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From The Times
July 9, 2007

Sky and Setanta fight for viewers

Bill Edgar

SKY SPORTS AND SETANTA SPORTS step up the battle for viewers for their live Barclays Premier League matches today by announcing their selection of fixtures. Sky, which has lost its monopoly of live rights for the first time since the league’s formation in 1992 after European Commission intervention, will broadcast 92 games, two thirds of the 138 that will be shown live, with Setanta screening the remaining 46.

While the minimum payment to receive Sky Sports is £34 per month, which comes as part of a variety of packages, including nonsports, Setanta Sports’ channels will be available for £9.99 per month. Last season, the 50 nonSky live games were broadcast on PremPlus, a pay-per-view channel that charged £50 for the season, about half the amount Setanta subscribers will be paying for their 46 fixtures, although they will also receive Scottish and European football — and other sports — for their money.

The first televised match in either the Premier League or Football League will be Roy Keane’s top-flight debut as a manager when his Sunderland team face Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, August 11, at 12.45pm on Sky Sports. The former Manchester United player inspired the rise of his side from bottom to top of the Coca-Cola Championship last season and Sunderland will be shown live seven times in the first 14 rounds of matches to the end of November, the fifth-highest number among Premier League clubs. In contrast, the other promoted sides, Birmingham City and Derby County, will be televised live on three occasions.

Manchester United and Liverpool will be screened nine times each in the first batch of live matches — the most — with Liverpool’s match away to Aston Villa at tea-time on the opening Saturday constituting Setanta’s first foray into English league football. Villa will appear live eight times by the end of November, more than Chelsea and Arsenal (six and five respectively). Wigan Athletic are the only team with just two live appearances, although all clubs must be shown at least five times.

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Sky will show all four meetings between last season’s top four teams before the end of November, while Setanta has acquired live rights to FA Cup matches jointly with ITV from the 2008-09 season. “We’re expecting to have a considerable impact,” Trevor East, its director of sport, said. “Only a year ago, hardly anybody had heard of Setanta in England.”

Sky will show four games more than last season. “This new deal means we can provide a better balance of coverage of all 20 clubs,” Vic Wakeling, Sky Sports’ managing director, said.

True football fans should (but probably wont) boycott Setanta
The games being scheduled for saturday evening not only add a new and unpleasant sart time for travelling supporters.I. cannot get home much before 1830 after a home game and do not relish losing my saturday evening travelling to away games. The greed of football clubs is becoming obscene the people that cough up to go through the turnstyles are again being sold out to the TV viewers.I hope the loyalty of the couch and pub viewer is as stout as us true fans

DAVID STEVENS, STAFFORD, STAFFORDSHIRE

I say when the next contract comes up for negoitations, I think BBC and ITV should have a piece of the live action. Possibly airing live matches at 3 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday afternoon would allow people without cable or satellite to view these games free of charge, instead of waiting for highlights in the evening.
Here in the US, people are getting their own raw deal with Setanta's North American subsidiary taking a big chunk of EPL matches from Fox Soccer Channel. Of course, if you don't have Directv, which is where Setanta's located, you're outta luck. I hear that Setanta's negotiating for cable rights in New England, so I hope we'll get some games on there soon.

Richard Clifford, Milton, Massachusetts, USA

Nice to see the Bias is still going on. Man Utd and Sunderland are shown 3 times in the first month and unfasionable Blackburn don't even get a free airing till November. Not exactly fair and unbiased sports intent. Surely anyone who pays the 50 quid a month fee to Sky should be as represented as the next follower.

Graeme, Aberdeen,

This is yet another example of how the consumer is being fleeced, and how the Premier League has secured yet more money for the multi billion pound industry that is football.

Could someone tell me how it is better for consumers to have to pay £120 a year via setanta than it was to pay £50 to Sky for Prem Plus??

I suppose this additional money will mean that the clubs can inflate the already incredible wages, that they pay to their already multi millionaire players.

ripped off consumer, england,

santata is a joke why when i payed £40 for 40 games would i want to pay more than double this year. at least the pubs will be happy.

lee, liverpool,

How ITV were allowed to bid, albeit witha partner,after their last disatrous attempt to show live football beats me.Once a shareholder with Leicester I,like many others, lost out when the club went into administration.Other clubs have since and more will follow all initially brought about when ITV Digital and their promised land to the football league.collapsed.
The channel cannot even show formula 1 in full so can we expect every 10 mins to break for adverts !!
It may not be good for sky to have a monopoly but, they along with the BBC, present football in a totally professional manner.
No match of the day recorded or live for three years- only thing to do emmigrate !!
Disillusioned.

peter, Market Harborough, England

I paid £50 for Prem Plus and now I have to pay the best part of £120 for the games on Setanta. I only want to watch the football. So how is this a better deal for the consumer.

P Smith, Reading, England

So now customers have to pay for both Sky and Setanta to follow their team... What a great deal for the consumer *cough cough*

Sneck, Lincoln,

I will not be going on sentanta, I pay enough already, w i would rather go without

Andrew, London, England

Now at least there is some competition. I think its about time we had a chioce, cos some of us have had to stick with Sky and their Liverpool and Arsenal biased pannel of so-called footbal experts.

Just how do I get Santata Sports, hmm?

papa yaw, london, england

all we have to do is find out how to subscribe to setanta and
off we go. it must be the worst marketed media event in the history of sport.

rod smith, manchester, england

all we have to do is find out how to subscribe to setanta and
off we go. it must be the worst marketed media event in the history of sport.

rod smith, manchester, england

i feel it is time sky started to allow the football as stand alone channels like setanta do . £34 a month is a lot of money

paul stonehouse, chester le street, co durham

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