Setanta claim coverage scalp

IRISH broadcaster, Setanta Sports, has claimed another rights success over Sky Sports and the BBC.

The company, along with ITV, have been awarded joint rights to broadcast the FA Cup, Community Shield, England friendly matches along with England B, U21s and other development games.

The full FA rights package, which runs for four seasons commencing August 2008, was awarded to Setanta and ITV in a joint deal worth €650m.

The number of exclusively live English domestic and international games broadcast on Setanta will increase by 26, from 79 to 105.

Setanta will broadcast every round of the FA Cup, through to the final, showing an estimated 25 games per season, including two quarter finals and one semi-final exclusively live and co-broadcasting the FA Cup Final along with ITV who will screen an estimated 16 games per season.

Said Setanta Sports’ Mark Mohan: “With the Premiership games increasing from 15 to 79, PGA Tour already launched and Rugby World Cup in the autumn — all on the Setanta Sports Pack this year — the service is already a ‘must-have’ for all sports fans in Ireland.”

FA chief Brian Barwick had defended the deal and denied the BBC and Sky had been stitched up in the deal which will generate €650m for the English game’s governing body.

It has emerged that the current rights holders only gave their presentation to the FA on Monday but Barwick denied they were the victims of behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring.

He said: “We saw presentations from all of the key broadcasters and they were universally good.

“It is absolutely not the case that we saw presentations from the BBC and Sky after ITV had already locked up the deal.

‘‘We saw the presentation from BBC and Sky on Monday. The reality of the situation was it was a diary thing.

“People have been busy and the type of people at that presentation, from the BBC, Sky and ourselves, meant the diaries were difficult to get together.”