alunfennell
16th December, 2008, 01:26 AM
Ireland-based pay-TV operator Setanta is reportedly in negotiations to build a war chest of millions of pounds in order to raise its bidding power in the upcoming series of auctions for English Premier League soccer rights.
London?s Sunday Telegraph says Setanta is confident that it can make a credible bid for chunks of the Premier League TV rights after holding preliminary talks with both existing and potential backers, despite the financial turmoil, and its own lacklustre achievements.
The newspaper says Setanta is considering a range of options including selling an additional equity stake in the business or tapping debt markets for cash. Setanta paid the Premier League ?392m over three years for two of the six available packages, with BSkyB scooping the other four for about ?1.3bn.
Bidding is expected to start within a few days, although Setanta is expected to be up against even tougher competition for the soccer games. Besides BSkyB, which is expected to bid aggressively for all permitted options, other names in the frame are said to be British Telecom, Disney-owned ESPN and the BBC. The new rights would kick in with the winter 2010-2011 season.
London?s Sunday Telegraph says Setanta is confident that it can make a credible bid for chunks of the Premier League TV rights after holding preliminary talks with both existing and potential backers, despite the financial turmoil, and its own lacklustre achievements.
The newspaper says Setanta is considering a range of options including selling an additional equity stake in the business or tapping debt markets for cash. Setanta paid the Premier League ?392m over three years for two of the six available packages, with BSkyB scooping the other four for about ?1.3bn.
Bidding is expected to start within a few days, although Setanta is expected to be up against even tougher competition for the soccer games. Besides BSkyB, which is expected to bid aggressively for all permitted options, other names in the frame are said to be British Telecom, Disney-owned ESPN and the BBC. The new rights would kick in with the winter 2010-2011 season.