Setanta loses premier league matches contract

The future of troubled sports broadcaster Setanta has been thrown into doubt as rescue negotiations have failed and a key football contract has been cancelled. A potential deal with US tycoon Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, thought to be worth £20 million in return for a 51 per cent stake in the broadcaster, collapsed after "a number of issues" were not resolved in time, the investor said. The news comes as a further blow for Setanta, which has lost its licence to broadcast 46 Premier League football matches next season after failing to meet "certain contractual obligations". An Access Industries spokesman said: "Access believed that this proposal could potentially have secured the future of the broadcaster for its customers, employees and for football, provided certain conditions required to put the business on a long-term viable footing were met. "Regrettably, despite intensive efforts on all sides over the past few days, and despite significant progress in a number of areas, there remain a number of issues which we have been unable to resolve within the time available." The Premier League had given Setanta a deadline of Friday to meet demands relating to the final season of its £392 million three-year deal. It had already launched an emergency tender of the matches, which are for the 2009/10 season, and they will now go ahead with the sale. In a statement, the Premier League said: "It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet their obligations. "As such the existing licence agreement between us has been terminated with immediate effect."

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ITN | June 19, 2009

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