ESPN Nabs U.K. Premier League Rights

LONDON: ESPN has stepped in to pick up the Premier League rights lost by Setanta Sports—which today went into administration—scoring 46 matches for the upcoming season, as well as a package of 23 games each in the 2010/11 and 2012/13 seasons.

ESPN will feature the games on Saturdays and Mondays and says it will make them widely available across multiple pay-TV platforms. As part of this strategy, ESPN has reached an agreement for its coverage to be retailed by Sky—which has the rights to 115 games per season for the next three seasons—to residential and commercial customers.

"We are clearly delighted that our bid for exclusive media rights to the Barclays Premier League matches in the U.K. has been successful," said Lynne Frank, ESPN’s managing director in Europe, Middle East and Africa. "This is a huge step for our business, and we look forward to working with the Premier League, football clubs and distributors to bring U.K. sports fans all the excitement they expect in Premier League football."

"Premier League football is one of the world’s most sought after sports properties, and we are very excited to be expanding our business in the U.K. with England’s top football product," added Russell Wolff, the executive VP and managing director for ESPN International. "This move demonstrates our commitment to British sports fans and our ongoing commitment to delivering football to fans around the world across a variety of media."

The move gives the U.S.-based sports broadcasting giant a leg up in the competitive British market. ESPN had previously tried to score the rights to Premier League games from 2010 to 2013, but had been outbid by Setanta. The Irish broadcaster, meanwhile, last week defaulted on a £10 million payment to the League, resulting in yesterday’s rights auction. Today, Setanta announced that it had gone into administration after being unable to secure additional financing. Neville Kahn, Lee Manning and Nick Edwards have been appointed joint administrators and now manage the affairs, business and property of Setanta Sport. While the British service is no longer in operation, reports indicate that a buyer is still being pursued for the Irish and international operations.