Friday, September 12, 2008

SETANTA TO AGREE BELARUS PACKAGE?

Setanta are reportedly considering letting highlights of England's World Cup qualifier in Belarus next month be broadcast free of charge by either the BBC or ITV after their disastrous handling of the rights of the ties with Andorra and Croatia proved to be a costly own goal.

The company has been widely criticised - and subject to "We hate Setanta" chants from the England fans who travelled to Barcelona for the defeat of Andorra - after it failed to reach a deal with either broadcaster to show highlights of either game after reportedly demanding £1m in payment.

In a goodwill gesture, Setanta eventually decided to show highlights on a free-to-air basis using one of its own channels. However, with the decision only taken two hours before the game kicked off, the highlights package drew a paltry audience of just 220,000.

To compound the impression of panic, Setanta yesterday reached a belated agreement with ITV for the company to also broadcast its own highlights package late last night. However, it's reported that ITV paid just £100,000 - a tenth of the sum that Setanta are thought to have originally demanded.


http://www.football365.com

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