Setanta Sports
Encyclopedia
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 operates individual channels in Ireland, Canada, Africa, and Australia.
The Setanta business in Ireland has proved to be quite a scalable business and has managed to survive and thrive despite the difficulties in Setanta UK. Colin Morgan, formerly CEO of Quinn Direct Insurance, joined the Setanta Ireland business in October 2010.
Australia
Africa
Asia
Setanta Sports GB operated Setanta Sports 1 & 2
and Setanta Golf
within the United Kingdom. Under a joint venture with Virgin Media
, it operated Setanta Sports News
. Setanta Sports GB also operated Arsenal TV
, Celtic TV
, LFC TV
and Rangers TV
with their respective clubs. Setanta Sports GB went into administration on 22 June 2009, and at 6 pm most of its channels ceased operations within Great Britain. Setanta Sports Ireland's channels continue to broadcast in Northern Ireland.
Arsenal TV
continued until August 2009 while Arsenal
explored alternative options. While Liverpool F.C.
assumed responsibility of LFC TV
and decided to continue broadcasting as normal. Since September 2009, Michael O'Rourke's Premier Sports
has shown content from Setanta Ireland in Great Britain, some of which was originally available on Setanta Sports GB's channels.
Setanta Sports previously broadcast in the United States with Setanta Sports USA. The channel ceased operations on 28 February 2010.
Setanta Sports previously operated a version of the channel in Canada as a joint venture with Canadian media company Rogers Communications
(Setanta itself owned 20% of the network). However, Rogers announced in July 2011 that the channel would be re-aligned as part of its Sportsnet networks, and become Sportsnet World on October 3, 2011. Additionally, Setanta Sports no longer has any ownership interests with the networkits minority stake was acquired by Rogers before the re-branding. The re-launch would also come alongside an overall re-branding of the Sportsnet networks.
, in the 1990s, first obtained the exclusive rights to screen live coverage of the England national football team
's away qualifying matches for the World Cup, so Setanta attracted similar criticism as a result of it having obtained the same contract. Whereas Sky often sold on a highlights package to a terrestrial broadcaster (BBC
), Setanta indicated that the sums offered by terrestrial broadcasters, reported to be £100,000 to £200,000, were five to ten times lower than their perceived market value; Setanta paid £5 million to screen England's away qualifier with Croatia
on 10 September 2008 and believed a sensible highlights package should attract a fee of £1 million. Thus, no highlights package was agreed, and Setanta themselves showed highlights of both England and Scotland
qualifiers free-to-air after the live games had concluded. This was announced at 6 pm on the day the matches took place, and received 220,000 viewers. Setanta then accepted "a low, six-figure deal" with ITV
to show delayed "extended highlights" a few days later.
Setanta's UK subscriber numbers were lower than those of Sky Sports, and the number of households watching the match live was estimated at around 1.5 million. Because of the availability of Setanta on both digital satellite and digital terrestrial television
, the theoretical possible subscriber base surpassed that of Sky Sports (not presently available via DTT) but fans who were unwilling to subscribe could not see the match live. Then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
indicated he felt it "unfortunate" more fans could not see the match live (that is, without paying a subscription fee).
programme and Radio Five Live
. Whilst customers were able to subscribe either on-line or over the telephone, many customers found it "nigh-on impossible to cancel" the service, with the only means of a cancellation being to inform the company in writing.
Because of the amount of negative feedback received, Setanta UK eventually changed this to allow for cancellations to be done through email. Furthermore, whilst customers were originally entered into a 30 day notice period once their cancellation letter was received, this was increased to 60 days without any information being sent to customers; again, because of the negative feedback, this was quickly reduced back to 30 days. These customer service issues were compounded by the fact that customers had to phone a premium rate number should they have any issues to resolve, with calls costing at least 10 pence per minute.
Reports on 7 June 2009 suggested that Setanta could be forced into administration that week after failing to make payments due on TV rights. Because of late payment and renegotiation over fees by Setanta to football clubs, several UK football clubs were put into financial difficulties as money promised had been spent in annual budgets. On 4 June, the Scottish Premier League announced they would be paying the sums that some of the clubs were owed to avoid causing them financial problems.
On 19 June, Setanta Sports failed to pay the latest installment of £30 million (€35 million) it owed the English Premier League. The Premier League had to sell the rights to the 46 live matches Setanta had for the 2009/10 season. A Premier League spokesman said, "It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet their obligations. As such the existing licence agreement between us has been terminated with immediate effect."
