Irish satellite channel to cover Dutch league football

Irish sports channel Setanta has added coverage of German, French and Dutch league football to its schedule from next season.

Setanta started out broadcasting Irish sports abroad, but expanded rapidly and managed to acquire the rights to the Scottish Premier League at the expense of the BBC.

It broadcasts across the UK and Ireland on the Sky Digital platform, and must now be regarded as a serious competitor to Sky's own sports channels. Setanta also runs stations for supporters of the two biggest Scottish clubs, Rangers and Celtic, which this week are being broadcast free to air as a promotional tool in advance of the weekend's clash between the two Glasgow clubs.

Setanta was founded in the early 1990s by Michael O’Rourke and Leonard Ryan, who own most of the company’s shares. It employs more than 70 people in offices in Dublin, San Francisco, Sydney, Glasgow and London. It is believed to have an annual turnover in the region of €60m.

It started life replaying broadcasts of GAA, soccer and rugby to the US, Europe and Australia.

Source: Radio Netherlands

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