Setanta EPL Rights To Be Sold Off If Payment Not Made By Friday

If Setanta Fails to Meet $16.5M Payment, Deal To Show 46 EPL Matches Will Be Terminated

MANY STAND TO LOSE: In London, Peter Stiff wrote the loss of EPL rights "could prove disastrous for Setanta, with the Premier League games the main draw for many of its subscribers." The net would "probably face huge numbers of cancellations and struggle to pick up new customers" (TIMES.co.uk, 6/15). Also in London, Nick Clark writes Setanta losing the EPL "would be a body blow to the group's long-term prospects." However, a Setanta source said the EPL's mandate "doesn't come as a huge surprise and we fully understand this close to the new season that they have to protect themselves." The source added, "However, it shouldn't cause a huge disruption to our plans" (London INDEPENDENT, 6/16). In Manchester, Matt Scott writes Setanta losing the rights could cost EPL clubs "tens of millions of pounds since the competitive tension between Sky and Setanta" drove Setanta to bid $645.4M for three seasons. However, without Sky or Setanta to "bid against, there would be no point in third parties bidding even close to the current pro-rata estimate" of $107.0M per package (Manchester GUARDIAN, 6/16).

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