Scottish Premier League put Setanta rights up for sale
Jun 23 2009 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post
Disney-owned ESPN last night won the bidding battle to secure the two remaining Premier League rights packages formerly held by troubled sports broadcaster Setanta.
The Premier League said it had handed the two remaining packages to US broadcaster ESPN, containing 46 matches for the 2009/10 season and 23 matches per season from 2010/11 to 2012/13.
News of the Premier League’s sale conclusion came just hours after the Scottish Premier League announced it was ditching Setanta and looking for another television partner.
ESPN said it has struck a deal with Sky for its coverage to be sold to residential and commercial customers.
It also said it wants to make its Barclays Premier League coverage widely available across multiple pay-TV platforms.
Setanta lost its deal to broadcast the 46 English Premier League games three days ago when it failed to meet a deadline for a £10 million payment to the league.
The Premier League has since been holding an auction for the rights packages.
Richard Scudamore, Premier League chief executive, said: “The timescale of our process was tight, to say the least, and it is to the great credit of ESPN that they committed themselves to adding Barclays Premier League football to their already impressive portfolio of sports rights.”
He added: “The speed at which we have been able to conclude this deal means that the preparations for next season will be able to continue without interruption and fans and clubs will have certainty over the broadcasting of Barclays Premier League matches for the next four seasons.”
Setanta also failed to hold to its Scottish Premier League (SPL) deal after it missed a £3 million payment and failed to meet extended deadlines for the money – prompting the SPL to look elsewhere for next season.
“We are now actively engaging in the process of selling our domestic broadcasting rights for next season and beyond,” SPL chairman Lex Gold said.
Setanta still holds the rights to other major sporting fixtures including the FA Cup, some England matches, US PGA golf and, from next year, Guinness Premiership rugby.
The firm’s woes could cause a headache for other sporting associations as a fall into administration might trigger a fire sale of its other broadcasting deals.
It is also feared the loss of the Premier League games will cause Setanta subscribers to migrate to other providers.
The Irish broadcaster has about 1.2 million subscribers, but this is below the 1.9 million it needs to break even and it is thought to be running at a loss of nearly £100 million a year.
Setanta employs about 430 people plus 700 call centre contract workers.
