Setanta Sports

Setanta Sports is an Irish TV sports channel. It operates on a pay-per-view and subscription service outside of Ireland, while it is free in Ireland with basic cable, and is run by Setanta. The word 'Setanta' is taken from one of Ireland's great heroes, Cúchulainn, which means the 'hound of Cullan'.

Setanta Sport Ireland

Setanta Sports Ireland is Ireland's only dedicated sports channel. Originally launched on a weekend-only basis in August 2004, it now brodcasts on weekdays as well. It shows sports including G.A.A. (All- Ireland Football Championship,All- Ireland Hurling Championship the National League and Dublin Senior Football Championship, soccer (Eircom League, the Scottish Premier League, Uefa Cup/Champions League Qualifiers, Premiership and Setanta CupThe Setanta Sports Cup Formula 1, Golf, Boxing, and Rugby (Celtic League, Leinster Junior Cup and Leinster Senior Cup).

Setanta Sports UK

In the UK, Setanta has two main sports channels: Setanta Sports 1 and Setanta Sports 2. These channels are available on the Sky Digital and Telewest digital cable platforms. Setanta Sports 1 is also available on the NTL digital cable platform. Setanta also broadcasts Celtic TV and Rangers TV, the official TV channels of these clubs, Setanta Ireland, Racing World and NASN.

Setanta also offers a special Scottish Premier League service on Top Up TV. This service is only available when Scottish Premier League matches are being broadcast.

Setanta Sports UK currently covers soccer competitions such as the Scottish Premier League, Ligue 1 and the UEFA Cup, while also covering the Gaelic Games, International Cricket and WWE Wrestling.

Setanta was one of only two broadcasters (the other being Sky) to secure rights to show live football from August 2007 - August 2010. It secured two of the six packages into which the rights had been divided under an agreement between the FA Premier League and the European Commission. Setanta is offering premiership football on freeview but is not yet known if it will be pay per view or monthly subcription

Setanta Sports have signed Sky Sports number 1 Football League commentator Ian Crocker to join their growing list of broadcasters for the upcoming 2006/07 season, focusing mainly on covering SPL matches, eventually moving on to the English Premier League the following season.

Setanta has won exclusive UK and Ireland rights to U.S. PGA Tour golf for six years from 2007 for a reported cost of £103 million. The deal includes Champions Tour and the Nationwide Tour events, but like the main U.S. television deals it does not include the major championships. Setanta is expected to establish a specialist golf channel to present its coverage. Broadcaster is seeking £200m for TV soccer. The Sunday Times, 1 July 2006.

Setanta is the sponser of the Setanta Cup, which runs on an anual basis with 8 teams from Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. The top 4 teams from each league are drawn into a 4 team group with 2 teams from each country. In the group stages, each team plays each other 2 times (home and away) and the top 2 qualify for the semi-final. The semi-finals are played at Windsor Park, Belfast and Tuners Cross, Cork. The Final is played at Tolka Park, Dublin,

Outside Ireland and UK

Setanta Sports offers commercial venues in several countries around the world programming on a pay-per-view basis of sports such as football, golf, cricket, and rugby.

Setanta Sports North America

Setanta Sports North America, currently available only in the United States,Setanta Sports North America FAQs, retrieved 13 July 2006. is split into three parts:

Setanta Premium pay-per-view for commercial venues
Setanta Sports Channel for domestic satellite customers
Setanta Broadband, offering live and delayed streaming video to broadband computer users

On April 26, 2005 Setanta launched a full-time residential subscription channel via US satellite provider DirecTV, on channel 615, at $11.99 a month. This was followed by a launch on GlobeCast World TV satellite TV service. While still offering a pay-per-view subscription for events at commercial venues, customers in the US can now enjoy live and tape-delayed events.

Setanta also offers a broadband subscription service, Setanta Broadband, allowing customers without satellite service but with broadband Internet access to view Setanta USA content on their computers. The monthly rate is $11.99, with a discounted annual rate of $119 also available.

The channel has exclusive North American rights to delayed Manchester United and Chelsea matches on MUTV and Chelsea TV, which are shown in segments within the channel.

Live events on Setanta Sports Channel North America

Only US network to have live Carling Cup football.
Shared live rights with ESPN of the UEFA Champions League football. (Setanta also has some games delayed, when other US Networks have first-run rights)
Shared live rights with GolTV of the UEFA Cup football.
Only US Network to have live Coca-Cola Championship, League One and League Two matches, including play-offs.
Live Guinness Premiership rugby.
Live Celtic League rugby.
Live Heineken Cup rugby.
Live Super League (Europe) rugby.
Live Allianz GAA National Football League (Ireland).
Live German Bundesliga football.
Live Greek League Football.
Live Scottish FA Cup football.
Live international football (only certain teams, friendlies, and World Cup play-offs).
Live FIFA World Cup 2006 coverage with German commentary.

Live pay-per-view but delayed events on Setanta Sports Channel North America

Other GAA Events.
Scottish Premier League.
Rugby Union Six Nations Championship.
International Football only certain teams, Friendly and World Cup Playoffs.

In late March 2006 it was announced that Setanta North America had picked up the American rights to the principal Australian rules football league, the Australian Football League, from Fox Sports, after Fox Soccer Channel declined to cover the AFL in 2006. Setanta now airs one game weekly live (the time differential makes it late evening/night in the USA).

Setanta Sports Australia

There are two Channels in Australia:

Setanta Sports Pay-Per-View
Setanta Sports Pub Channel

Setanta Australia shows premium live sporting events, with action coming from the GAA football and hurling championships, the Scottish Premier League, the English League One and Two, and soccer international qualifiers. Setanta has large rugby coverage (Guinness Premiership, Powergen Cup, Celtic League and the Six Nations Championship).

Setanta Sports now has a domestic pay television sports channel available for $29.95 per month if you have the right satellite dish. Setanta is hoping in the near future that it can be included on the Foxtel and Austar service.

References

External links

Irish television | Sports television in the United Kingdom | Television channels in the United Kingdom | Sports television in the United States