Setanta Makes £10m Save

A £10 million payout has granted a last minute respite for Setanta as part of its £35 million bill to the Premier League that is due today.

According to reports this morning, the British league received £10 million today and Irish broadcaster Setanta will pay a further £10 million this Friday.

A final £15 million sum has been deferred until later this summer, despite initial stipulations by the Premier League it would not consider renegotiating or deferring payments.

However, in response to the channel's difficulties, the Premier League have forced the final year of Setanta's three-year deal to be available to go out to tender if it believes the rescue is foundering.

Industry sources said it could begin the process of re-auctioning those rights before Friday by inviting offers from other bidders.

The channel's future went right to the wire last week, with the board of directors engaging in emergency meetings during last week in London.

The channel had suffered losses of €173 million and was facing going into administration after failing to make payments due on TV rights to the premiership and Scottish soccer leagues.

Accounting firm Deloitte was placed on standby to act as administrator to the business if new investment could not be secured.

Setanta has about 1.2 million premium subscribers but, according to analysts, needs 1.9 million to break even. The firm is believed to close to breaking even but the loss of the Premier League rights raised questions about its ability to retain its existing customer base.

(DW/BMcc)