Premier Sports
Encyclopedia
Premier Sports is the brand name for a group of sport
s-oriented television channel
s, operated by the Luxembourg
registered Premier Media S.à r.l.
, broadcasting in United Kingdom
.
. The channel initially focussed on broadcasting sporting events which had not been available in Great Britain
since the collapse of Setanta Sports GB on 22 June 2009 and were not picked up by rival sports broadcasters such as ESPN
and Sky Sports
but are available through Setanta in Ireland
.
Premier Sports operates on the Sky platform, on channels 433 and 437. MSK and MSK Extra was added to Sky on 25 September 2009 and relabelled Premier Sports and Premier Sports Xtra on 29 July 2010. The channel was free-to-air
from launch to both domestic and commercial customers but became a pay subscription channel on 5 August 2010.
On 30 June 2010, the video bit rate
was increased from 2.8Mbit/s to 4.2Mbit/s.
On 16 July 2010, the official Premier Sports website was launched.
Initially the channel was only available in Great Britain
but on 3 November 2011 became available in Northern Ireland
.
, Erik Morales
, Shane Mosley
and Felix Sturm
. On 8 December 2010, Premier Sports announced an exclusive UK deal with AIBI for the World Series of Boxing starting from December.. In February 2011, Premier Sports announced they will air all ShoBox: The New Generation
events in 2011 and access Gary Shaw
's archive of world title fights from the past five years. Premier Sports will also air eight Top Rank
events in 2011-2012. On 14 August 2011, the channel signed a deal with Spencer Fearon
's Hard Knocks Boxing Promotions that will see six events from York Hall
broadcast live, starting on 7 October 2011.
on 26 August 2010. However a number subscribers missed some or all of the game because of a problem due to the volume of demand. Premier Sports refunded those who didn't see the entire game and issued a public apology on Facebook
.
The 2011 Copa Libertadores
will also be televised exclusively on the channel, with thirty-five live games, plus a weekly highlights package. Premier Sports will also air thirty matches from the 2011 Copa Sudamericana
, seventy-four matches from the 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
and Campeonato Paulista
as well as seventy-six matches from the 2010–11 Argentine Primera División season
. Premier Sports also air football from the League of Ireland
.
for a total of three seasons. The thirty matches selected for broadcast will include all five Conference National play-offs. The deal with the Football Conference
was a revenue sharing arrangement whereby clubs would receive 50% of revenue from subscriptions, on top of the normal rights fee paid by the broadcaster, once the costs of production had been met. The Conference would also earn 50% from all internet revenue associated with the deal and retain advertising rights allied to those adverts shown with their matches.
However, Premier Sports announced on Facebook in April 2011 that the company had failed to attract enough viewers to its Conference football broadcasts to share any revenue with the clubs beyond the £5,000 broadcast fee paid to home clubs and £1,000 to away clubs. "It is a shame the number did not reach the point where revenue sharing became an option," said a Premier Sports spokesperson on its Facebook discussion board.
from the Gaelic Athletic Association
, including Gaelic football
from the National Football League
and Hurling
from the National Hurling League
, the Irish hosted versions of the International Rules Series
between Australia and Ireland
and also holds the rights to show archived classic Gaelic football
and Hurling
matches in Great Britain.
games per week from the 2011–12 season
.
announced a partnership that would see the remaining eight Cage Warriors events planned for 2011 being broadcast live and available free-to-view
on the channel.
On 15 August 2011, UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle was shown free-to-view on Premier Sports, in addition to free coverage on UFC.tv. A similar deal was put in place for UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson
on 2 October 2011 and UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
on 13 November 2011.
. The races air live and advert-free, however pre and post race coverage contains ad breaks in-line with the American host broadcaster. In addition, Premier Sports will also air all 24 weeks of the Swedish Elite League Speedway
live in 2011, as well as twenty dates from the 2011 BriSCA F1 Stock Cars season and exclusive highlights of the MASCAR series during the second half of the 2011 season.
games from the Australian National Rugby League
every year. In January 2011, Premier Sports agreed a deal for live coverage of five games from the Student Rugby League
's Super 8
competition on a free-to-view
basis.
On 18 October 2011, it was announced that up to 32 games from the Rugby Football League
Championship, Championship 1
and Championship Cup will be televised live by Premier Sports in the 2012 season. Matches will mainly be screened on Thursday night with the possibility of a number of double headers. There will be one game shown live from the Championship or Championship 1 in each of the regular rounds and at least three play-off games will be televised as well as both the Championship and Championship 1 finals. One game from the Championship Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals will be shown live as well as the final.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s-oriented television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
s, operated by the Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
registered Premier Media S.à r.l.
Société à responsabilité limitée
A Société à responsabilité limitée, also known by the acronym SARL , is a private limited liability corporate entity that exists in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Macau, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon and has commerce as its purpose.A SARL is a company whose liability is limited to the...
