SETANTA ON BRINK

Charlie

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

It may have been a far superior product but it did not just cost €80; it cost €80 on top of the Sky Subscription and the Sky Sports subscription.

As far as I can see, Setanta went downhill fast once it jumped with both feet into the EPL product. The beauty of Setanta is people did not have to subscribe to Sky or Sky Sports to get sport.

I would imagine that should Sky ever aquire those rights again, and bring back Prem Plus, they will make it available on Freeview and other platforms, as they have done with recently with their Movies and Sports pack.

Fair enough, for certain viewers, they now had access to Prem football at a cheaper rate. But for the majority imo, we we're forced to double up what we had been paying, for what was an inferior product.

Also, Setanta have the worst customer service I have ever experienced, and are sneaky ****. I recently canceled our subscription, and in my mail I stated that I wanted to cancel our sub fully, including our multiroom box. Cue me getting a letter last week telling me that as I have canceled my sub, they will be changing my multi-room sub into a normal one, and billing me €21.99 pm. This was a joke considering my instruction, but even had I just said that I wanted our subscription for house, it is terribly sneaky for them to stealthy move the goal posts, in an attempt to keep billing.

Also, i'm pretty sure they didn't provide notice when they decided to bump up the price of their sub.

DSB

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Ah come off it, the premier league is just about the highest standard of football you're gonna get in the world and the money coming in from tv companys and sponsorship has helped get it there. It's necassary for progress i feel and for somebody who doesn't live in england i'm delighted there's as much coverage as possible.

I'd be gutted if Setanta went under their punditry is abysmal but i don't care once i get to see the match.

If you're looking for impressive football, its really not the best, Spain is, England is poor outside the top 4. But thats besides the point, why do we want progress so much at the expense of bastardising the game?

MementoMori

Charlie wrote: »

I would imagine that should Sky ever aquire those rights again, and bring back Prem Plus, they will make it available on Freeview and other platforms, as they have done with recently with their Movies and Sports pack.

Fair enough, for certain viewers, they now had access to Prem football at a cheaper rate. But for the majority imo, we we're forced to double up what we had been paying, for what was an inferior product.

It's very very unlikely that Sky will ever have a monopoly on the rights again, given the EU have already made them break the rights up into different packages, which is how Setanta got to show games in the first place.

If it's not Setanta taht show them, most likely one of the terrestrial channels (BBC/ITV/C4/RTE) would be the ones to pick it up as opposed to Sky.

There was rumours about ESPN buying Setanta a while back so if Setanta do get into financial difficulties they may swop in again.

It's not going to happen that the situation is going to revert back to the way it was previously - the Premier League/clubs are making too money off the matches so there's no way that they will make the decision to reduce this number of matches being broadcast - the amount of money received for them might decrease in the short-term but that's about all.

ArmaniJeanss

DSB wrote: »

trying to turn the league into the new WWE.

DSB wrote: »

at the expense of bastardising the game?

Not with you, how is having 4 or 5 games on live TV each week 'turning it into the WWE'.

Personally I think its great that instead of having to watch Eastenders tonight that instead there is a live game on TV, even if it isn't the sexiest fixture. The 3PM Saturday kickoff is an anachronism going back to times when people worked 5 and a half day weeks and Sunday sport wasn't allowed (and floodlighting wasn't prevalent).

By the way Spain also staggers their kickoffs with 6 different kickoffs times at the weekend so that games can be shown live.

As some said above you don't have to watch them, and I'm not sure why you believe it would be a good idea to prevent other people being able to do so.

I don't really like rugby much, but I can see hows it positive for those who do to be able to see 3 or 4 Magners League games every week.

jesus_thats_gre

Headshot wrote: »

and couldnt you buy the matches individually ?

You could but it didn't make sense to do so due to the cost...

Headshot

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

You could but it didn't make sense to do so due to the cost...

ya I bought the whole package myself, I just couldnt remember could you buy them individually

thanks for clearing that up

redout

Headshot wrote: »

ya I bought the whole package myself, I just couldnt remember could you buy them individually

thanks for clearing that up

Of course you could.

