Setanta Ireland
Encyclopedia
Setanta Sports Ireland is a subscription based Irish sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in the Republic of Ireland
, while it is available upon direct subscription to the Setanta Sports package on other networks across Ireland
. Its sister channel is the subscription based network Setanta Sports 1.
The company's headquarters is 4th Floor, Georges Quay House, 43 Townsend Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Joint Group CEOs Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan, COO Mark O'Meara and CFO Nigel Brennan are all based in that area
of Setanta Ireland in high-definition
(HD), was added to UPC Ireland
on 23 November 2010 with an official launch held four days later. Setanta Sports is the Republic of Ireland's first indigenous broadcaster to use HD. The channel is available on UPC Ireland channel 412, with a launch on satellite planned at a later date.
Setanta had previously hoped to have a high-definition
channel launched by August 2008, in time for the 2008–09 Premier League season.
, hurling
, golf
, cricket
, rugby union
and rugby league
and boxing
's basic cable package and as a subscription service on Sky. With subscribers receive the two Setanta Sports channels — Setanta Sports Ireland, Setanta Sports 1.
and other channels ceased trading at 18:00 on 22 June 2009 with the loss of jobs by staff associated with that section of the business following its difficulty in completing rights holder payments. Following evaluation over the weekend and on Monday 21 June 2009 it agreed to the appointment as board of Setanta Sports Holdings of Deloitte as administrators to the GB business.
However other parts of the business that are profitable such as Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland continue to trade and transmit, with only some content affected by the UK operation. They continue receiving subscriptions and so forth as going concerns following expressions of interest by various companies.
Those Setanta Sports operations still trading are:
It has been reported by The Irish Times
and RTE News
that UPC Ireland
and MCD
music promoter Denis Desmond are interested in purchasing Setanta channels in Ireland.
On 30 June 2009, it was reported by the Irish Independent
that the original owners of Setanta Sports and Denis Desmond have come to an agreement to continue to own and operate Setanta Ireland.
On 16 July 2009, it was reported that Setanta Sports Ireland have bought the rights to air 33 live games from the UK's Premier League.
On 19 July 2009, it was reported that Setanta Sports Ireland would make 21 employees redundant though with the opportunity to be reemployed in the near future.
On 28 July 2009, it was confirmed that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland has approved that the new ownership of Setanta Sports in Ireland and Setanta Sports in North America. A new deal between BCI and Setanta Sports will see Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1 continue to air exclusively to Irish audiences.
, Eircom
and Setanta Sports, announced that OneVision is to enter negotiations with the BCI with the view to take over operations of the pay DTT service. If negotiations are deemed successful it may see the launch of DTT in late 2009/early 2010 at a proposed operation cost of €40 million. OneVision aspires to offer 23 channels coinciding with the free-to-air channels. For more one OneVision see article One Vision (DTT)
. It is Setanta Ireland that is part of the Onevision DTT Consortium and its new ownership structure could be perceived as being positive for the Onevision consortium DTT plans.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, while it is available upon direct subscription to the Setanta Sports package on other networks across Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Its sister channel is the subscription based network Setanta Sports 1.
History
- Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to Irish expatriates
- More recently the network has expanded and it now broadcasts an extensive array of top live sporting events aimed at international English-speaking audiences
- Setanta Ireland's CEO is Niall Cogley, former Director of Sport at RTÉ
The company's headquarters is 4th Floor, Georges Quay House, 43 Townsend Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Joint Group CEOs Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan, COO Mark O'Meara and CFO Nigel Brennan are all based in that area
- The name 'Setanta', comes from the name of the ancient Irish Warrior 'Setanta' from Ulster who frequently played the oldest known field sport, hurlingHurlingHurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
, and who was later given the name 'CúchulainnCúchulainnCú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
' as described in the ancient Irish texts of the 'Annals of Ulster'
Programming
As of June 2011, Setanta Ireland has begun to air music programming and Irish films as part of its line-up.- The Hub
- UEFA Champions League
- On the Limit Sports
- Greyhound View
- Global Football
- FIM Weekly
- GAA on Setanta
- Heads Up Tournament
- MLS
- Serie A Italy
- Barclays Premier League
- National Rugby LeagueNational Rugby LeagueThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL) from Australia - MotoGP
New ownership
As of 27 July 2009 the ownership structure of Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited (previously Setanta Sports Ireland Ltd) has changed. Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited is now co-owned by Gaiety Investments (60% share) with the remaining 40% share made up by Sabloss Limited. The main shareholders in Sabloss are Michael O’Rourke, Leonard Ryan and Mark O’Meara. Sabloss has also purchased 100% of the shares in Setanta Sports North America Limited. Both Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited and Setanta Sports North America Limited are licenced by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.Setanta HD
Setanta HD, a simulcastSimulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of Setanta Ireland in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
(HD), was added to UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
on 23 November 2010 with an official launch held four days later. Setanta Sports is the Republic of Ireland's first indigenous broadcaster to use HD. The channel is available on UPC Ireland channel 412, with a launch on satellite planned at a later date.