, broadcasting in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
History
Premier Sports was formed in 2009 by the Irish businessman Michael O'Rourke, a part owner of Setanta Sports Channel Ireland LimitedSetanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
. The channel initially focussed on broadcasting sporting events which had not been available in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
since the collapse of Setanta Sports GB on 22 June 2009 and were not picked up by rival sports broadcasters such as ESPN
ESPN (UK)
ESPN is a sports television channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland owned by American sports broadcaster ESPN Inc. The channel launched on 3 August 2009...
and Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
but are available through Setanta in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Premier Sports operates on the Sky platform, on channels 433 and 437. MSK and MSK Extra was added to Sky on 25 September 2009 and relabelled Premier Sports and Premier Sports Xtra on 29 July 2010. The channel was free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
from launch to both domestic and commercial customers but became a pay subscription channel on 5 August 2010.
On 30 June 2010, the video bit rate
Bit rate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
was increased from 2.8Mbit/s to 4.2Mbit/s.
On 16 July 2010, the official Premier Sports website was launched.
Initially the channel was only available in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
but on 3 November 2011 became available in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Boxing
From September 2010, Premier Sports began to air a number of live boxing events, featuring the likes of Lucian ButeLucian Bute
Lucian Bute is a Romanian-Canadian professional boxer, currently based in Montreal, Canada. Bute is the current IBF Super Middleweight champion...
, Erik Morales
Erik Morales
Érik Isaac Morales Elvira is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the first Mexican born boxer in history to win a world title in four weight classes and is the current WBC Light Welterweight Champion...
, Shane Mosley
Shane Mosley
“Sugar” Shane Mosley is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California who has held world titles in three weight divisions.-Amateur career:Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:...
and Felix Sturm
Felix Sturm
Felix Sturm is a German boxer and current WBA middleweight Super champion of Bosniak descent. Sturm was born and raised in Leverkusen, Germany, but both of his parents were immigrants from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Professional career :On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a...
. On 8 December 2010, Premier Sports announced an exclusive UK deal with AIBI for the World Series of Boxing starting from December.. In February 2011, Premier Sports announced they will air all ShoBox: The New Generation
ShoBox: The New Generation
ShoBox: The New Generation is a boxing television program, on Showtime. Debuting in 2001, it focuses mainly on up-and-coming boxing prospects. This program, which is a spin-off of its sister boxing program, Showtime Championship Boxing, usually televises live at 11 p.m. ET/PT on selected Fridays...
events in 2011 and access Gary Shaw
Gary Shaw (boxing promoter)
Gary Shaw is an American boxing promoter.Shaw began his professional affiliation with boxing in 1971, when he was appointed inspector to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Commission by Jersey Joe Walcott....
's archive of world title fights from the past five years. Premier Sports will also air eight Top Rank
Top Rank
Top Rank may refer to:*Top Rank, Las Vegas based boxing promotion company formed in 1973* Top Rank Records, 1950s subsidiary record label of the Rank Organisation, British company which ran from 1937 to 1996...
events in 2011-2012. On 14 August 2011, the channel signed a deal with Spencer Fearon
Spencer Fearon
Spencer Fearon is a boxing promoter and media personality.The self-styled loudest mouth and most stylish dresser in boxing, Fearon has long been a fixture at the major fights involving British fighters in this country and beyond.A former boxer himself, fighting under the nickname 'The Spirit', he...
's Hard Knocks Boxing Promotions that will see six events from York Hall
York Hall
The York Hall is a health and leisure centre and one of Britain's best known boxing venues.The venue is situated on Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green, London, England. The hall, opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200, stages boxing as well as providing a gymnasium and swimming pool.The hall is owned...
broadcast live, starting on 7 October 2011.
Football
On 16 August 2010, Premier Sports bought the live and exclusive British television rights to the Europa League play-off match between Utrecht and CelticCeltic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
on 26 August 2010. However a number subscribers missed some or all of the game because of a problem due to the volume of demand. Premier Sports refunded those who didn't see the entire game and issued a public apology on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
The 2011 Copa Libertadores
2011 Copa Libertadores
The 2011 Copa Libertadores de América was the 52nd edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier international club tournament. It was held from January 25 to June 22 of the same year...
will also be televised exclusively on the channel, with thirty-five live games, plus a weekly highlights package. Premier Sports will also air thirty matches from the 2011 Copa Sudamericana
2011 Copa Sudamericana
The 2011 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes is the 10th edition of CONMEBOL's secondary international club tournament. The winner will qualify for the 2012 Copa Libertadores, the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana, and the 2012 Suruga Bank Championship...