Do you not remember that annoying bloody countdown clock on the screen telling you the programme was about to start and go encrypted.

Setanta are going to go bust within a year I reckon.

jesus_thats_gre

redout wrote: »

Of course you could.

Do you not remember that annoying bloody countdown clock on the screen telling you the programme was about to start and go encrypted.

Setanta are going to go bust within a year I reckon.

Always sad to see a company that tried to compete going under but their product is far inferior to that offered by Sky. If you have a HD subscription, going from a match on HD to Setanta is just depressing.

OPENROAD

DSB wrote: »

, but 6 or 7 Premiership games on TV a weekend, is too much and ruins the sport,

Normally about 5 games in the UK, they do not get the Saturday 15:00 game, is their ever 7 games on live on a weekend.

MisterAnarchy

I always thought that Setanta were paying way over the odds for their Premiership coverage.
It really is crazy money .
Paying £3-5m per match for the likes of scintillating viewing as Hull vs Bolton is nuts.
Some of the garbage that Sky serve up on their "Super Sunday" is laughable.
That said I only pay Setanta 10.50 per month which I dont view as bad value.
Sky Sports costs me 30pm and I think its grossly overpriced.
Compared to some of the foreign providers like Premiere,Nova and Canal+ ,Sky Sports is crap.

OPENROAD

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Sky Sports costs me 30pm and I think its grossly overpriced.

So why pay it?

MisterAnarchy

OPENROAD wrote: »

So why pay it?

Only have it at the moment because I'm on a half price deal,its gone then.

Guy:Incognito

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

One off fee of 80 euro - beats the **** out of 22.50 a month.

Thats very misleading in fairness. Your getting a lot more with the Setanta package for your €22.50 (is that the Sky price? I just went into my account on upc and it's only €18 a month for setanta) than just the extra prem games.

Bubs101

Stekelly wrote: »

Thats very misleading in fairness. Your getting a lot more with the Setanta package for your €22.50 (is that the Sky price? I just went into my account on upc and it's only €18 a month for setanta) than just the extra prem games.

Setanta is worth it for the UFC alone

Liam O

I really like Setanta myself and would be devastated if they went under. I don't really care too much about HD (How much extra does that cost btw?) and got rid of Sky for Setanta as they show the SPL and PL games. ESPN America is also a very good channel and Celtic tv is ok. They got some Calzaghe fights as well a while back that Sky would've charged €22 for. That and the UFC as everyone says makes it a good package. I really don't want to have to watch more games on the internet or start paying Sky €30 extra when they only show less than 10 United games a year

DSB

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Not with you, how is having 4 or 5 games on live TV each week 'turning it into the WWE'.

Personally I think its great that instead of having to watch Eastenders tonight that instead there is a live game on TV, even if it isn't the sexiest fixture. The 3PM Saturday kickoff is an anachronism going back to times when people worked 5 and a half day weeks and Sunday sport wasn't allowed (and floodlighting wasn't prevalent).

By the way Spain also staggers their kickoffs with 6 different kickoffs times at the weekend so that games can be shown live.

As some said above you don't have to watch them, and I'm not sure why you believe it would be a good idea to prevent other people being able to do so.

I don't really like rugby much, but I can see hows it positive for those who do to be able to see 3 or 4 Magners League games every week.

Because it deters people from going to games and getting involved in actual football culture.

OPENROAD wrote: »

Normally about 5 games in the UK, they do not get the Saturday 15:00 game, is their ever 7 games on live on a weekend.

3 on a Saturday usually, normally 2 on a Sunday, and 1 on a Monday, you're right, its just 6.

OPENROAD

DSB wrote: »

Because it deters people from going to games and getting involved in actual football culture.

3 on a Saturday usually, normally 2 on a Sunday, and 1 on a Monday, you're right, its just 6.

2 on Saturday, early afternoon match and evening match. The 15:00 match is not on in the UK, well maybe it is in certain pubs but that is a different story. That said would love to get the early kick off games scraped especially on a Sunday.

