The end for Setanta Sports

Nobody has said that ITV2/3/4 are going to leave Freeview. It's only been suggested that they may go encrypted on pay platforms where almost no one will notice that this has happened. Personally, I doubt very much that ITV will pull these channels from DTT - with DSO now in progress they will soon be in a position where these channels will be available on pretty much every TV in the country. Why would they go subscription and loose this?

And nobody has said that ITV2-4 will go subscription - just that there have been discussions about this at some point in the past.

The balancing point is presumably :

Freesat + Freesat from Sky additional advertising revenue vs Sky subscription + Sky subscriber-only advertising revenue on the satellite platform

Whether Freeview is part of this equation who knows. It may be ITV decide that they can make more money selling their capacity IF THEY ARE ALLOWED TO on Mux 2 rather than broadcasting their own channels?

Setanta white knight is overseas investor with UK interests

Setanta’s potential white knight is an overseas investor with significant interests in the UK, according to sources close to the sports broadcaster on Friday. It is understood that Setanta is locked in eleventh-hour talks with the potential investor, who is not thought to be the owner of a football club or from Ireland, as it seek to avoid administration.

The Daily Telegraph understands that the high net-worth individual began talks with the Setanta board in the last 48 hours. Executives are hopeful that a package can be agreed as early as today. A quick settlement is crucial as the broadcaster is due to make a scheduled £30m payment to the Premier League today. Failure to do so could result in administration.

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Richard Branson?

Wouldn't have thought he qualified as 'an overseas investor' though.

I do hope they survive, it be a shame to let Sky have all the games yet again.

Oh yes, I missed that pertinent point.

Perhaps it will some some Russian oligarch then.

The BBC are reporting that it is a US tycoon, Len Blavatnik, who has made an offer of £20million. He is involved with Top up TV.

So the 'solution' would appear to be some element of a Setanta - TopUp combination then, the suggested 20 million injection seems to me to be on the low side and could only delay the demise of possibly both services. Blavatnik is a lead investor in TUTV.

Sky aren't allowed all the games

Bid Confirmation

New York-based Access Industries said Friday that it is bidding for control of Setanta, the troubled sports pay TV operation.

Setanta, whose biggest operations are in Britain, said Wednesday it had stopped accepting subscribers after defaulting on several payments. Access Industries, based in New York, said it had submitted a proposal to refinance the company but gave no details.

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CNBC

Sky Sports can't have all the games - that would be a breach of EU Competition Law. That is why the games were auctioned as separate bundles rather than one lump.

HOWEVER - that doesn't mean the games can't be shown on a channel on the Sky platform and part of a Sky subscription package - just that they can't be shown on a Sky-owned channel.