Following this, the Daily Mail
reported that a rescue deal had failed and "administration now looks inevitable". Two days later, it was reported on RTE News
that the original Setanta Sports channel Setanta Ireland
might be bought out by an existing consortium who already hold interests in Setanta Sport Holdings Ltd the Irish arm of Setanta Sports. Setanta Sports Ireland and Setanta Sports North America were the only brands which made a profit in 2008. The same day, Setanta lost all their SPL
TV rights because they were unable to pay the £3m (€3.5m) owed to the league. Following this, it was announced that ESPN
had bought the rights to show the 46 Premier League games bought by Setanta next season. The UK company went into administration following failure to make payments to a number of sporting organisations. About 200 employees were made redundant. The administration is to be handled by Deloitte.
According to the final report published by Setanta's administrator Deloitte, released in July 2010, the broadcaster had outstanding bank loans of UK£261m and unsecured debt of UK£288m. Deloitte said that unsecured lenders received just 2p for every pound that they have claimed back from the defunct operator.
stopped selling Setanta Sports. Disney's
ESPN won the rights to broadcasting the Premier League matches forfeited by Setanta for the 2009/10 season. 430 jobs, 200 of which are in Ireland, were expected to be lost as a result of its going into administration.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
based in Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events. The channel operates individual channels in Ireland, Canada, Africa, and Australia.
Ownership
As of 27 July 2009, the ownership structure of Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited (previously Setanta Sports Ireland Ltd) has changed. Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited is now co-owned by Gaiety Investments (60% share) with the remaining 40% share made up by Danu Partners Limited. The main shareholders in Danu are Michael O'Rourke, Leonard Ryan, and Mark O'Meara. Danu purchased 100% of the shares in Setanta Sports North America Limited which was disposed of in early 2010. Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited is licenced by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.The Setanta business in Ireland has proved to be quite a scalable business and has managed to survive and thrive despite the difficulties in Setanta UK. Colin Morgan, formerly CEO of Quinn Direct Insurance, joined the Setanta Ireland business in October 2010.
Availability
Setanta Sports offers commercial venues in several countries around the world programming of sports such as football (soccer), Gaelic football, hurling, golf, cricket, Australian rules football, rugby union and league and boxingChannels
Ireland- Setanta Sports IrelandSetanta IrelandSetanta Sports Ireland is a subscription based Irish sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in the Republic of Ireland, while it is available upon direct subscription to the Setanta Sports package on other networks...
- Setanta Sports 1
- Setanta Sports HDSetanta IrelandSetanta Sports Ireland is a subscription based Irish sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in the Republic of Ireland, while it is available upon direct subscription to the Setanta Sports package on other networks...
Australia
- Setanta Sports AustraliaSetanta Sports AustraliaSetanta Sports Australia is a sports television channel operating in Australia and is available to homes and businesses across all of Australia...
- Setanta-i
Africa
- Setanta Sports
Asia
- Setanta-i
- Setanta Sports AsiaSetanta Sports AsiaSetanta Sports Asia is a sports television channel operating in Asia. Setanta Sports Asia is currently available on TV Platforms in Hong Kong, Malaysia-Brunei, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Mongolia as well as across Asia through an online service, Setanta-i...
Previous operations
- United Kingdom
Setanta Sports GB operated Setanta Sports 1 & 2
Setanta Sports 1 & 2
Setanta Sports 1 is a subscription based sports channel in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Irelandunder a new licensing agreement between the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and the newly formed company Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Ltd replacing Setanta Sports Ireland Ltd.The channel...
and Setanta Golf
Setanta Golf
Setanta Golf was a television channel from Setanta Sports dedicated to the sport of golf.-Broadcasting:The channel was available in the UK on Sky Digital channel 429, Tiscali TV channel 557 and Virgin Media channel 543. It was a premium channel on Sky but included on Virgin's XL pack...
within the United Kingdom. Under a joint venture with Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
, it operated Setanta Sports News
Setanta Sports News
Setanta Sports News was a television channel from Virgin Media Television and Setanta Sports. The channel launched on 29 November 2007. as a rolling 24-hour sports news channel using the strength of the Setanta Sports brand across the United Kingdom and Ireland . It was available to all Virgin...
. Setanta Sports GB also operated Arsenal TV
Arsenal TV
Arsenal TV was a sports television channel devoted to coverage of the English football club Arsenal. It was a part of the Setanta Sports package and was similar to other Setanta's other channels Celtic TV, Rangers TV and LFC TV.-History:...
