Executives of Setanta spent yesterday frantically trying to raise money to safeguard the future of the troubled broadcaster.

The Irish pay-television firm said that it was not in administration but that it had suspended all new customer subscriptions as it tried to organise a £100 million rescue package.

Setanta’s collapse would leave British sport needing to plug a £500 million-plus black hole, with football and rugby union clubs at risk of having their incomes cut.

Setanta has television contracts with the Barclays Premier League, the FA and the Scottish Premier League (SPL), but also to screen Guinness Premiership rugby union (from 2010), the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour in the United States and Indian Premier League cricket.

Barclays Premier League

Although this is owed the most money — £130 million for next season and £158 million for the three seasons combined thereafter — the Premier League is probably in the strongest position because it is confident it will find a rival broadcaster willing to take on other games.

Richard Scudamore, the League’s chief executive, has been playing particularly tough with Setanta in recent weeks, arguing that the Premier League could not allow Setanta to cut its payments because that would expose it to similar demands from Sky — in which News Corporation, parent company of The Times, has a 39.1 per cent stake — the BBC, which holds radio rights, or a range of overseas broadcasters.

Setanta’s Premier League games would, if the company went bankrupt, revert to the top-flight body. For next season it could sell half of Setanta’s 46 games directly to Sky, if the satellite broadcaster was keen, but to meet competition requirements would still have to find a rival broadcaster for the remaining fixtures.

It is hardly the ideal time to look for new buyers, with the credit crunch leaving ITV and Five with limited funds to pick up events. But ESPN, from the United States, has long wanted to break into football and bid unsuccessfully this year.

However, with Sky already providing the lion’s share of television income, even if the Premier League could raise only £100 million it would mean an average drop of a little more than £1 million per club. Even for a club with modest finances such as Portsmouth, who turn over £70 million, the loss of £1 million is not close to catastrophic.

The FA

The governing body’s newly arrived chief executive, Ian Watmore, also proved reluctant to agree to Setanta’s demands for its £150 million four-year deal to be renegotiated last week. Like Scudamore, he believes that the FA Cup and England matches will be picked up for the same money or even more, especially as England are making confident progress to World Cup qualification under Fabio Capello.