Setanta On Verge Of Collapse After Being Stripped Of EPL Rights

Setanta is "expected to fall into the hands of administrators after being stripped of its right to broadcast Premier League football matches next season and after its supposed ... white knight pulled the rug from under a multimillion-pound investment," according to Thompson & King of the LONDON TIMES. The EPL Friday "terminated its contract with Setanta after the Irish broadcaster failed to make a scheduled" $16.4M (all figures US) payment on $49.3M owed before Friday night's deadline. Meanwhile, hours after the Premier League's decision, N.Y.-based Access Industries said that its $32.8M bid for a 51% share in Setanta was "no longer on the table." Thompson & King wrote the withdrawal of Access, "combined with the loss of the football rights, is likely to prove fatal for Setanta," as EPL rights are the "main draw for most of its subscribers and, without them, it could face an exodus of customers." But Setanta co-Founder Leonard Ryan Friday suggested that it "may not be game over." Ryan: "I'm trying to look at a Plan B. All I can say is that there is more going on here than everyone thinks" (LONDON TIMES, 6/20). In Manchester, Gibson & Robinson noted England's Football Association (FA) also will be "forced to look for a new broadcasting partner" if Setanta, with which it has a $246.2M contract, collapses. Sources indicated that ITV, which paid $451.1M "for its share of the deal but has since written down the value, is obliged to pick up England's away matches" at $3.3M each. FA CEO Ian Watmore: "We now await developments but remain confident of the attractiveness of our broadcast rights going forward." Gibson & Robinson noted Setanta's potential collapse "could spell financial ruin for several" Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs. But SPL Exec Chair Lex Gold said, "We are still locked in discussions with Setanta" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 6/20).

EPL Hopes To Recoup Most Of $214.9M Setanta Paid For Final Year Of Existing Deal

AUCTION BLOCK: In London, Paul Kelso reported broadcasters "including Sky and ESPN are expected to deliver tender documents" to the EPL for Setanta's rights beginning today. The EPL "will hope to recoup most" of the $214.9M Setanta paid for the final year of its existing deal." Meanwhile, Kelso reported the bid by Access Industries Chair Len Blavatnik was "thrown into doubt ... when due diligence revealed questions over alleged tax liabilities, both in the UK and in Luxembourg." Sources said that Blavatnik "wanted 72 hours to complete the technicalities of the deal and appealed for more time," but EPL CEO Richard Scudamore, "unhappy at the ongoing uncertainty at Setanta's prospects and the ongoing reputational damage the saga was causing, rejected that request" (London TELEGRAPH, 6/20). In Manchester, Simon Bowers reports ESPN is the "front runner to pick up the final batch" of 26 Saturday afternoon games for the upcoming EPL season. Top Up TV, which is supported by Blavatnik, "has been mentioned as another potential bidder" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 6/22). In London, Tom Dart wrote the EPL and EPL clubs "could lose millions of pounds in television revenue" with the loss of Setanta, as advertising revenues are "down and potential bidders are short of cash." ITV is "cutting its budgets and the BBC has little left to spend on live sport, having splashed out" on F1 and the European Rugby Union's RBS Six Nations Cup. Sky Sports already "holds four of the six available packages for next season," and under European Commission rules that prevent selling all rights to one broadcaster, Sky "would only be able to add 23 games to its portfolio" (LONDON TIMES, 6/20).

SCOTLAND YARD SALE: In Scotland, Leask & Foster reported the SPL is "understood to have lined up likely bidders to replace" Setanta, which was scheduled to pay $205.1M for SPL rights through the '12-13 season. ESPN reportedly is "able to offer nearly as much as Setanta" for the rights, and Sky also is "thought to be tabling a bid." But it is "understood the high cost of showing the games has forced terrestrial broadcasters like the BBC and STV to bow out of the competition" (SCOTSMAN, 6/21).