TV companies line up to pick up Setanta’s losses

Jun 22 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

BROADCASTERS are putting together bids to buy the rights to 46 English Premier league games which have been taken away from troubled Irish firm Setanta.

BSkyB and US-broadcaster ESPN are expected to buy rights to 23 games each, although they may face competition from digital pay TV service Top Up TV.

Interested parties have been given until today to lodge bids, although it is thought the sums they will offer for the rights may fall below what Setanta was paying.

The beleaguered firm lost the right to broadcast the matches on Friday after failing to meet a deadline for a £10m payment to the Premier League.

BSkyB is expected to buy Setanta’s package of Monday night Premier League games, as it has already won the rights to broadcast these from 2010/2011.