, Celtic TV
Celtic TV
Celtic TV was the official television channel of Celtic Football Club.It has since relaunched online, replacing Channel 67.-History:Launched in 2004, Celtic TV was operated by Setanta Sports, and was available on satellite and cable platforms in the UK and Ireland until the demise of the Pay TV...
, LFC TV
LFC TV
LFC TV is the dedicated official channel for English football club Liverpool Football Club which launched on 20 September 2007...
and Rangers TV
Rangers TV
Rangers TV is the official television channel of Rangers Football Club.Launched in 2004, it was operated by Setanta Sports, and was available on satellite and cable platforms in the UK and Ireland....
with their respective clubs. Setanta Sports GB went into administration on 22 June 2009, and at 6 pm most of its channels ceased operations within Great Britain. Setanta Sports Ireland's channels continue to broadcast in Northern Ireland.
Arsenal TV
Arsenal TV
Arsenal TV was a sports television channel devoted to coverage of the English football club Arsenal. It was a part of the Setanta Sports package and was similar to other Setanta's other channels Celtic TV, Rangers TV and LFC TV.-History:...
continued until August 2009 while Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
explored alternative options. While Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
assumed responsibility of LFC TV
LFC TV
LFC TV is the dedicated official channel for English football club Liverpool Football Club which launched on 20 September 2007...
and decided to continue broadcasting as normal. Since September 2009, Michael O'Rourke's Premier Sports
Premier Sports
Premier Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels, operated by the Luxembourg registered Premier Media S.à r.l., broadcasting in United Kingdom.-History:...
has shown content from Setanta Ireland in Great Britain, some of which was originally available on Setanta Sports GB's channels.
- United States of America
Setanta Sports previously broadcast in the United States with Setanta Sports USA. The channel ceased operations on 28 February 2010.
- Canada
Setanta Sports previously operated a version of the channel in Canada as a joint venture with Canadian media company Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
(Setanta itself owned 20% of the network). However, Rogers announced in July 2011 that the channel would be re-aligned as part of its Sportsnet networks, and become Sportsnet World on October 3, 2011. Additionally, Setanta Sports no longer has any ownership interests with the networkits minority stake was acquired by Rogers before the re-branding. The re-launch would also come alongside an overall re-branding of the Sportsnet networks.
Other business
- In 2009, Setanta Sports had shares in OneVisionOne Vision (DTT)OneVision was a consortium that have been offered a licence by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to run the pay television services on the DTT platform in the Republic of Ireland....
. OneVision where initially given the opportunity to develop the digital terrestrial network in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Negotiations with RTE Networks fell through in May 2010.
- From March 2010, Setanta Sports will provide www.setantabet.com an online gaming serviceOnline pokerOnline poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
for customers within Ireland. The venture is being developed in partnership with Jennings bet.
- October 2010, Setanta HD was launched exclusively on UPC IrelandUPC IrelandUPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
. - October 2010, Setanta Sports launched applications on the iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and a Setanta Goals service for other handsets.
Criticism
Just as when Sky SportsSky 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...
, in the 1990s, first obtained the exclusive rights to screen live coverage of the England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's away qualifying matches for the World Cup, so Setanta attracted similar criticism as a result of it having obtained the same contract. Whereas Sky often sold on a highlights package to a terrestrial broadcaster (BBC
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
), Setanta indicated that the sums offered by terrestrial broadcasters, reported to be £100,000 to £200,000, were five to ten times lower than their perceived market value; Setanta paid £5 million to screen England's away qualifier with Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
on 10 September 2008 and believed a sensible highlights package should attract a fee of £1 million. Thus, no highlights package was agreed, and Setanta themselves showed highlights of both England and Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
qualifiers free-to-air after the live games had concluded. This was announced at 6 pm on the day the matches took place, and received 220,000 viewers. Setanta then accepted "a low, six-figure deal" with ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
to show delayed "extended highlights" a few days later.
Setanta's UK subscriber numbers were lower than those of Sky Sports, and the number of households watching the match live was estimated at around 1.5 million. Because of the availability of Setanta on both digital satellite and digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom
Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom encompasses over 100 television, radio and interactive services broadcast via the UK's terrestrial television network and receivable with a standard television aerial...