Setanta had previously hoped to have a high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
channel launched by August 2008, in time for the 2008–09 Premier League season.
Setanta Goals
Setanta Sports will launch an app for the iPhone and a ‘Setanta Goals’ service for other mobile phones and BlackBerrys, with a version of the app for Android phones to follow.Availability
Setanta Sports offers commercial venues in several countries around the world programming of sports such as football (soccer), Gaelic footballGaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
, hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Ireland
In Ireland, Setanta Sports' Channels are available on a number of different platforms. Its flagship Channel Setanta Ireland is available for free on UPC IrelandUPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
's basic cable package and as a subscription service on Sky. With subscribers receive the two Setanta Sports channels — Setanta Sports Ireland, Setanta Sports 1.
Recent developments
Setanta Sports GB including joint venture Setanta Sports NewsSetanta Sports News
Setanta Sports News was a television channel from Virgin Media Television and Setanta Sports. The channel launched on 29 November 2007. as a rolling 24-hour sports news channel using the strength of the Setanta Sports brand across the United Kingdom and Ireland . It was available to all Virgin...
and other channels ceased trading at 18:00 on 22 June 2009 with the loss of jobs by staff associated with that section of the business following its difficulty in completing rights holder payments. Following evaluation over the weekend and on Monday 21 June 2009 it agreed to the appointment as board of Setanta Sports Holdings of Deloitte as administrators to the GB business.
However other parts of the business that are profitable such as Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland continue to trade and transmit, with only some content affected by the UK operation. They continue receiving subscriptions and so forth as going concerns following expressions of interest by various companies.
Those Setanta Sports operations still trading are:
- Ireland (Setanta 1 and Setanta Ireland only)
- USA
- Canada
- Australia
It has been reported by The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
and RTE News
RTÉ News
RTÉ News and Current Affairs , is a major division of Raidió Teilifís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. It is, by far, the largest and most popular news source in Ireland - with 77% of the Irish public regarding it as their main...
that UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
and MCD
MCD
-Entertainment:*MCD Productions, an Irish event promoter*Michael Clarke Duncan, African-American actor-Historical:*Monument Class Description, a synthesis and summary of the archaeological evidence for a British ancient monument*1400 in Roman numerals-Physics:...
music promoter Denis Desmond are interested in purchasing Setanta channels in Ireland.
On 30 June 2009, it was reported by the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
that the original owners of Setanta Sports and Denis Desmond have come to an agreement to continue to own and operate Setanta Ireland.
On 16 July 2009, it was reported that Setanta Sports Ireland have bought the rights to air 33 live games from the UK's Premier League.
On 19 July 2009, it was reported that Setanta Sports Ireland would make 21 employees redundant though with the opportunity to be reemployed in the near future.
On 28 July 2009, it was confirmed that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland has approved that the new ownership of Setanta Sports in Ireland and Setanta Sports in North America. A new deal between BCI and Setanta Sports will see Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1 continue to air exclusively to Irish audiences.
OneVision Irish DTT license application
On 1 May 2009, Fintan Drury, chairperson of the OneVision consortium made up of TV3 Group, ArqivaArqiva
Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless...
, Eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
and Setanta Sports, announced that OneVision is to enter negotiations with the BCI with the view to take over operations of the pay DTT service. If negotiations are deemed successful it may see the launch of DTT in late 2009/early 2010 at a proposed operation cost of €40 million. OneVision aspires to offer 23 channels coinciding with the free-to-air channels. For more one OneVision see article One Vision (DTT)
One Vision (DTT)
OneVision was a consortium that have been offered a licence by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to run the pay television services on the DTT platform in the Republic of Ireland....
. It is Setanta Ireland that is part of the Onevision DTT Consortium and its new ownership structure could be perceived as being positive for the Onevision consortium DTT plans.