View Full Version : Setanta Sports Meltdown
weeksider
09-Jun-09, 18:53
What now for Setanta sports ?
Yearly subscriptions already paid members what now for them ?
Direct Debit monthly bill payers ?
What now for SPL teams livelyhoods now ?
New managers coming in ,there money to buy players is what now
Will other companies come in to cover spl league games now ?
Invisible
09-Jun-09, 20:28
I hope BBC make an effort to take some of this sport, we after all are paying our TV licenses, they should make a BBC SPORT channel as Wimbledon, F1 and Six Nations all are broadcast on BBC.
Its a unknown what the effect of Setanta will mean to subscribers but I hope the SPL for sure is taken over by another tv firm, the loss of that revenue will be terrible
telfordstar
09-Jun-09, 20:50
Just cancelled my direct debit !!!
Such a shame-that means no more adverts with Des Lynam and the fit bird.
George Brims
10-Jun-09, 07:42
I am inferring that Setanta has gone out of business? It might be a help to outline a wee bit of what the topic is about before asking for questions. Not everyone on here lives in Caithness, or even the UK.
Anyway I think Setanta going away is good news, as they have a monopoly on rugby coverage in the US, meaning I can't get the Six Nations even if I pay extra to my cable company. You can only see it in pubs. The choice of paying through the nose for over-priced beer and second-rate "British" food while having to listen to the obnoxious Cockney (is that adjective redundant?) behind the bar refer to people like me as "bloody Jocks" fairly takes away the wish to watch the game at all. The way our national team has been performing of late doesn't help. Now perhaps I will be able to get it at home again.
Amy-Winehouse
10-Jun-09, 08:17
No more John Hartson, Scott Booth:lol:, Mark Hately, Rob MacLean, Jock Broon or the fat Harry Potter commentator- Crocker- its not such a bad thing but on the serious side , who will take over the SPL next season?
Rangers Cellic & Aberdeen were right all along when dealing with the tv rights, they said that setanta shouldnt have all the rights but were out voted by the other 9 clubs- bet they wished theyd listened to them now!!:eek:
What's everyone doing about their subscription if they have one? Do we cancel direct debits now or what?
Amy-Winehouse
10-Jun-09, 08:56
Im goin to cancel mine today , I dont know whether its a good idea or not as I will miss their rain lashed lens , cutting out sound for 5 mins, poor but not as poor as BBCsports coverage next season.
OH I forgot it will be tara to GERRY MCNEE,[lol][lol] another poor excuse for a commentator/journalist . Yep definatley worth cancelling your subscription Venture
tonkatojo
10-Jun-09, 11:47
If it means getting back to grass roots football it will be a good thing, perhaps supporters will actually go to their local games once more, pay at the gate and enjoy your game once more.the national, cup games,and league play off's,and other important games should be televised free of charge for all to enjoy, with game highlights as usual on BBC. If this were to happen perhaps the obscene wages paid to so called stars will recede and home grown players will once more stand a better chance of being used.
The Pepsi Challenge
10-Jun-09, 12:36
I think the best way forward is for ESPN to buy Setanta's Premiership packages, allowing Setanta to continue as it is. Setanta can own the rights to the games, but then wholesale the channels to Sky. At the moment, they are trying to flog the EPL games for £50M to Sky, but they've been turned on. As well as the EPL and SPL, there is also rugby, cricket, conference football and golf to sort out.
Loch not Lock
10-Jun-09, 12:50
I subscribe to Setenta purely for Racing UK and according to today's Racing Post it will be able to continue but subsciption will probably rise. I find that acceptable and hope it continues. By the way, if you open an account with Victor Chandler and have at least 10 £5 or more bets per month they pay your subscription even if your bets show a profit. If you are a gambler it may be wise to open an account with them now and get that offer with them before the price goes up. Personally I would prefer if Attheraces took over Racing UK but that appears most unlikely.:confused
If it means getting back to grass roots football it will be a good thing, perhaps supporters will actually go to their local games once more, pay at the gate and enjoy your game once more.the national, cup games,and league play off's,and other important games should be televised free of charge for all to enjoy, with game highlights as usual on BBC. If this were to happen perhaps the obscene wages paid to so called stars will recede and home grown players will once more stand a better chance of being used.
I tend to agree with most of what you say. All of the TV/Satellite money was supposed to help clubs bring in better players and raise the standard. The Old Firm in particular have shown no evidence of raising their standards and the past season was a case of mediocrity triumphing, by a short head, over ineptitude.
