Setanta collapse means no NRL for UK fans

Yes, both Rugby League and Aussie Rules football are no longer on Setanta here in the US. Do however enjoy the Tri Nations Rugby though. Have also noticed that the Setanta EPL games are not as good anymore. Last year the best EPL games in the US were on Setanta. Last year we were able to watch both Rugby league from England and Austrailia, and then it was only Austrailia, now no Rugby league or Aussie Rules. No big Aussie Rules fan, though will miss the rugby league games. Would rather have Rugby league then the Russian Premiere games they now show on Setanta US. I guess Setanta paid cheap for them.

It's a great shame that the NRL is no longer on TV in the UK. Hopefully Sky will pick it up again

well, for anyone reading this 'old' post, NRL is no longer being seen on the Setanta US market!

mattbeks "NRL does attract decent ratings in the UK. It’s the 2nd largest market for the NRL to target due to 2 reasons" that would not be too hard, league is only big in two other countries, one has a population of just over 4m and is the second sport and the other is a 3rd world country where a TV let alone payTV is a luxury. Every sport in England is small relative to the futbol behemoth, and its funny in northern england that the majority of people live a short distance (relative to us in Australia) from places like Wigan and St.Helens, yet have zero interest in the game and regard it as a bunch of fat gay men wrestling. Despite be overshadowed by futbol and scorned by the majority of the population, the ESL is able to run a hugely successful competition.

It's funny you should say that Viscount Brokeback because those funny little men in the North of England just happen to provide the best sportsman in all of England the best Football players the best Cricketers the best Rugby Union and League players not the Lazy Londoners or simple rural folk in the south but those funny little people OOP north.

Knowing a little bit about the company and its two founders through a former career, my view is that Setanta will likely go back to its roots - to where it started and what it was good at - showing games to ex-pats. Irish ex-pats. Followed closely by countries with a large Irish/Anglo base who have an interest in particular sports and/or games. Soccer internationals is where it started featuring Ireland. GAA matches for US, UK and Aus ex-pat audiences. Comps featuring Irish teams such as 6 Nations and Heineken Cup. Setanta Ireland, Setanta US and I think Setanta Aus are still trading. There is a couple of Ireland-based businesses that are looking at reviving/sustaining Setanta Ireland right now. What happens with that will likely dictate what happens elsewhere. In my view, Setanta made a mistake in pursuing the whole SPL and EPL pot of gold, particularly going up against Sky. Pick a market niche, make yourself real good at it, and deliver quality time and again. Instead, like Topsy, they decided to grow and grow, but never could get the subscription base up sufficiently to sustain it. It's either back to basics or fold the tent, lads.

Thank you for all your varied responses. It's much appreciated. I intend to answer most comments. I'll start with Micheal C's comments- Yes I only touched briefly on AFL, this due to the fact I'm from a Rugby League state and rarely watch AFL. However you're right on the money, it affects both codes. I feel for the AFL fans over here who enjoy watching games. From memory I think you can still get at least 1 game a week on British Eurosport, but don't quote me. A reliable source of mine will be working for Eurosport HQ in Paris from next month and might be able to give me some more info. Mushi- I 'll be honest, the coverage Setanta provided over here in the UK was a joke in the first place. I mentioned in my article the Cronulla V Canberra game as the only NRL we got that week. There were much more compelling games available to the British public for that week. It was at a time when both teams were struggling and you could tell from the performace in the game. The AFL had a comprehensive weekly wrap up show on Mondays or Tuesdays, the NRL didn't. We did however get Thursday night's Footy Show for a couple of weeks off and on. Even the A League has a weekly wrap up show on Sky Sports. Brett McKay- Thanks for your constructive feedback, as you said it's plain and simple Setanta ceased trading end of. Yes I am annoyed, but rather sit around, I'm actively doing something to let the Rugby League community both here in Britian and in Australia as well as the Sporting community in general that we want footy back on our screens ASAP. I'm not blaming the NRL at all, what I am providing is constructive feedback like yourself that we as an Aussie expat community have the desire to see NRL back on our TV's in the UK in the near future. The sooner the better I say. I'm sure we can agree on that can't we? Lazza- NRL does attract decent ratings in the UK. It's the 2nd largest market for the NRL to target due to 2 reasons: Britain knows a thing or 2 about Rugby League (pity they can't reproduce the goods on the field) and secondly the UK clearly has the largest group of Aussie expats anywhere in the world. Over 400,000 Aussies live in the UK. I'd say it is up to the NRL and AFL as a business model to ensure that their code is televised on TV. It will help with the promotion of their sport and it will also help with the promotion of Australia as a country. You just have to look at average TV like Neighbours. No sane minded Aussie would watch that garbage just as not every Brit will watch it. However it is popular and acts as a promotion of Australia as a whole. With that in mind, both codes would be crazy not to ensure that both sports are televised into the UK. Viscount- I think you're giving very little credit towards the Brits, especially the Northerners. I was suprised when I first came to this country how many people knew about State of Origin, it was even stronger the further North you travelled. Yes it's a minority sport in the UK when you compare it to Football. I think you're missing the point when you mentioned Rugby League is "played only by peculiar little men with funny accents from the more deprived parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire." Have you been to Lancashire or Yorkshire? I live in Liverpool which is not too far from Lancashire and I can tell you there's nothing deprived about them at all. That is simply a typical "I've been to the UK because I've only been to London or stayed down in the south of England" comment. I'll tell you what, I wouldn't trading in living up north compared to the hustle and bustle that is London that's for sure.