DSB

OPENROAD wrote: »

2 on Saturday, early afternoon match and evening match. The 15:00 match is not on in the UK, well maybe it is in certain pubs but that is a different story. That said would love to get the early kick off games scraped especially on a Sunday.

Thats pretty much what I'd propose too.

Guy:Incognito

DSB wrote: »

Because it deters people from going to games and getting involved in actual football culture.
.

Theres no problems with attendances in England. Well none that are a result of the match being on television anyway.

cournioni

Good enough for ABUanta. Their coverage really is a joke.

Benedict XVI

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

I always thought that Setanta were paying way over the odds for their Premiership coverage.
It really is crazy money .
Paying £3-5m per match for the likes of scintillating viewing as Hull vs Bolton is nuts.

They paid over the odds for rights just to get their hands on them.

When times were good their plan was to go out a buy up a load of rights and then use them as the bargaining chip in a sale to the likes of ESPN.

The rights would increase the value of Setanta allow an possible buyer to enter the UK/Eire EPL TV market without have to go through the hassle of waiting to bid for the rights the next time they come around.

Back in late '07 ESPN were going to buy Setanta for a huge price but the deal never happened.

Liam O

Benedict XVI wrote: »

They paid over the odds for rights just to get their hands on them.

When times were good their plan was to go out a buy up a load of rights and then use them as the bargaining chip in a sale to the likes of ESPN.

The rights would increase the value of Setanta allow an possible buyer to enter the UK/Eire EPL TV market without have to go through the hassle of waiting to bid for the rights the next time they come around.

Back in late '07 ESPN were going to buy Setanta for a huge price but the deal never happened.

They clearly have some sort of agreement though what with ESPN America on the Setanta package

Dearg81

I cancelled my setanta sub a few weeks ago after watching a live game where the commentators seemed to be from the future and were magically predicting goals 5 seconds before they happened :pac:

If they are charging €22.50 they need to provide a good audio and video feed. Their SD channels have the worst picture quality i've seen on sky digital. They should also have at least one HD channel by now for the price they're charging.

Iang87

so long craig burley, i'd rather listen to a turnip than listen to him. Even had most of liverpool v newcastle muted the other day cos of him

Mossy Monk

Dearg81 wrote: »

Their SD channels have the worst picture quality i've seen on sky digital. They should also have at least one HD channel by now for the price they're charging.

Not seen the ITV channels then

ccosgrave

Not to go off topic lads, but how much is it to get both Setanta and Sky on Sky Digital these days? Setanta is around €22, with Sky being around €32 on top of whatever you're currently paying, right? That is fairly expensive tbh, and I can see why Setanta would be the more likely to go under, with the extra channels among the first things to go when people start re-budgeting these days. It's a bit of a shame that they'll probably go under though.

DSB

Stekelly wrote: »

Theres no problems with attendances in England. Well none that are a result of the match being on television anyway.

Do you really believe that? If so, thats madness. Attendances outside the global company elite clubs aren't great at all. If there wasn't so much football on TV, people would go to more games, simple.

MisterAnarchy

DSB wrote: »

Do you really believe that? If so, thats madness. Attendances outside the global company elite clubs aren't great at all. If there wasn't so much football on TV, people would go to more games, simple.

Not so sure about that.
The Bundesliga matches are all televised live on a Saturday afternoon and their attendances are the best in Europe.
Ticket prices in England are way too high .

DSB

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Not so sure about that.
The Bundesliga matches are all televised live on a Saturday afternoon and their attendances are the best in Europe.
Ticket prices in England are way too high .

Yeah but there isn't a saturation of football on TV in Germany so there isn't a TV culture where people aren't arsed going to games. Football being on TV doesn't ruin attendances. Too much football on TV ruins attendances.

ArmaniJeanss

DSB wrote: »

Yeah but there isn't a saturation of football on TV in Germany so there isn't a TV culture where people aren't arsed going to games. Football being on TV doesn't ruin attendances. Too much football on TV ruins attendances.

I'm fairly sure that the worst season for attendance figures in my lifetime was for the season in the mid 80s when there was no TV coverage whatsoever for the first 4 months (not even highlights) due to a dispute over payments between the FA and BBC/ITV.
So too little football on TV also ruins attendances?

