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ESPN wins rights to Premiership League

ESPN wins rights to Premiership League

Tuesday 23 June, 2009

becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk

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US broadcaster ESPN has won a £90million contract to show 46 live Premier League games next season after Setanta Sports lost the rights.

Disney-owned sports channel ESPN has secured the rights to air 46 of next season’s Premier League football matches formerly held by Setanta Sports (www.setanta.com).

The American broadcaster out-bid rival BSkyB, which owns satellite TV company Sky (www.sky.com) for the rights to screen the matches for the forthcoming season, as well as 23 games for a year from 2010 to 2013.

Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League welcomed the deal: “We are extremely pleased to have added ESPN as a UK rights holder. They have a formidable worldwide reputation and experience in sports and I am sure we will enjoy a long and fruitful relationship with them.”

Last week the Premier League removed the rights from Setanta Sports after the Irish-based broadcaster failed to meet a £10million payment deadline.

ESPN has already secured a distribution deal with BSkyB, which will screen the 46 live Premier League games from next season. The TV giant said it had reached an agreement with Sky, but would also make the games “widely available across multiple pay-TV platforms.”

Michael Philips, product director at DigitalChoices.co.uk said: “It’s good news that an established sporting broadcaster like ESPN has secured Setanta’s forfeited Premier League rights for next season and the three years thereafter.”

He continued: “Whilst a company with ESPN’s financial firepower should bode well for opening up competition and choice for sport on digital TV, you do have to remember that Sky has secured 115 out of 138 Premiership games from 2010 to 2013.”

The Scottish Premier League has since announced that it would be re-auctioning the games it had sold to Setanta Sports due to the broadcaster’s failure to make a £3million payment.

It has not yet been made clear what will happen to Setanta subscribers with Virgin Media and BT Vision, however yesterday BT Vision confirmed it had suspended sales of Setanta Sports.

Philips added: “It will be interesting to see how the 46 matches are marketed and priced – clearly Setanta got this wrong, given the lack of demand for its services.”



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Comments

I was a Setanta subscriber, It is being shown on Channel 34 (formerly Setanta) to contact on www.topuptveps.co.
or www.epsn.co.uk. Icannot get onto the latter! I am interested in howto subscribe. I have read in the national press that the cost per month through epsn will be £12 per month or if with Sky £9 per month. Are these details correct. Also when can you confirm the dates for the live Premiership games and are any going to be shown on Monday nights? A further question I have is are you going to be negotiating with the Blue Square Premier League about showing their live non-league games during the week?

 - Jul 9 2009 1:49PM
Peter Robins, Mitcham England UK