LONDON, UK, June 26, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- After a prolonged period of uncertainty, Setanta has entered administration. 200 people are to be made redundant and the business will shortly cease broadcasting in the UK, though it will stay on air in Ireland and overseas.
Charlie Ponsonby, CEO of Simplifydigital (www.simplifydigital.co.uk), the Ofcom accredited free and impartial advisory service for broadband comparison, home phone comparison and digital TV comparison writes:
"Setanta was a bit like Woolworths - it suffered from being a jack of all trades. They paid over GBP700m for a disparate set of football, golf, and rugby rights so they could offer a bit of everything, but in the end were a destination for nothing."
Setanta's core rights included a selection of England World Cup qualifiers and FA Cup games; 46 live Barclays Premier League games (2009-2010 season), the Clydesdale Bank (Scottish) Premier League; the PGA Golf Tour; and Guinness premiership rugby.
What to do if you are an existing Setanta customer
Charlie Ponsonby continues:
"This is a bad time for Setanta's long suffering customers - from my experience those who pay their bills directly to Setanta are very unlikely to get a refund for any lost viewing. Those who subscribe to Setanta via another pay TV operator like Virgin Media for example, are in a much better position. Setanta customers who pay their bill directly to Setanta are very unlikely to receive any refund on their upfront monthly subscription. Setanta has run out of money and have a lot of creditors queuing up for money owed, and unfortunately Setanta's long suffering customers are not at the front of the queue. Deloitte's the administrator is in charge of closing Setanta's UK operations, so we advise checking the Setanta website regularly for further news."
In addition Setanta customers who pay by credit or debit card should check their statements very carefully to ensure that no further payments are taken. This is because if payments are taken by card, known as "recurring payments", customers have no right to cancel the payment with the card company, meaning they rely on the firm, such as Setanta, to stop taking payments.
However, if you subscribe to Setanta as part of a Virgin Media, BT or Tiscali TV television package, you will be eligible for a refund for any viewing lost. Check with their customer service departments for further details.
Setanta's Irish and International business are still trading as normal for the foreseeable future.
Where to watch the sport now Setanta is gone
Charlie Ponsonby:
"The picture is confusing for sports fans looking to get the best deal before the new football season kicks off. This is where advice from independent experts like Simplifydigital can really help - our experts are available free and will find you the best package."
ESPN the Disney owned sports channel has snapped up the FAPL games, but it is not yet clear where the other rights will end up when they are sold off by the rights holders. Sky is the most likely destination for the Scottish Premier League.
Charlie Ponsonby continues:
"Setanta's demise has allowed ESPN to snap up the FAPL games that Setanta offered, but it is still unclear what will happen to the other sports rights previously owned by Setanta, including the Scottish Premier League rights, which are most likely to move across to Sky."
ESPN stepped into the picture on Monday and bought the rights to show the 46 English Premier League games that Setanta was due to show next season, as well as the 23 matches it was to broadcast in each of the following three seasons.
ESPN is paying GBP250m for the rights. It will pay GBP100m for the 46 games in the coming season, plus a further GBP150m for the 23 matches in the three years to 2012-13. ESPN described the move as a "huge step for our business" and it clearly signals their intent to compete with Sky, which has the rights to 92 live games in the coming season, and 115 games from 2010-11.
However the confusing thing for consumers is that ESPN will be retailed by Sky (and potentially Virgin Media and BT), meaning that you will need to get these other services in order to subscribe to ESPN. Each service will set the price for ESPN within their broader packages of channels. It is thought that Sky will charge about GBP10 per month for ESPN and it will be added to your Sky bill.
Sport available free to air
Before paying for sport, it is worth reminding ourselves what is available free to air on Freeview. The answer is not a lot more than you will get on BBC and ITV. But there is a lot to choose from on the BBC and ITV this summer. The BBC's highlights include: the British Lions tests starting on 20th June; the continuing Formula 1 season; the football Confederations Cup in late June; Wimbledon and the Open golf in July; and the Athletics World Championships in August. ITV also have the England World Cup qualifiers (home games) which kick off again in September.
The only additional sports channel on Freeview is Sky Sports News, though Freesat, the subscription-free satellite service offers BBC and ITV in high definition, so you can watch Wimbledon for example in HD.
But the really serious sports fan will have to dip into their wallets to enjoy the full range of great sport this summer.
For the serious sports fan - the cheapest way to get Sky Sports
As a reminder Sky Sports includes 92 live Barclays Premier League games (with the season beginning again on 8th August), UEFA Champions League, Live International Cricket, Guinness Premiership Rugby, live NFL, Ryder Cup and PGA European Tour Golf.
Sky Sports' summer highlights include: the ongoing Twenty-20 cricket competitions and the Ashes which starts on 8th July; the British and Irish Lions tour with the first test on 20th June; US Open Golf and the US PGA Championship in August; UEFA European Under-21 Championship; and the US Open tennis.
The best value way of getting Sky Sports is buying as part of a digital TV, broadband and home phone bundle. Sky, Virgin Media and Tiscali all offer Sky Sports as part of a "triple play" bundle.
Tiscali TV offer Sky Sports, as part of its TV, broadband and home phone bundle for GBP47.99 per month, but it does not come with high definition TV (HDTV). In addition it has a large GBP149 upfront cost.
Sky offers perhaps the value of all as it has the great advantage of a wide choice of channels in high definition including the Sky Sports channels.
Sky+HD (with HDTV channels), Sky Sports, up to 10 Mb/s Sky Broadband; and free evening and weekend calls with Sky Talk normally costs from GBP50.25 per month, excluding line rental. This includes the Sky HD subscription included within the price. The upfront cost is GBP49.
Sky have not yet announced what they will charge for ESPN, but expect it to be about GBP10 per month on top of the package price described above.
Virgin Media offers its equivalent package for GBP65 per month and it doesn't have Sky Sports in HD, but does have the attraction of up to 10 Mb/sec fibre-optic broadband. Virgin Media have not yet confirmed if they will be retailing ESPN.
Charlie Ponsonby concludes:
"With the pricing of the ESPN channel on Sky yet to be announced and the Setanta's other key sporting rights yet to find a home, the situation is changing very rapidly - so if you are not sure which route to take, you can speak to our impartial experts at Simplifydigital (0800 1388 388) and they will be able to help you."
About Simplifydigital
Simplifydigital.co.uk offers a unique service in the UK, providing a free and impartial consultation for anyone looking to save money and compare broadband, compare digital TV, or compare home phone bills.
Simplifydigital cuts through the confusion; offers the widest range of digital service providers available (including Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, AOL, Orange, 02, Top UpTV etc); and manages the customer through the install of the services.
It is the only retailer of digital TV, broadband and home phone services in the UK to have been accredited by Ofcom as impartial and transparent and on average saves customers over GBP300 pa by finding them better deals.
Customers call their London-based experts free on 0800 1 388 388 or use their online service at http://www.simplifydigital.co.uk.
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com# # #
Read more Press Releases from Charlie Ponsonby:Other Press Release Headlines:
