Setanta Sports North America
Encyclopedia
Setanta Sports USA was a premium
television channel launched in 2005 by the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports
to offer live and tape-delayed mainstream sports events in the United States
and Caribbean
.
Setanta Sports was available via DirectTV, Dish Network
, Verizon, AT&T
, selected areas on Comcast
and Cox
, RCN
, and GlobeCast World TV
for an a la carte fee.
Setanta Sports had the rights to delayed Manchester United
and Chelsea
matches on MUTV and Chelsea TV
, which were shown in segments within the channel. Any given broadcaster can only gain access to a maximum of 2 club channels under the current Premier League international TV rights.
On January 27, 2010, Setanta Sports announced that they had reached an agreement with Fox Soccer Channel
to transfer rights to select programming (soccer & rugby) that would be effective as of March 1. In addition, Setanta Sports announced that they will cease broadcasting the channel in the US and Caribbean on February 28, 2010. The channel signed off on March 1, 2010 at 12:00 AM EST.
This service charges fans a cover charge of $10–$20 per head, depending on the match.
soccer was available and Premier League matches were also broadcast starting the 2007-08 season on Setanta Broadband. Broadband customers do not receive Australian Football League
matches as of July 2008, due to the league's new distribution deal with aussiesport.tv.
- the channel Fox created after acquiring coverage rights from Setanta Sports USA.
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
television channel launched in 2005 by the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
to offer live and tape-delayed mainstream sports events in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Setanta Sports was available via DirectTV, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, Verizon, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, selected areas on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Cox
Cox
- People :*Cox , for information on the origins of the family name and a list of people with the name- Places :* Cox, Alicante, Spain* Cox, Florida, United States* Cox, Haute-Garonne, France* Cox Island, Nunavut, Canada...
, RCN
RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation, founded in 1993 and based in Herndon, Virginia, is the first American facilities-based competitive provider of bundled telephone, cable television and high-speed internet service delivered over its own fiber-optic local network to consumers in the Boston, New York, Eastern...
, and GlobeCast World TV
GlobeCast World TV
GlobeCast World TV is a direct-to-home provider of free-to-air and Nagravision-encrypted ethnic television and audio channels via the Galaxy 19 satellite received in North America...
for an a la carte fee.
Setanta Sports had the rights to delayed Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
matches on MUTV and Chelsea TV
Chelsea TV
Chelsea TV is a British subscription based sports television channel, dedicated to the fans of the English Premier League football club, Chelsea. The channel first launched in August 2001 on Sky Digital. The station is registered with Ofcom as Chelsea Digital Media Ltd. It broadcasts daily from...
, which were shown in segments within the channel. Any given broadcaster can only gain access to a maximum of 2 club channels under the current Premier League international TV rights.
On January 27, 2010, Setanta Sports announced that they had reached an agreement with Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
to transfer rights to select programming (soccer & rugby) that would be effective as of March 1. In addition, Setanta Sports announced that they will cease broadcasting the channel in the US and Caribbean on February 28, 2010. The channel signed off on March 1, 2010 at 12:00 AM EST.
Ownership changes
As of July 27, 2009 the ownership structure of Setanta Sports North America Limited has changed. Setanta Sports North America Limited was owned by Sabloss. Both Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited and Setanta Sports North America Limited were licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.Soccer
- Shared live rights with ESPN2ESPN2ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
and Fox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
of the Barclays Premier League. Matches are currently Saturdays at 10am ET (a second live match airs on Setanta Xtra and is rebroadcast on the main channel later that day), Sundays at 8:30am and first-choice of any mid-week matches. Matches from the Saturday 10am ET timeslot that were not originally shown live on ESPN or Fox Soccer Channel are shown on tape delay in the evening on Setanta Sports. - Shared live rights with ESPN360.com of live Carling CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
football. - Shared live rights with Fox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
of the UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
(Setanta also has some matches delayed to later that night or the following day). - Shared live rights with ESPN360.com of Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, League OneFootball League OneFootball League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
and League TwoFootball League TwoFootball League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
matches, including play-offs. - Live Euro 2012 qualifiers. Others air on tape delay either later on in the day, or a few days later if the live broadcast was on pay-per-viewPay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
. - Live French Ligue 1Ligue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
football. - Live Russian Premier LeagueRussian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
football. - Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
football. - Delayed and Live Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
matches. The delayed matches consist of Old FirmOld FirmThe Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
matches which aired live at designated bars/restaurants on Setanta Premium. On the rare occasion where neither CelticCeltic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
nor RangersRangers F.C.Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
are on, the game aired live. - Live international football, including friendlies and 2010 FIFA World Cup2010 FIFA World CupThe 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
qualification matches. - Highlights shows for most of the leagues Setanta broadcasts.
Rugby Union
- Rugby World CupRugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
. - Live Guinness PremiershipGuinness PremiershipThe English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
, rugby unionRugby unionRugby 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...
club competition of England. - Live Magners LeagueCeltic League (rugby union)The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, rugby union clubs of Ireland,Scotland, & Wales. - Live Heineken CupHeineken CupThe Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
, rugby union club cup competition for 6 top European nations. - Live Super 14Super 14Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
, rugby union clubs of Australia, New Zealand, & South Africa. - Live IRB Sevens RugbyIRB Sevens World SeriesThe IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
. - Live Currie CupCurrie CupThe Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
, rugby union club cup competition for South Africa. - Six NationsSix Nations ChampionshipThe Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
rugby union competition on tape delay - Summer and fall internationals, a mixture of live and tape delayed
- Live Tri-Nations, international Southern Hemisphere rugby union competition.
Other Events
- Selected live Gaelic Athletic AssociationGaelic Athletic AssociationThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
events; delayed GAA Championship matches. - Tape delayed A1GP - Auto racing; "world cup of motorsport"
- Same-day tape delayed Superleague FormulaSuperleague FormulaSuperleague Formula is an open wheel single seater motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It goes by the saying 'The Beautiful Race: Football at 300 km/h'. By 2011 the link with...
- Auto racing; fusion of soccer (football) and motorsport
Setanta Premium
This was available only to select commercial subscribers for Pay-Per-View events while most are broadcasted delayed on the full time Setanta Sports US channel.- Gaelic Athletic AssociationGaelic Athletic AssociationThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
Championship and League events. - Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
. - FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. - Six Nations ChampionshipSix Nations ChampionshipThe Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
in rugby union. - Euro 2008 qualifiers, international soccer matches.
- FIFA World Cup QualificationFIFA World Cup qualificationThe FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...
, international soccer matches. - UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
and UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
matches
This service charges fans a cover charge of $10–$20 per head, depending on the match.
Setanta Sports Xtra
Setanta offered the Setanta Sports Xtra Channel at no extra charge to DirecTV customers when two live events need to be aired simultaneously.Broadband
Setanta-I also offered a broadband subscription service, Setanta Broadband, which allowed customers with a high speed internet connection to view some of the Setanta Sports channel content on their computers and includes access to pay-per-view events. Portuguese LigaPortuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
soccer was available and Premier League matches were also broadcast starting the 2007-08 season on Setanta Broadband. Broadband customers do not receive Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
matches as of July 2008, due to the league's new distribution deal with aussiesport.tv.
See also
Fox Soccer PlusFox Soccer Plus
Fox Soccer Plus is an American premium channel dedicated to soccer and rugby. It was formed as a spin-off of Fox Soccer when its owner Fox Entertainment Group re-acquired rights from competitor Setanta Sports USA in January 2010, putting the latter channel out of business...
- the channel Fox created after acquiring coverage rights from Setanta Sports USA.