DSB

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I'm fairly sure that the worst season for attendance figures in my lifetime was for the season in the mid 80s when there was no TV coverage whatsoever for the first 4 months (not even highlights) due to a dispute over payments between the FA and BBC/ITV.
So too little football on TV also ruins attendances?

You know that would have been to do with recession, something which will be having an effect at the moment too. And no TV coverage at all, would also lower attendances probably yes. Obviously the league needs promotion and TV money coming in, but there should be a limit of 4 games over the 3 day period of Saturday to Monday.

OPENROAD

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I'm fairly sure that the worst season for attendance figures in my lifetime was for the season in the mid 80s when there was no TV coverage whatsoever for the first 4 months (not even highlights) due to a dispute over payments between the FA and BBC/ITV.
So too little football on TV also ruins attendances?

That was more to do with the fact that Football in England was in a very poor state at that time, terrible stadiums, terrible facilities in grounds, trouble at matches etc..

Guy:Incognito

DSB wrote: »

Yeah but there isn't a saturation of football on TV in Germany so there isn't a TV culture where people aren't arsed going to games. Football being on TV doesn't ruin attendances. Too much football on TV ruins attendances.

How is every match being televised in Germany less football on tv than the PL?



Which clubs are struggling to fill their grounds in England? Have you any stats to show the grounds are any more full when those teams are not on tv?

Liverpool fans for example are not makign the decision between watching Hull Vs Villa on Sky and hopping on a train to go watch the match.

DSB

Stekelly wrote: »

How is every match being televised in Germany less football on tv than the PL?

This isn't the case. I think you misread the lads post.

DSB

Stekelly wrote: »

Liverpool fans for example are not makign the decision between watching Hull Vs Villa on Sky and hopping on a train to go watch the match.

Course they are, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and United fans are spread all over the UK for some mad reason, similar to alot of Irish fans in that they don't go to matches, and just watch them all on TV, and this is whats facilitated in the current situation. Is that what you want football culture to be?

And I'm not arsed looking for stats, I'm sure you know yourself that most Premiership clubs don't fill their ground on a weekly basis.

Guy:Incognito

DSB wrote: »

Course they are, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and United fans are spread all over the UK for some mad reason, similar to alot of Irish fans in that they don't go to matches, and just watch them all on TV, and this is whats facilitated in the current situation. Is that what you want football culture to be?

And I'm not arsed looking for stats, I'm sure you know yourself that most Premiership clubs don't fill their ground on a weekly basis.

You misunderstood. I used last nights Hull - Villa game as an example. What I said was that fans of other clubs (not Villa or Hull fans) wont be stayign away from the game to watch it on TV.

Teams that cant fill their grounds are the ones that only got a boost in the first place due to the teams getting promoted and new fans coming along becaus eof pl football then drifting away eventually and/or dont have the fanbase.

patmac

Typical EU tries to balance things out by breaking the sky monopoly, there was never any way that people were going to pay for 2 subs. The main question is how many clubs have already spent the Setanta money on the ridiculous wages payed to players. Setanta over reached themselves and so have Sky in their next deal. The only thing going up in price at the moment is the money Sky will pay for the next 4 years. Watch this space.

Guy:Incognito

DSB wrote: »

And I'm not arsed looking for stats, I'm sure you know yourself that most Premiership clubs don't fill their ground on a weekly basis.

Well if your not even goign to try back up what you say, whats the point in continueing?

BTW, Without checking I'd say at least half the PL clubs dont have tickets available on the gat6e on matchdays, so "most" might be a bit of an overstatement.

patmac wrote: »

The main question is how many clubs have already spent the Setanta money on the ridiculous wages payed to players. Setanta over reached themselves and so have Sky in their next deal. .

Dont know but any that did are stupid and bringing on problems themselves. Setanta will get the blame but it would be stupid clubs that are really to blame. Dont spend money you dont have.

The Sparrow

Premier League says no dice to Setanta about delaying their next payment:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/5281486/Fears-grow-for-Setantas-future.html

It's not looking particularly good for Setanta which I think is a real shame. Fair enough their soccer coverage can be a bit horrendous but they show great stuff like UFC and especially boxing. Monopolies are never good and that is why I really hope that Setanta survive.

