A statement has been issued saying Setanta in America, Canada, Africa and Australia is unaffected as they are separate organisations, but what about Ireland. Is that separate from the UK operation?
It is and it isn't...
The holding company is Irish-registered Setanta Sport Holdings Limited which owns 80% of the Irish operating company Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited who operate Setanta Ireland and the Irish versions of Setanta 1 & 2.
However the Irish Setanta 1 & 2 are mostly the same as the UK versions and like the UK versions are premium services. Setanta Ireland is the main Irish-oriented service and is premium on Sky but basic on cable/MMDS. However even it shows a chunk of the same programming as the UK service, shows for example like Football Matters, the Friday Football Show all come from Setanta UK and coverage of the Premier League, SPL, and Scottish and Welsh Magners League games all come from Setanta UK. Setanta Ireland's idents are mostly the same as the UK though there are a few Irish themed ones in the same style now.
Complicating matters even further is that while all of Setanta Ireland is available only in the Republic, some of Setanta Ireland is available in Great Britain, and more of Setanta Ireland is available in Northern Ireland - some of Setanta's rights are "ROI only" and some are "Ireland only" (ie including NI).
Seperating Setanta Ireland from Setanta UK is therefore, more complicated than simply selling the Irish operation - they are more interlinked than you might imagine and Setanta Ireland is dependant on Setanta UK (for example, it being summer at the moment, they are showing hours of Setanta Sports News).
