Broadcasters to bid for Setanta football rights

Setanta has lost the rights to show 46 live Premier League football matches, with rival broadcasters given a deadline of today to lodge bids for the games.

Setanta was unable to meet the Friday deadline for a £10 million payment to the Premier League, which was part of £30 million it owed the organisation (see Premier League gives Setanta Friday payment deadline).

It is understood that BSkyB and ESPN will buy the rights to 23 games each, although the figures involved may be less than Setanta was paying.

The 46 games on offer include Monday night and Saturday teatime games. BSkyB, which already owns the rights to broadcast Monday night games from 2010-2011, is unable to acquire all 46 matches due to EU competition rules.

It is thought that BSkyB will bid for the Monday night games while ESPN goes for the Saturday matches.

Setanta was unable to make the Friday payment deadline after a deal with Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries fell through.

In a statement made on Friday, the Premier League said: “The Premier League has been working with Setanta for some time to help them continue as the broadcaster of 46 UK Live Matches for the 2009/10 Season.

“The Premier League, in agreement with Setanta, stipulated that certain contractual requirements had to be met on or before Friday 19 June 2009 to allow the preparations for the 2009/10 season to continue unaffected.

“It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet their obligations. As such the existing licence agreement between us has been terminated with immediate effect.”