Having said that, they really shot themselves in the foot paying so much for their soccer packages. I mean paying 150m for FA Cup and England internationals is crazy. Did nobody learn anything from the ITV Digital collapse?

DSB

Stekelly wrote: »

You misunderstood. I used last nights Hull - Villa game as an example. What I said was that fans of other clubs (not Villa or Hull fans) wont be stayign away from the game to watch it on TV.

Teams that cant fill their grounds are the ones that only got a boost in the first place due to the teams getting promoted and new fans coming along becaus eof pl football then drifting away eventually and/or dont have the fanbase.

Yeah but thats what makes Sundays and Mondays the perfect time to have live football on TV anyway, letting it creep into the Saturday was a bad idea.

Examples of grounds not being full, Everton have had an average of 5 thousand empty seats per week, this is a team who have been on great form. Blackburn an average of 9 thousand, Wigan 7 thousand, Man City 5 thousand, Middlesbrough 8 thousand, Bolton 7 thousand.

The big 4, Man City, Villa and the newly promoted teams all did alot better, but thats to be expected for numerous reasons. Some of the other teams not listed have smaller stadiums which they're still not quite filling, so while listing the average empty seats wouldn't tell a story, given the size of the stadiums, its poor.

And make sure you take into account, that those average figures are all massively skewed by the visits of Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle who all bring in the crowds.

Utopia Parkway

themont85 wrote: »

Setanta Ireland would be a major loss. Look at what they show, 3pm Epl games, Magners League, Lots of Uefa cup football and a little Gaa. Then count all the minority stuff like sport matters, school cups in rugby, basketball, soccer even...RTE wouldn't show this stuff. And most of all its free to most in this country through NTL/Chorus. Its kind of like ESPN in the States which is free with cable, SI would be a major loss imo.

I agree. I probably watch more Setanta than Sky Sports to be honest especially when it's off season for the NFL. Setanta show stuff like Magners League, SPL, UFC, some good boxing stuff, even schools GAA and rugby. All stuff that I would watch and that Sky and RTE would probably have zero interest in covering.

Dub13

The Guardian



Setanta opts for silence after defaulting on £3m payment


Fears intensified for the future of Setanta last night as it emerged it has defaulted on a payment to the Scottish Premier League. Sources north of the border have confirmed a routine payment to SPL clubs, thought to total about £3m, did not arrive as scheduled yesterday.



Neither the broadcaster nor the SPL would comment on the matter but it raises serious questions over the viability of Setanta's commitment to Scottish football and the other parts of its rights portfolio. Following a meeting in London, one source has revealed an email was sent to staff in Glasgow confirming the payment had not been made and that no comment was to be given under any *circumstances to the media.



Setanta has been thrown into turmoil following its failure to retain half of the 46 English Premier League games it will screen live until the end of next season. From 2010-11 it will show only 23 English top-flight matches a season. It has recently made payments as scheduled to the Football Association, with whom it has a deal for FA Cup and England matches, but is actively fresh seeking investment.



Setanta is about to enter the final season of a four-year SPL deal, worth £54.5m. A further agreement was reached last summer which saw the broadcaster agree to pay £125m to the SPL from the 2010-11 season for a deal until 2014.



A meeting between SPL clubs and Setanta early last month sought to secure a way forward as the broadcaster sought to renegotiate the terms of its wide-ranging sports coverage. The options suggested at that time were understood to be a cut of as much as £30m from the extended contract or a shortening of the deal by two years. No formal agreement has been reached, however, with news of the missed payment sure to prompt concern over whether Setanta can service the SPL at all.



Concern will also emanate from club boardrooms given the economic climate and it being a time in the year when no gate receipts are forthcoming. The mechanics of Setanta's SPL agreement involve 48% of monies split evenly with the remainder dependant on finishing league positions.