I don't think much of the way Setanta marketed themselves either. If you wanted to watch one particular game you had to subscribe for two months minimum and pay an additional £14.99 connection fee. Hardly a good way to tempt in new viewers, or cash in on the impulse market. There are very few scenarios in business where you could charge, say £8, for sending a signal to a waiting box and have plenty of willing buyers. Two months subscription and a connection fee that add to almost £41 takes some of the appeal away!!
Im goin to cancel mine today , I dont know whether its a good idea or not as I will miss their rain lashed lens , cutting out sound for 5 mins, poor but not as poor as BBCsports coverage next season.
OH I forgot it will be tara to GERRY MCNEE,[lol][lol] another poor excuse for a commentator/journalist . Yep definatley worth cancelling your subscription Venture
I agree with you there Amy. [lol] All subscriptions have now been cancelled.
What now for Setanta sports ?
Yearly subscriptions already paid members what now for them ?
Direct Debit monthly bill payers ?
What now for SPL teams livelyhoods now ?
New managers coming in ,there money to buy players is what now
Will other companies come in to cover spl league games now ?
Glad to see it go - I hate per for view - I pay enough through my taxes and licence and to Sky (which I accept is a pay for view of sorts but I had to take as I live in an area with no Freeview and poor terrestial). However, just strted with Freesat and Sky will be dropped soon.
Setanta - on your bike.
I expect some of you have seen the latest (below) but like Loch not lock my OH just has Racing UK and not interested in anything else, it's been mentioned stand-alone price may go up, but as Racing UK was about £20 at first, hopefully won't go up too much..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8092595.stm
Amy-Winehouse
10-Jun-09, 21:17
Any truth in the thread Ive read on another forum that Australian Setanta will take over their Irish counterparts ? Showing all the Esspeell games as well as the Premiership next season.
I will just stick with Sky as generally its a better quality football, with La Liga miles better than any of the leagues in this country.
Setanta has the Blue square league- nuff said:Razz
Maybe get the Golf back on Sky now where it belongs
If you phone them to cancel your subs you have to give 30 days notice and send an email (requests@setanta.com) informing them
If you phone them to cancel your subs you have to give 30 days notice and send an email (requests@setanta.com) informing them
Under normal circumstances I would have taken that route but considering the service will no longer be available I think cancelling the direct debit will be enough.
riggerboy
11-Jun-09, 08:39
Maybe get the Golf back on Sky now where it belongs
i thought golf belonged on a course, didnt know you could play it in the sky,
(sorry couldnt help mesel
To be honest the only time I watched setanta was when I had it free for a month!
Every other time I have watched it on the net.
Its money that most SPL clubs need.I bet as Amy said the other 9 clubs wished they had listened to the "Big 3".
Its a shame but didnt rate the channel much, only hope that the BBC take some of the money thrown at that useless phlegm spitting channel called BBC Alba and direct it to the SPL!!![lol]
celtic lass
11-Jun-09, 11:04
i always paid mine up front its up for renewal next month.I would think someone will bail them out.It's no surprise that theyre in trouble because it seems that if you phoned them and told them you couldn't afford the monthly fee they gave it to you for half price for 6 months , what a way to run a buisness.Thats like going to tesco's and getting the milk for half price and the next person that can afford it has got to pay the full price.No matter what happens i wont be paying mine up front again,it will be monthly and i'll be telling them that i cant afford it either.[lol]
Amy-Winehouse
12-Jun-09, 22:02
It appears to have been saved, noooooooooo:confused I thought we were rid of Gerry McNee & Graham Speirs (the discredited journalist) John Hartson & Scott Booth
Times Online
June 12, 2009
Russian oligarch rescues Setanta with £20m deal
Dan Sabbagh
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} Setanta Sports was tonight rescued by a Russian-born billionaire, in a last-minute deal that will save English and Scottish football from having to plug a half-billion-pound black hole.
Len Blavatnik, one of the oligarchs behind Russian oil company TNK-BP, is to inject £20 million and take control of Setanta — which, with other injections of cash will ensure the company can survive.
Although his fortune fell from $11 billion to $4 billion according to Forbes magazine, his remaining wealth still has enough money to launch a rescue of the loss-making Dublin-based broadcaster of Premier League football, which has on the verge of collapse all this week.
Better know for his investments in Russian oil, through TNK-BP, and RusAl, the aluminum giant, Blavatnik has also quietly built up a low profile media portfolio. He already owns Britain’s TopUp TV, a small pay television operator that works in tandem with Freeview boxes.
Under the terms of the deal Blavatnik’s Access Industries will take a 51 per cent stake for the £20 million, and other investors will come forward with extra money. Setanta insiders believe that Access is willing to stand behind the business for several years as it tries to reach profitablity.
