New Setanta blow as rivals seek Premiership rights

Troubled sports broadcaster Setanta suffered a new blow Monday as the Scottish Premier League abandoned it, while rivals battled to snap up English Premiership rights it forfeited last week.

The Irish pay-TV company failed last Friday to make a scheduled payment of 30 million pounds (35 million euros, 49 million dollars) to the English Premier League, thereby losing its rights to broadcast 46 EPL games.

On Monday the SPL said Setanta had failed to make a three million pound payment in time, despite extending a deadline.

“We set three deadlines and we wanted to work with Setanta who have been a great partner of ours,” said SPL boss Lex Gold, adding that the broadcaster had been given “every possible chance to work through the problems that they had.

“That process has been lengthy and intensive but the deadline today was the final deadline,” he lamented.

The Scottish Premiership, which is far less lucrative than the EPL, was open to offers, he said. “We are now actively engaging in the process of selling our domestic broadcasting rights for next season and beyond.

“But I don’t accept that we will have to take a reduced fee. We have a product that is valuable in the market place and we will be seeking to see that value covered,” he added.

Under an agreement with the European Commission, the English Premier League cannot sell all its live matches to a single broadcaster.

That means that Sky, the main Premier League live broadcaster, would be able to bid for only half of Setanta’s 46 games next season as it already holds the rights to show another 92 games live.

US-broadcaster ESPN was also expected to bid for EPL rights, while digital pay TV service TopUp TV could also join the race.

Setanta still holds rights to other major fixtures including some England matches, the FA Cup, US PGA golf and Guinness Premiership rugby from next year.