, seventy-four matches from the 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A is the 41st season of the Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. It began on May 21 and is scheduled to end on December 4...
and Campeonato Paulista
Campeonato Paulista
The Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1, simply known as the Campeonato Paulista, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The league is contested between 20 clubs and typically lasts from January to April...
as well as seventy-six matches from the 2010–11 Argentine Primera División season
2010–11 Argentine Primera División season
The 2010–11 Primera División season was the eighty-second season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. A total of 20 teams competed in two championships —the Apertura and Clausura— over the course of the season, which started on August 6, 2010 and ended on June 30, 2011, one...
. Premier Sports also air football from the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
.
Conference National
On 19 August 2010, Premier Sports announced that it had bought the live and exclusive television rights to thirty matches per season from the Conference NationalConference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
for a total of three seasons. The thirty matches selected for broadcast will include all five Conference National play-offs. The deal with the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
was a revenue sharing arrangement whereby clubs would receive 50% of revenue from subscriptions, on top of the normal rights fee paid by the broadcaster, once the costs of production had been met. The Conference would also earn 50% from all internet revenue associated with the deal and retain advertising rights allied to those adverts shown with their matches.
However, Premier Sports announced on Facebook in April 2011 that the company had failed to attract enough viewers to its Conference football broadcasts to share any revenue with the clubs beyond the £5,000 broadcast fee paid to home clubs and £1,000 to away clubs. "It is a shame the number did not reach the point where revenue sharing became an option," said a Premier Sports spokesperson on its Facebook discussion board.
Gaelic games
Premier Sports currently has exclusive British rights to broadcast live Gaelic gamesGaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
from the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
, including Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
from the National Football League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...
and Hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
from the National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
, the Irish hosted versions of the International Rules Series
International Rules Series
The International Rules Series is a senior men's International rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team and the Ireland international rules football team...
between Australia and Ireland
Ireland international rules football team
The Ireland International rules football team is the representative team for Ireland in international rules football, a compromise between Gaelic football and Australian rules football...
and also holds the rights to show archived classic Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
and Hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
matches in Great Britain.
Ice hockey
On 12 October 2011, Premier Sports announced that they would broadcast up to 10 live National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
games per week from the 2011–12 season
2011–12 NHL season
The 2011–12 NHL season is the 95th season of operation of the National Hockey League . It is the fifth consecutive season that opens in Europe with NHL Premiere games. As with the previous season, three events are scheduled: two games will be held in Stockholm, Sweden; one game in Helsinki,...
.
Mixed martial arts
In March 2011, Premier Sports and Cage WarriorsCage Warriors
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship or CWFC is a mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. Cage Warriors was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Warrior Promotions, the organisation behind CWFC, is a UK management agency for MMA fighters...
announced a partnership that would see the remaining eight Cage Warriors events planned for 2011 being broadcast live and available free-to-view
Free-to-view
Free-to-view is a term used for free of charge and encrypted audio and/or video contents transmission that do not require any form of continual subscription...
on the channel.
On 15 August 2011, UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle was shown free-to-view on Premier Sports, in addition to free coverage on UFC.tv. A similar deal was put in place for UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson
UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson
UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 1, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.-Background:...
on 2 October 2011 and UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event was the fifth that the UFC has hosted in Anaheim.-Background:This card marked the UFC's debut on the Fox Network...
on 13 November 2011.
Motorsport
Premier Sports will broadcast all 38 weeks of racing from the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The...
. The races air live and advert-free, however pre and post race coverage contains ad breaks in-line with the American host broadcaster. In addition, Premier Sports will also air all 24 weeks of the Swedish Elite League Speedway
Elitserien (speedway)
Elitserien is the highest league in the league system of speedway in Sweden and currently comprises the top 9 Swedish speedway teams. The first season began in 1982...
live in 2011, as well as twenty dates from the 2011 BriSCA F1 Stock Cars season and exclusive highlights of the MASCAR series during the second half of the 2011 season.
Rugby
Premier Sports will air between 150 and 160 rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
games from the Australian National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
every year. In January 2011, Premier Sports agreed a deal for live coverage of five games from the Student Rugby League
Student Rugby League
The Student Rugby League is the organisation which administrates university and college rugby league in the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Rugby Football League and BUCS....
's Super 8
Super 8 (SRL)
The Super 8 is the highest Student Rugby League competition in the United Kingdom.The Super 8 competition features the strongest university teams in the UK...
competition on a free-to-view
Free-to-view
Free-to-view is a term used for free of charge and encrypted audio and/or video contents transmission that do not require any form of continual subscription...
basis.
On 18 October 2011, it was announced that up to 32 games from the Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
Championship, Championship 1
Championship 1
Championship 1, known as The Co-operative Championship 1 due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It acts as the country's third-tier competition behind the Championship, with which it has a system of promotion and relegation. It is...
and Championship Cup will be televised live by Premier Sports in the 2012 season. Matches will mainly be screened on Thursday night with the possibility of a number of double headers. There will be one game shown live from the Championship or Championship 1 in each of the regular rounds and at least three play-off games will be televised as well as both the Championship and Championship 1 finals. One game from the Championship Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals will be shown live as well as the final.