will be on August 1st!
Setanta Extra will not initially be offered.
Since there was no mention on the Retailer Chat, I decided to bug my contact (could be same one) one more time, and I was told the same date.

I also heard that there was going to be some overflow available to Setanta, but not as much as "Setanta Extra". (My guess is that overflow would be available for anything that was not going to be shown later on the regular Setanta channel, but that's just a guess.)

I also continue to get the impression that Dish is underestimating the number of potential subscribers, so if everyone subscribes to Setanta on Dish, then maybe they will later make more overflow available.

Concerning the start date - remember that Dish likes to space things apart, and not have a lot of things happen at the same time. Also, the same engineers who work on adding the authorization code and Guide listings for HD RSNs are the ones who would be doing the same thing for Setanta. And, the people who write the Press Releases. And, the people who coach the CS reps about what is on the channels and how much they cost.

So, it seems that the spacing was:

HD RSNs and Birmingham -> Setanta -> National HD channels.

Probably any other niche and international channel additions will also be made at the beginning of August.

PS Don't forget - July 21st on ESPN-HD - David Beckham and L.A. Galaxy vs. Chelsea (so I guess that's Tom Cruise vs Madonna ?)
 
Quote "PS Don't forget - July 21st on ESPN-HD - David Beckham and L.A. Galaxy vs. Chelsea (so I guess that's Tom Cruise vs Madonna ?)"

I hear you on that. Did you see the final Real Madrid game of the season on World Sport HD? The camera kept showing Tom Cruise with Kate Holmes and Posh.

The Cruises were kissing every time Real scored, as if they cared if Real won instead of converting the Beckhams to Scientology. To each his own I suppose, but I get the feeling Tom Cruise hasn't been a life-long Real supporter, or David Beckham supporter for that matter.
 
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Quote "PS Don't forget - July 21st on ESPN-HD - David Beckham and L.A. Galaxy vs. Chelsea (so I guess that's Tom Cruise vs Madonna ?)"

I hear you on that. Did you see the final Real Madrid game of the season on World Sport HD? The camera kept showing Tom Cruise with Kate Holmes and Posh.

The Cruises were kissing every time Real scored, as if they cared if Real won instead of converting the Beckhams to Scientology. To each his own I suppose, but I get the feeling Tom Cruise hasn't been a life-long Real supporter, or David Beckham supporter for that matter.

Victoria has already come out and said that they won't be doing the Scientology thing. I believe either she or Dave is Catholic and it's a total no-go with them.

However, Posh does like the spotlight and Cruise needs all the positive press he can get, so it's a mutually beneficial, sycophantic relationship for all parties involved there.

I was talking to some friends who aren't quite as familiar with football as I am and they asked about the Tom Cruise thing. I told them that as a way of putting in perspective how widely recognized and popular Becks is, Cruise is glomming onto him in hopes of improving his own image and not the other way around.

That said, I actually recorded the World Sport feed of that match and instead watched the SD feed of the match just so I could listen to Ray Hudson have kittens on the commentary. Absolutely priceless commentary from Ray.

Now I just wait for the 21st to roll around so I can go watch Becks and the Galaxy Goofups play Chelsea. Maybe I'll serenade Jose with a nice diddy or two along the lines of:

Jose where ever you may be
Park Ji Sung ate your dog for tea,
It could be worse, it could be dead,
Now you gotta get a cat instead.

or

Mourinho are you listening
We heard you're dog had gone missing,
We heard him bark,
So we fed him to Park,
Walking in a stir-fry wonderland.

Imagine the songs we'd sing about Park Ji Sung if we didn't like him? :)
 
I just got confirmation from a very reliable source at DISH. Setanta will be on August 1st!
Setanta Extra will not initially be offered.

Makes sense as the Charity Shield match is on four days later on Sunday 5 August and that's the traditional kickoff to the year's football. It comes a week early this year as the FA made a scheduling adjustment to allow England an additional week's preparation for the European Championships, assuming they qualify.

And where can we see the Charity Shield? Setanta. :)
 
It is good to know that I am not the only one who thinks Ray Hudson goes overboard with his commentary. That guy can barely keep it together when he calls Real Madrid matches.
 
It is good to know that I am not the only one who thinks Ray Hudson goes overboard with his commentary. That guy can barely keep it together when he calls Real Madrid matches.

His Copa America coverage has been so far over the top that I can't help but laugh. I've actually started listening to him over the Univision Spanish feeds just to see what insane thing he will say next.

BTW If I was David Villa I would think about having a restraining order placed on him:eek:

BTW The Setanta news is great.
 
From the ever infamous "well placed sources" within Setanta, I have received information corroborating the information from Dish. So it looks like Setanta is indeed launching on 1 August.

As for Extra, it looks like Extra could be phased out in the future as there isn't that much overflow for the most part and most carriers have no interest in carrying another channel on top of SSC. So from a cost / return aspect, it just doesn't work out and what is normally on Extra, i.e. the 3rd choice match for the 10AM kick off on Saturdays, is a pretty crap match to begin with.

I've placed some questions with regards to the potential of HD in SSC's future and we'll see if anything comes of that.
 
So from a cost / return aspect, it just doesn't work out and what is normally on Extra, i.e. the 3rd choice match for the 10AM kick off on Saturdays, is a pretty crap match to begin with.
Since it's 3rd choice, it is less appealing to the neutral.

However, it is important if you are a supporter of one of the two teams. But, in the past, Setanta and FSC always show the 3rd and 4th choice matches as soon as the live matches are finished, so those supporters get to see the match anyway (and in fact, has been the only option for Setanta viewers on Globecast and ITVN).

So, it is nice, but not essential, and seems to not have appeal to the providers - who don't want to mess with it.
 
Setanta on Comcast-Revisited

Any word if Setanta will be coming aboard Comcast? I hear about Setanta moving to Dish, but what about digital cable?
 
Does anyone know whether Setanta will be "live" on Dish Network on 7/28 - 7/29? (I know it's a few days before the 8/1 official launch)

I just ordered my Dish for installation on Saturday and I was hoping to catch the Emirates Cup on Setanta next weekend.
 

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