On Tuesday night, Setanta held an emergency board meeting to discuss efforts to stave off administration, or a legal procedure that allows a business in financial trouble to keep operating without being forced to sell off assets to pay debts. Setanta's founders Leanord Ryan and Michael O'Rourke are in talks with backers to secure financing that would keep the firm going, according to reports.
A recent update suggests that broadcasting giant BSkyB refused an $82 million lifeline to the Irish pay-TV broadcaster. Setanta offered access to its live rights for 46 English Premier League games next season as an add-on option to Sky Sports, in return for cash. BSkyB's chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, explained why his firm couldn't agree to the proposal: "At the end of the day, we are not a bank, we are a broadcaster, not a supplier of working capital to a business and rights holder," he said. "Our job is not to fund other companies. This is a huge amount of money." U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN, owned by the Disney Company, has also expressed interest in buying the Irish firm for a nominal sum or in bidding for the rights to Premier League broadcasts.
Setanta, which shows cricket, golf and rugby union as well as soccer, has about 1.2 million subscribers. But this represents about 60 percent of the number it needs, according to analysts. The company is losing up to $163 million a year. It still owes about $49 million to the English Premier League and has failed to pay the Scottish Premier League the $4.9 million it owes in television rights money. This loss in television revenue portends crippling financial constraints for top Scottish clubs.