Benedict XVI

Dub13 wrote: »

The Guardian



Setanta opts for silence after defaulting on £3m payment


Fears intensified for the future of Setanta last night as it emerged it has defaulted on a payment to the Scottish Premier League. Sources north of the border have confirmed a routine payment to SPL clubs, thought to total about £3m, did not arrive as scheduled yesterday.



Neither the broadcaster nor the SPL would comment on the matter but it raises serious questions over the viability of Setanta's commitment to Scottish football and the other parts of its rights portfolio. Following a meeting in London, one source has revealed an email was sent to staff in Glasgow confirming the payment had not been made and that no comment was to be given under any *circumstances to the media.



Setanta has been thrown into turmoil following its failure to retain half of the 46 English Premier League games it will screen live until the end of next season. From 2010-11 it will show only 23 English top-flight matches a season. It has recently made payments as scheduled to the Football Association, with whom it has a deal for FA Cup and England matches, but is actively fresh seeking investment.



Setanta is about to enter the final season of a four-year SPL deal, worth £54.5m. A further agreement was reached last summer which saw the broadcaster agree to pay £125m to the SPL from the 2010-11 season for a deal until 2014.



A meeting between SPL clubs and Setanta early last month sought to secure a way forward as the broadcaster sought to renegotiate the terms of its wide-ranging sports coverage. The options suggested at that time were understood to be a cut of as much as £30m from the extended contract or a shortening of the deal by two years. No formal agreement has been reached, however, with news of the missed payment sure to prompt concern over whether Setanta can service the SPL at all.



Concern will also emanate from club boardrooms given the economic climate and it being a time in the year when no gate receipts are forthcoming. The mechanics of Setanta's SPL agreement involve 48% of monies split evenly with the remainder dependant on finishing league positions.

Yesterday was a bank holiday in Eire, they could not get to the bank to transfer the cash

mirwillbeback

Benedict XVI wrote: »

Yesterday was a bank holiday in Eire, they could not get to the bank to transfer the cash

i was working yesterday, could have been transferred. i could have been the one to save setanta :eek:

Headshot

just to update this

setanta are in big trouble

SPORTS organisations including the Scottish Premier League may be forced to stomach deeper-than-expected cuts to their TV income after shareholders in Setanta failed to stump up enough cash to keep the broadcaster alive.

Setanta’s financial position was so parlous this weekend that it asked arch-rival BSkyB, which is 39.1% owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Sunday Times, for a £50m advance payment on a deal that would have seen Sky wholesale Setanta to its own Sky Sports subscribers.

The proposal of an interest-free loan, which was rejected, would have bridged the gap left by private-equity backers Doughty Hanson, Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs, which have so far offered to inject £50m into the company.

Setanta, which has 1.2m customers, must now return for crunch talks with rights holders, including the PGA golf tour. After initially asking for a 15%-20% reduction in terms, the broadcaster is seeking to negotiate some of its rights deals down by 25%. The company, which aired the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Everton yesterday, got into trouble when it won the rights to screen only 23 Premier League fixtures per season from 2010, raising doubts over its future viability.

Refinancing negotiations are led by a new management team that includes chairman Sir Robin Miller, the Emap publishing veteran.

The stand-off between sports bodies and shareholders could yet force Setanta into administration. Insiders described talks with all parties as “fluid”. It has until June 15 to make a £35m payment to the Premier League. Deloitte is already advising the firm and would be appointed as administrator if required.

The football season had started out so well for Setanta Sports. It had broken Sky's stranglehold on Premier League football, had renegotiated exclusive rights to the Scottish Premier League, and even snared England's international matches.

As managers Phil Scolari and Roy Keane know, a season is a long time for the beautiful game, and Setanta now faces an uncertain future and an urgent need for investment.

The latest cracks at the broadcaster emerged this week as it is understood to have missed a scheduled £3m (€3.5m) payment to the Scottish Premier League (SPL). Setanta declined to comment.

Winning the SPL rights marked a step change for the business in 2004, breaking the shackles of its Irish home market and setting it up for the biggest prize: the Premier League.

