GAA chiefs ‘monitoring’ Setanta situation

GAA chiefs admit they are “monitoring” the situation at troubled broadcaster Setanta Sports.

The company is believed to be on the brink of collapse having failed to find a solution to rescue it from administration. The sports broadcaster lost its right to broadcast live football matches on Friday, after failing to make a £10m (€11.9m) payment to the Premier League.

Yesterday the Premier League awarded all of the live matches formerly held by Setanta to the Disney-owned broadcaster ESPN.

ESPN have not only been awarded the two packages of 46 live games for next season, but in a surprise move by the Premier League also Setanta’s package of 23 matches per season for the 2010-13 period.

Earlier in the day Scottish Premier League executive chairman Lex Gold pulled the plug on Setanta after the company failed at the third time of asking to make their outstanding payment of £3m (€3.5m).

Setanta, backed by private equity firms Doughty Hanson and Balderton Capital, has been in rescue talks over the weekend, but has not found any buyers.

Setanta Sports International holds the international broadcast rights for the GAA while Setanta Ireland have rights to a number of games in the National Hurling and Football Leagues. Croke Park bosses last night declined to comment on the figures involved in their agreements with Setanta but expressed hope a solution can be found.

A spokesman said: “We are monitoring the situation. We will respond accordingly if there is something to respond to. We hope a solution can be found to the problem and hope that the Irish operation can remain in place.”

Apart from the financial blow to the GAA coffers, there is also the widespread concern about the impact a possible collapse would have on the ex-pat community who rely on the service to watch league and championship games.

Chairman of the North American GAA Board, Joe Lydon, described the worst case scenario as “a devastating blow”.

Lydon said: “It would be a devastating blow. Watching games on Setanta provides a valuable connection to home for thousands of people in America. It is like a ritual out here in Boston. People get up early, watch the match from home on television and then go and cheer on their own teams out here. The crowds here for those games at all hours of the morning are incredible and it will leave a major hole in people’s lives if it were to go.’’

The European GAA Board secretary Tony Bass has called on the GAA and RTÉ to step in if anything happens to Setanta.

“It will impact on the ex-pat community in Europe. More people will be forced to go to pubs to watch matches which isn’t right. A lot of people have been in contact with me over the last couple of weeks and are very worried about what access they will have to matches if anything happens to Setanta.”

Meanwhile the FAI and IFA last night agreed with Setanta Sports to postpone the draw of the 2009 Setanta Sports Cup, scheduled to take place on Thursday. An FAI statement said: “This draw has been postponed at the request of Setanta Sports to give the company an opportunity to gain clarity around a number of market-related issues it currently faces. In the interim, a meeting has been arranged with participating clubs in Dublin on the afternoon of June 25.”

The nine clubs who qualified for the tournament were holders Cork City, Bohemians, St. Patrick’s Athletic, Derry City, Sligo Rovers, Linfield, Glentoran, Coleraine and Portadown. They were scheduled to compete for €500,000 in prize money.