How do they say Eamonn

mattbeks, www.diwana.org It may provide you with salvation, if not a little delayed. Eamonn, You mock northern, regional England yet live in Canberra and talk about how Costa Rica can't get enough of the A-league on community radio. The Challenge Cup on the BBC has ratings in the millions and the final will again Wembley Stadium. We are smaller than the EPL, but not as small as you like to think.

My understanding is the NRL accepted a deal from Setanta 3 times more than what they were getting with Sky, so you can't blame them for going. However, I was stunned when John Brady said "this has caught us by surprise". Their demise has been going on for months. It would be very sad for both the NRL and AFL fans not to sort out as both finals series do create a real buzz amongst the antipodean tribes and amongst local fans despite what the rabble rousers say.

Jim C I dont think viscount crouchback and the original poster had anything to say about rah rah as you call it. they were talking, i believe about the football (maybe soccer to you) world cup.

Viscount Crouchback - good fishing - as you probably know. SOO is well known in the UK and has been on live since the early 90s. But good attempt at some rah rah snobbery.

£100M in debt, only 1.2M subscribers, needed 1.9M for their business model. Unable to pay the EPL £30M for the outstanding tranche of money and the SPL £3M. Not too surprised that the battle to keep Setanta on the air has failed. ESPN have bought the EPL rights. Perhaps if the OZ expats had bought subscriptions then Setanta mght still be trading.

Viscount, spot on, infact most of the English would never have watched a whole game of Rugby League, never mind a whole game of AFL. Only League game I saw in 28 years in the place was when some bloke called Sterlo came over and showed that the game could be something more than muddied men having to change shirts at half time. Thought "heyoop these Aussies ave a bit of somefink dunt they." Unfortunately there have never been enough Sterlo's in the game to keep me interested at club level. Still it's clearly still strong in a few villages upnorth. I lived 60 miles from the North so didn't hear anything about the game. Still looks like Man Utd are going with the strength and putting a Rugby Leageu shirt on this year:)

Kabaddi? wow, and I thought I was being adventurous with Korfball. I read and re-read the wikipedia article, but I haven't the foggiest notion what the game is about. It would appear that no ball is involved. A "raider" is sent across to the other side, who has to hold his breath - I'm not sure what happens beyond that.

Mattbeks, If you spoke to 99 out of 100 Englishmen, they would have not the faintest notion what the State of Origin is. Rugby League is a minority sport in the UK, played only by peculiar little men with funny accents from the more deprived parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. To compare it to a football World Cup is completely laughable.

in the early 90s Sky TV was built on the EPL. without people being forced to pick up subscriptions to watch their teams there would not have been anything but novelty pick up rates in the UK. Imagine if AFL and NRL was solely broadcast by Fox and you'd get the picture, so to speak. Because of this the rights for the premier league were very high - there was too much at stake for Murdoch to lose it or have it watered down. Setanta challenged reasonably well but at the end of the day as someothers posted, paid too much for the bum end of the draw. Re AFL or NRl - why do they have to be on Pay Tv at all over in the UK. I remeber that channel 4 used to have AFL on as a, no offence intended, novelty game along with a sport called Kabadi (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi ), every week. If the AFl etc were serious then surely there is a TV station out there - it depends on what they are asking for it.

From my reading of the British press, Setanta paid too much for it's Cricket and Rugby which aren't huge ratings winners over there. Also, EPL fans resented having to pay for two subscriptions so just chose the better package, BSkyB. ESPN are picking up the EPL package and dedicating an entire channel to it. They also have Champions League and other Football which may encourage Football fans over there to take up another subscription. There are many minority sports on Pay TV and they have a lot of time to fill on their schedules so why doesn't another provider take up AFL or NRL? It can only be beacause the ratings are so poor it's not worth the trouble?

MVDave - at this point it's SetantaGB (the Great Britain arm). Which includes the business model that has paid (or committed to) big bucks for some EPL content as well as SPL I believe too - and that may be an issue for SPL cash flows. Pippinu - It seems there's a legislated requirement for 'competition' in the market place. As it is, the writing was on the wall a couple of months back as Setanta was left with a lesser EPL offering. So, this 'fall' has been flagged for a while. Perhaps for competition, they just say, okay, Sky, take soccer, Setanta has everything else!!! One wonders though - the AFL for example seems to work hand in glove as much as possible with it's 'broadcast partners'. It seems as though the EPL may have treated Setanta with contempt???

MC the commercial reality is that you probably can't survive as a pay TV operator in the UK without a cut of the EPL - just like here in Australia, no pay TV operator can prosper without having both the NRL and the AFL - if Fox lost one or the other, it would just about bring them to their knees.