, the theoretical possible subscriber base surpassed that of Sky Sports (not presently available via DTT) but fans who were unwilling to subscribe could not see the match live. Then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
indicated he felt it "unfortunate" more fans could not see the match live (that is, without paying a subscription fee).
Cancellation issues
Setanta UK also received significant criticism of its cancellation policy, with the issue investigated by the BBC's WatchdogWatchdog (TV series)
Watchdog is a BBC television series that investigates viewers' reports of problematic experiences with traders, retailers, and other companies around the UK...
programme and Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
. Whilst customers were able to subscribe either on-line or over the telephone, many customers found it "nigh-on impossible to cancel" the service, with the only means of a cancellation being to inform the company in writing.
Because of the amount of negative feedback received, Setanta UK eventually changed this to allow for cancellations to be done through email. Furthermore, whilst customers were originally entered into a 30 day notice period once their cancellation letter was received, this was increased to 60 days without any information being sent to customers; again, because of the negative feedback, this was quickly reduced back to 30 days. These customer service issues were compounded by the fact that customers had to phone a premium rate number should they have any issues to resolve, with calls costing at least 10 pence per minute.
Financial difficulties and UK administration
According to the official Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the most recent annual accounts lodged by Setanta Sports S.a.r.l. indicated losses of €173 million (UK£149 million).Reports on 7 June 2009 suggested that Setanta could be forced into administration that week after failing to make payments due on TV rights. Because of late payment and renegotiation over fees by Setanta to football clubs, several UK football clubs were put into financial difficulties as money promised had been spent in annual budgets. On 4 June, the Scottish Premier League announced they would be paying the sums that some of the clubs were owed to avoid causing them financial problems.
On 19 June, Setanta Sports failed to pay the latest installment of £30 million (€35 million) it owed the English Premier League. The Premier League had to sell the rights to the 46 live matches Setanta had for the 2009/10 season. A Premier League spokesman said, "It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet their obligations. As such the existing licence agreement between us has been terminated with immediate effect."
Following this, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
reported that a rescue deal had failed and "administration now looks inevitable". Two days later, it was reported on RTE News
RTÉ News
RTÉ News and Current Affairs , is a major division of Raidió Teilifís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. It is, by far, the largest and most popular news source in Ireland - with 77% of the Irish public regarding it as their main...
that the original Setanta Sports channel Setanta Ireland
Setanta Ireland
Setanta Sports Ireland is a subscription based Irish sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in the Republic of Ireland, while it is available upon direct subscription to the Setanta Sports package on other networks...
might be bought out by an existing consortium who already hold interests in Setanta Sport Holdings Ltd the Irish arm of Setanta Sports. Setanta Sports Ireland and Setanta Sports North America were the only brands which made a profit in 2008. The same day, Setanta lost all their SPL
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
TV rights because they were unable to pay the £3m (€3.5m) owed to the league. Following this, it was announced that ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
had bought the rights to show the 46 Premier League games bought by Setanta next season. The UK company went into administration following failure to make payments to a number of sporting organisations. About 200 employees were made redundant. The administration is to be handled by Deloitte.
According to the final report published by Setanta's administrator Deloitte, released in July 2010, the broadcaster had outstanding bank loans of UK£261m and unsecured debt of UK£288m. Deloitte said that unsecured lenders received just 2p for every pound that they have claimed back from the defunct operator.
Further UK reaction
On 21 June, BT VisionBT Vision
BT Vision is a hybrid IPTV-digital terrestrial television service provided by BT Group in the United Kingdom which was launched in December 2006...
stopped selling Setanta Sports. Disney's
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
ESPN won the rights to broadcasting the Premier League matches forfeited by Setanta for the 2009/10 season. 430 jobs, 200 of which are in Ireland, were expected to be lost as a result of its going into administration.
Recovery
Setanta made a strong recovery in Ireland since the adversity in the UK, continuing its resurrection by employing a further 50 employees in February 2010. The Setanta Ireland channel is available to entire UPC base as basic channel in Ireland, around 1.3 million homes but actually in about 530,000. Setanta also has operations in Canada, Australia and recently launched in Asia.First Irish Channel to go HD
In September 2010, Setanta Ireland announced that it would be Ireland's first indigenous channel to broadcast in HD. The service launched in January 2011. The service is only available on the UPC platform. The Dublin v Armagh encounter on the 16th of January 2011 was Ireland’s first broadcast of Gaelic Games in High Definition.See also
- Special 1 TV - parody programme on Setanta Sports that featuring puppet caricatures of football personalities.