‘Setanta will survive but no guarantees’

SETANTA Sports founder Michael O’Rourke believes the company will survive its current difficulties but said there are no guarantees.

Mr O’Rourke who founded the Irish sports channel with Leonard Ryan in 1990 said the company is progressing well with attempts to secure reductions on some of its sports rights. He said they are “getting there” on the negotiations.

He also said they are looking to raise funds having established a management team with the task of raising €100 million from investors.

“It’s not guaranteed that this will be successful but it will hopefully succeed. There’s a wide choice of people out there,” he said.

Mr O’Rourke said the Irish business is profitable and the issues they have right now are with the British business, which are having a knock-on effect on the overall operations.

“They are separate businesses with separate shareholders. I can understand how people would be confused about it,” he said.

Setanta recently conducted a review of its business after it failed in February to secure its desired two broadcast packages for English Premier League matches from 2010.

Mr O’Rourke said the company “knows now what it wants to do” and it has to implement their plans.

This week Setanta Sports had a Friday deadline for a £35m (€39m) payment to the English Premier League (EPL) extended.

Mr O’Rourke also said it would not be up to him to make a decision on whether the company is sold or not. He said that decision rests with the shareholders which include TV3 owner Doughty Hanson and Barry Maloney’s Balderton Capital.

Setanta holds the rights to show two English Premier League packages, or 46 live matches, but it lost out in the auction for the next three-year deal to BSkyB and will soon only show 23 games to BSkyB’s 115.

Analysts have questioned whether cash-strapped customers will pay out for a Setanta subscription if the broadcaster reduces the amount of high quality matches it can show, throwing its business model into doubt.