The seeds of Setanta were sown in a pub in Ealing in 1990. The founders, Mickey O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan, bought the rights to Ireland's World Cup game against Holland and screened, charging punters £5 entry. Setanta Sports was founded two years later, but really made waves in the UK two years after it won the Scottish rights. It secured the rights to two packages out of the six for the Premier League, with Sky picking up the other four. The following publicity campaign with Des Lynam and two seasons of Premier League action and the broadcaster is no longer referred to, as the adverts pointed out, as "sultana".

As the recession has hit, the company has stumbled. The group's SPL contract was due to expire at the end of next season, but extended earlier this year. After missing the payment, the future of the contract is under threat. PricewaterhouseCoopers is set to publish a report into Scottish Football next week saying "the SPL member clubs hoped to benefit from an extended four-year contract with Setanta worth £125m (€145m)". If the channel goes under, this payment will vanish. Even if the group is rescued, the sum is expected to drop significantly, hitting the clubs.

David Glenn, Scottish football partner at PwC, said: "Its problem has been to rely on the subscription from the Scottish fan base, it was never going to be sufficient. Losing Premier League games was also going to hit the wider subscriptions."

The shattering blow came in February. The group, the first to break Sky's dominance of Premier League games, lost one of its two packages for the start of the 2010/11 season, "exposing it to the possibility of mass subscription defection," Toby Syfret of Enders Analysis said. The move did reduce its payment to the Premier League from £131m a year to £53m, but leaves it with just 23 matches. Rivals said a "bad judgement call" of slashing its offer by 20 per cent allowed Sky to grab hold of the package. Others said it had to cut the price "to rebalance the books".

The numbers do not look good for Setanta. It is currently running at annual losses of about €116m, and has weeks, rather than months, to attract necessary investment to continue or face closure, according to analysts. Enders Analysis said in a recent report: "Setanta is fighting for its life and the next four weeks will be critical towards determining whether it survives or goes bust."

The clock is ticking as the group's backers, including the private equity group Doughty Hanson and Goldman Sachs, have put in €523m and must decide whether to invest more.

The UK operation now accounts for about 75 per cent of the company's total budget and 85 per cent of its losses, according to Enders.

It has attracted about 1.2 million direct subscribers. The problem for the group is that the estimated break-even level is 1.9 million. Mr Syfret said: "The earlier management overestimated the audience they could bring in, and possibly overpaid for rights. They thought they could crack the 2 million mark and break even would be lower."

Setanta has been hit by the slump in advertising markets. It is also in its early stages and the nature of the business is for much of the costs to come upfront. Should Setanta collapse, the final Premier League package and the SPL would have to be put on the block once more. Broadcasters including ESPN and Disney could be tempted to bid. It is understood that the Football Association is confident over the England games and the FA Cup as the broadcaster has paid much upfront, as with the Scottish rights. The group is in negotiations to lower its rights payments, which total €290m in the UK.

One expert said: "Setanta would have to pay a fair proportion up front. That will affect the business, as they are spending before they could earn any cash."

Setanta has been proactive. It called in Sir Robin Miller, a former Emap chief executive, to front a fundraising drive and draw up a new business model. The investors are waiting to see the shape of the plan before opening their wallets. "The challenge is to devise a business plan that offers the realistic prospect of viability inside the next couple of years," Mr Syfret said.

Simply, as the economic downturn has rumbled on, Setanta has proved more vulnerable to recessionary pressures than its main competitor, Sky. While Sky has become almost core sports television, Setanta, which also has an easy-to-cancel month-by-month plan, has not.

One insider at a rival group said: "The investors need to put their hands in their pockets to save it now. The group has overpaid for some rights and has made some bad decisions in recent years."

BSkyB: £1bn a year buys dominance

While Setanta's problems are set to come to head in the next few weeks, BSkyB, its direct rival for the Premier League packages, is in rude health.

The group, which is 39 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, revealed last month that profits were up 13 per cent in the first quarter over the first quarter of 2008.

The advent of its High Definition service helped to lift profits, but to prove that sport remains its bread and butter, the highest viewing figures for an HD programme were for a football match.

Sky's dominance has come from its focus on sport since its launch and it has continued to invest heavily in a range of sporting events. It currently spends £1bn (€1.16bn) a year, half of which is used to secure the majority of rights to the English Premier League.

