Liverpool FC Forum

[Reg]

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.

The broadcaster has already failed to pay the Scottish Premier League £3m it owes in television rights money.

Setanta, which also shows cricket, golf and rugby union, has about 1.2 million subscribers but is losing up to £100m a year, analysts say.

Deloitte is set to step in to run the firm if it goes into administration.

Would-be customers who attempted to subscribe to Setanta through its website were on Tuesday told that it was not possible because of "routine maintenance".

A spokesman for Setanta declined to comment on the firm's situation.

'Weaker' matches

The rights to show the English Premier League - and the subscribers that this pulls in - lie at the heart of Setanta's business model.

Setanta has too few of the "big" Premier League games, say observers
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.

Falling values?

It is expected that a rival broadcaster - perhaps ESPN - would buy up its Premier League football rights.

But the worsening economy has led observers to suggest that the rights to 46 games that Setanta holds for next season, the final year of its current contract, would not be worth as much as they had been.

There are also doubts about whether the Premier League could match the £159m Setanta paid for the right to screen 23 Premier League games each season from 2010-11.

A shared deal with ITV saw them secure rights for England and FA Cup matches for £425m - and it is likely another firm would buy up these rights.

One SPL club has told BBC Scotland that income from Setanta alone accounts for 33% of their income, while another said it was 20% for his club.

"With cuts already being made for next season, the loss of revenue of 20% would undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on and off the pitch," said one a source.

It is feared that the loss of cash from Setanta could force as many as three SPL clubs into administration.

[burjennio]

Simple really, most people think shelling out £50 odd a month on Sky is enough with another £10 just to watch Premier League matches too ugly to get shown on a Sunday at 4pm.

Will this affect the LFC channel or will it be able to move onto Sky?

[GYBS]

LFC would prob just move to sky - and the prem have already paid out money to the clubs so its the Prem that is owed money by setanta so shouldnt effect us . The BBC should now try and steam in and pick up those matches .

[tubby]

ESPN will buy Setanta.

[Bad Bob]

Whatever happens, someone had better pick up the slack and show Liverpool games over here.   Can't speak to how Setanta does in the British/Irish market but here they're the only game in town and I loved them because they were guaranteed to show every Liverpool game--almost always live--for a mere $15 a month.  I'll not be a happy camper if I have to go back to huddling over the laptop watching red blobs chase the little white dot on some dodgy Chinese internet feed.

[maximus]

I have always thought Setanta are absolutely tinpot compared to Sky, rubbish presenters (although I dislike Gary and Keys on SKY immensely!) rubbish presentation and quite frankly rubbish in general, as much as it pains me to say it..........when it comes to footy, no-one does it like Sky, they have got the market cornered on that front, for better or worse? thats another discussion.

[bunglemark2]

Whatever happens, someone had better pick up the slack and show Liverpool games over here.   Can't speak to how Setanta does in the British/Irish market but here they're the only game in town and I loved them because they were guaranteed to show every Liverpool game--almost always live--for a mere $15 a month.  I'll not be a happy camper if I have to go back to huddling over the laptop watching red blobs chase the little white dot on some dodgy Chinese internet feed.

Get Sopcast mate. Get a connection from yer PC to yer TV.
Problem solved !!

[tubby]

Sopcast is good but it's always a bit hit and miss. I told you all ESPN will buy them. Sky could buy them too but then it would only harm themselves.

[JC_81]

I like Setanta.

They have a habit of having us as the tea time game on a Saturday, which is great for getting a few pints and watching the game to kick off a Saturday night out

[GYBS]

Sky have refused to buy the rights for 46 live games for 50 mil

[Big Niall]

I'll miss "special 1 tv" with the puppets and Mourinho as host - I'm assuming they show that in the English version of Setanta (the show is done with Irish impersonators but like spitting image). Sven and Rooney are the co-presenters, but Mourinho is the main man. Calls such as Alex (from Manchester), RAfa (from Liverpool) and Voyeur from North London but with French accent call in.

classic stuff -watch it on youtube.

[dawson99]

I'll lose my racing uk!

but most of all, i'll miss Charlotte Jackson on Setanta Sports News

[Bad Bob]

I'll lose my racing uk!

but most of all, i'll miss Charlotte Jackson on Setanta Sports News

And don't forget Rebecca Lowe... 

[dawson99]

I always thought I was the only one who found Lowe kinda kinky

nice one dude

[supersub]

Good riddance to the tin pot organisation ...tried to fleece me last year, refused to accept I wanted to discontinue their coverage, dispite numerous phone calls and being passed from pillar to post....so I agreed to reduced amount cancelled the Direct Debit , got the phone call asking there was a problem,informed there was a letter in the post and do one...got a free month then they disconnected me...boo hoo

Hopefully Liverpool will endeavour to get hitched with Sky ASAP..