Setanta 'is on brink of collapse'

[yaz96]

BBC NEWS | Business | Setanta 'is on brink of collapse'

Setanta faces administration "within days" unless backers provide more funds to pay £30m it owes to the English Premier League, reports have suggested.

Not good. They failed to pay 3 million sterling to the SPL owed last week and it looks like they won;t make it past the summer. Despite the problems I have with the PPV Pub feeds in North America I really like them as a satellite channel.

Their PPV Pub coverage is huge in North America for GAA (Gaelic Football) as well as the Celtic-Rangers packages. We end up paying about $200-$300/ match for the coverage at our supporter's club. Word is the ESPN may come in to pick up the peices but since Setanta lost all but one of their EPL packages the price may be too steep.

copied from the DirecTV forum.

NOT good news!

 

[kstuart]

Thanks for the heads up:

The rights to show the English Premier League - and the subscribers this pulls in - lie at the heart of Setanta's business model.
But the firm had only about 60% of the subscribers it needed to break even, said Professor Chris Brady of the BPP Business School.
"They have predicated the whole thing on getting those subscribers. The problem is they are taking on Goliath in BSkyB," he told the BBC.
Not only did Setanta have only a small percentage of televised Premier League games but they tended to be "weaker" matches, he added.
There had also been problems with customer service, Professor Brady told the BBC.
Setanta's viability was cast into doubt earlier this year when it lost the rights to show 46 live Premier League matches from 2010/2011.
In future, it will show only 23 games per season, compared with BSkyB's 115, with industry observers saying that thousands of customers would give up their subscriptions.

 

[rajmarie]

Setanta price is too steep for me...but if they can expand ie add lots of Intl Cricket in their package as they do in UK here....then I will be tempted to sub this channel. As I can see...I can get this channel in PR with my existing Dish setup

 

[commodore_dude]

It's a shame, I had Setanta when I was in college because it was easy to split the cost 15 ways in a fraternity house, but it's just not worth it for one person unless you're an expat... I remember reading something a few days ago about speculation ESPN would buy at least the North American channel, I hope somebody does because there's more international sports worth watching than the other channels can support!

 

[db2]

This could actually be a good thing. Perhaps a company with more capital will buy the U.S. rights to EPL games and start broadcasting them in HD.

HDNet??

 

[kstuart]

This could actually be a good thing. Perhaps a company with more capital will buy the U.S. rights to EPL games and start broadcasting them in HD.

Fox Soccer Channel is launching an HD channel in January with EPL in HD, as well as UEFA Champions League in HD.

They already own all the US EPL rights and just sell half of the rights to Setanta...

 

[kstuart]

News:

Russian oligarch rescues Setanta with £20m deal - Times Online

 

[yaz96]

Good news! :up

Thanks!

 

[kstuart]

Oligarch has backed out and Setanta UK is toast:

Setanta on brink after Premier League rips up contract over missed payment - Telegraph

PS Note that Setanta Sports USA channel claims it will be continuing regardless (see their web site) and they say:

This development does not affect our channels and other services in the US.

Setanta Sports in the US is a separate operation that has separate agreement to show the Barclay’s Premier League. Our channels and other services in the US continue to broadcast and our subscribers can still enjoy our programming including the Lions Tour of South Africa and the UEFA U21 European Championship.

Fox Sports International owns all USA rights to the Barclays (English) Premier League through June 2010.

They sublicense half of the matches to Setanta Sports USA Channel.

If all of Setanta went away, they would continue to own all of the BPL in the USA for the next year.

In January 2010, Fox Soccer Channel HD USA will begin to show 1-2 matches per week of the BPL in High Definition (presumably sourced from Sky Sports HD), as well as UEFA Champions League in HD, and likely Serie A matches in HD. None of this is affected by Setanta in any way.

BPL matches in SD are exported by Trans World International (who also produce "Premier League World" etc.). FSC has always shown the TWI feeds, and Setanta USA will now also be using the TWI feeds (since Setanta UK no longer will be producing BPL matches).

 

[kstuart]

Setanta UK is bankrupt, Setanta USA & Setanta Ireland are negotiating with a buyer:

Setanta goes off air with loss of more than 200 jobs | Media | guardian.co.uk

 

[LhasaApso]

Any bets on who might take over Setanta's American operations?

 

[mr_snerdly]

I hate to say it, but I hope ESPN takes the rights in the US, and puts the games on ESPN and ESPN 2. I don't really know if that would happen, but at least those channels are more accessible.

 

[kstuart]

Setanta US says:

Setanta Sports USA
Important Customer Message

It has been announced today by the Board of Setanta Sport Holdings Limited that it has not proved possible to secure the additional financing required to ensure the future viability of certain Setanta businesses in Great Britain. As a consequence, the Board has taken the decision to seek the appointment of Receivers to the parent company, Setanta Sport Holdings Limited, and certain subsidiaries in Ireland, and Administrators to certain English subsidiaries.
Setanta International is not covered by these appointments.
Setanta’s services in the US will continue to trade normally.
Also, it has been widely reported in various media channels, Setanta Sports has had its agreement to broadcast 46 Barclays Premier League matches in the UK terminated.
This development does not affect our channels and other services in the US.
Setanta Sports in the US is a separate operation that has separate agreement to show the Barclay’s Premier League. Our channels and other services in the US continue to broadcast and our subscribers can still enjoy our programming including the Lions Tour of South Africa and the UEFA U21 European Championship.
New customers are welcome to subscribe to watch some of the world’s best soccer and rugby either by contacting our cable and satellite partners or online at www.setanta.com.
We thank you for your continued interest in Setanta Sports and look forward to bringing you a wealth of sport over the coming months and years.