One industry insider said: "Sky started by taking a punt on sport. The initial Premier League investment was massive and nearly took it to the wall, but it looks like the right call now."

As the broadcaster remains remarkably resilient to the downturn, one black cloud looms on the horizon. Ofcom, the media regulator, is investigating the pay-TV market and is due to report this summer.

Toby Syfret of Enders Analysis said Setanta's financial situation "could strengthen the regulator's perception that competition against Sky in sports and films is extremely difficult and probably impossible". He said Ofcom and the European Union would be concerned about the existing rules in the UK – "no company has ever found a way of competing successfully in pay sports outside of the US market".

The former FA executive director David Davies is also reviewing the Listed Events which guarantees that certain sports events are broadcast on terrestrial television, such as the Olympics, Wimbledon and the football World Cup. Mr Davies is expected to report later this year in a judgement that could affect Sky's output.

The Scottish Premier League is to pay £3m to 12 member clubs from its own funds to tide them over in lieu of money owed by broadcaster Setanta.

Cash-strapped Setanta was due to make the final payment of the season on Monday for its football match coverage.

But, after a second board meeting in three days, the SPL has decided to dip into its own coffers to prevent any clubs facing financial difficulties.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the SPL and Setanta will continue this weekend.

The broadcaster, which last year agreed to pay £125m over four seasons for extending its exclusive live coverage from 2010, has been attempting to renegotiate a number of its contracts because of cash-flow problems.

That followed the losee of one of its contracts with the Barclays Premier League in England.

Estimates suggest that up to £20m could be wiped off the value of that increased deal, but the apparent inability to meet one of the demands of their present £13.5m annual contract raises further fears.

The SPL board has had updates from its financial and legal advisors and will see what develops over the next 48 hours.

And it could theoretically terminate its contract with the broadcaster as early as next week.

A television deal is vital to support the economy of Scottish top-flight football.

Several Premier League clubs are thought to be financially reliant on the TV money to keep themselves afloat.

Advertisers pay handsomely for shirt sponsorship and pitch-side displays on the basis that they will have their brand and products shown in hundreds of thousands of homes through television coverage.

Losing a television deal would not only leave the SPL as a whole the poorer but also make a substantial dent in many clubs' finances.

Setanta first won the rights to broadcast live SPL matches in competition with previous rights holder BBC Scotland in 2004.

However, it is unlikely that a free-to-air terrestrial broadcaster could now come close to matching the kind of money offered by Setanta for live coverage of Scotland's top-flight.

BBC Scotland has been broadcasting SPL match highlights on television and the internet while looking to buy up rights to live matches involving Scottish clubs in European competitions.

None of this would have happened if their idiot backers had given them enough money to buy the allocation of premier league packages they wanted,I think it was 2 or 3.
Instead they only gave them money for 1.
Idiots.

Chardee MacDennis

espn offered 1 or 2 billion euro for setanta last year. bet they are regretting turning that down...

leninbenjamin

Aadhya Spicy Economist wrote: »

None of this would have happened if their idiot backers had given them enough money to buy the allocation of premier league packages they wanted,I think it was 2 or 3.
Instead they only gave them money for 1.
Idiots.

all that would have done is prolong the death. Setanta needed 1.8million subscribers to break even (according to the journos). All the signs were, even with the additional rights, they would struggle to ever make that.

they were hemorraging cash on rights they didn't have the subscribers for. that's why the shaderholders were unwilling to put any more of their own money into the business. the writing was on the wall.

BastardPrince wrote: »

espn offered 1 or 2 billion euro for setanta last year. bet they are regretting turning that down...

was it turned down? i thought ESPN backed out of the deal...

A Dub in Glasgo

Aadhya Spicy Economist wrote: »

None of this would have happened if their idiot backers had given them enough money to buy the allocation of premier league packages they wanted,I think it was 2 or 3.
Instead they only gave them money for 1.
Idiots.

You mean those backers were idiots for not throwing their money away?

Headshot

maybe setanta should concentrate on other sports and leave the soccer to sky