Setanta In Talks Over Rights Payments

Irish pay-TV broadcaster Setanta is trying to renegotiate its rights contracts to screen sporting events, as it tries to deal with cash-flow problems.

Setanta is due to pay the Football Association £35m on 15th May for the rights to broadcast its FA Cup and England international matches.

There has been concern among investors that it might miss this deadline after it only managed to secure new rights for only half of the live Premier League games it currently broadcasts but the company has said there is no question of it defaulting on payments.

‘We’ve been in productive talks with our rights partners including the FA and they have all been terrific, without exception,’ Setanta’s director of sport Trevor East stated.

‘We’re still talking about what can be achieved, but there is no question of us defaulting on any payments.’

Setanta currently shows 46 live Premier League games per season, but from 2010 it will have only 23 matches, which is expected to cut its subscriber base.

The broadcaster has a joint contract with ITV to show the FA Cup and England football internationals.

In addition, Setanta has exclusive rights to show matches from the Blue Square Premier, the top flight of English non-League football – which is a major source of income for these clubs.

However analysts have suggested that Setanta will be hit hard by the recession because cash-strapped sports fans may give up their subscriptions. Despite this potential slowdown, the fees the broadcaster must pay for the rights to show sporting events will be unaffected.