Setanta will remain intact, and is expected to continue with its strategy of selling subscriptions direct to Freeview and Sky customers — although Blavatnik’s team, who include former Sky executive David Chance, are likely to conduct a review of the strategy once the deal is complete.
Access Industries said, in a statement that was released before the rescue was confirmed, that it "can confirm that this morning it submitted a proposal to the board of Setanta to acquire a majority interest in Setanta, refinancing the company".
It added that the rescue plan was “subject to a number of pre-conditions being met. Access believes that this proposal would secure the future of the broadcaster for customers, football and employees”.
Setanta needed to find £30 million today to pay the FA Premier League, and while the payment is not thought to have been made yet, the League is understood to be willing to wait while the rescue is finalised. Setanta also owes £3 million to the Scottish Premier League from last week, and is thought to need as much as £100 million for the medium term.
Blavatnik, a Russian Jew by origin, was educated in America at Colombia University, and was for a long time based in New York, becoming an American citizen, before moving his main home to Kensington in London.
He owns Access Industries, a company that mainly invests in Russian businesses, including a stake in TNK-BP, aluminium producer RusAl, and a controlling stake in chemical company LyondellBasell, whose American interests filed for Chapter 11 last year, prompting a row because RBS had to write off a £2.5 million loan.
His media interests are more limited, but Mr Blavatnik has long bankrolled TopUp TV, a small pay-television broadcaster, that supplements Freeview. He was also a board member of Warner Music, the world's number three record company.
Setanta’s Russian rescue came on the same day that another Irish media group, Independent News & Media, tried to dampen speculation that it would sell The Independent to another oligarch, Alexander Lebedev.
Gavin O’Reilly, chief executive, speaking after the company’s annual meeting said that “Mr Lebedev had not made an offer” but added that The Independent and Lebedev’s Evening Standard were “co-tenants are exploring financial co-operation”.
Nevertheless, Lebedev is thought to be increasingly interested in making an offer for the fourth ranked upmarket newspaper to integrate it with the Standard — but the oligarch will be distracted briefly as the 49 year old awaits the imminent birth of his second child.
Metalattakk
12-Jun-09, 23:30
Russian oligarch rescues Setanta with £20m deal
Dan Sabbagh
He's only investing to get his paws on a share of the TV rights to the EPL.
Let's not get carried away by thinking he's going to 'save' Sertanta or the SPL.
The only person who can save setanta is Jesus, but Amy Winehouse will score with the rebound!!!![lol]
Amy-Winehouse
13-Jun-09, 08:40
The only person who can save setanta is Jesus, but Amy Winehouse will score with the rebound!!!![lol]
Shouldnt that be `But Boyd scores with the rebound`:D haha
Shouldnt that be `But Boyd scores with the rebound`:D haha
Jesus was a virgin but he scored more often than Boyd ;)
Amy-Winehouse
14-Jun-09, 09:31
Jesus probably wouldnt have been picked for Scotland either then :D
How will this affect RacingUK?
'The Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports has gone into administration after failing to make a number of payments to sporting organisations. The administrator Deloitte said that it would shortly cease broadcasting to customers in Great Britain but would continue to operate elsewhere.'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8115360.stm
Update:
OH just rang RacingUk in London: they say they are continuing, but as a 'stand-alone' channel, and they will be in touch with every customer within 48 hours, as to how to continue subscriptions to them..
the_big_mac
23-Jun-09, 19:16
Damn it!! What about the UFC? Im absolutly sure the SPL will find a deal somewhere and there are months before the new season starts.
The biggest fight night ever for MMA fans is in two weeks and the only channel broadcasting it has gone of air. [evil]
The only person who can save setanta is Jesus, but Amy Winehouse will score with the rebound!!!![lol]
More likely off her dealer.
Just in my email box:
You may be aware that Setanta has announced that they are in the hands of financial administrators.
If you are a current Racing UK satellite subscriber we would like to reassure you that this will not affect the Racing UK service that you receive. Racing UK intends to continue broadcasting on satellite channel 432 as before, but is now set to operate as a stand-alone channel.
Racing UK successfully launched as a stand-alone channel in 2004, and flourished into a financially-viable channel on the Sky platform before we joined the Setanta bundle of channels.
We are ready to react to a range of outcomes and therefore Racing UK is sound, safe and assured of its future.
We will be in touch again in the near future to advise you on any actions you may need to take to continue receiving the Racing UK service. You can of course visit racinguk.com for ongoing updated information.
Customers who subscribe to Racing UK Online (The Racing UK Player) and the 2,350 pubs which subscribe to Racing UK will be unaffected.
For now please continue to enjoy live horse racing from 30 of the UK's best racecourses on Racing UK
Yours Sincerely
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