ESPN picks up Setanta’s packages to air live Premier League games in Britain until 2013

ESPN to air live Premier League matches in Britain

LONDON — ESPN will broadcast live Premier League matches for the first time in Britain after gaining rights from financially troubled Setanta Sports.

The Premier League on Monday announced that ESPN, owned by The Walt Disney Co., will televise 46 matches next season and 23 in each of the three seasons from 2010-11 in its first major contract to broadcast live sports in Britain.

“Premier League football is one of the world’s most sought after sports properties,” said Russell Wolff, ESPN International’s executive vice president and managing director. “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.”

Neither party released financial details, but ESPN is reportedly matching the revenue due from the previous deal by paying 130 million pounds ($212 million) next season, followed by 159 million pounds in the subsequent years of the contract.

ESPN already has two channels in Britain, one with American sports and another with archived action. A third channel is to be launched for the start of the season on Aug. 15.

ESPN is also interested acquiring Scottish Premier League rights, lost by Setanta on Monday after it failed to make a 3 million pounds ($5 million) payment.

The rest of Setanta’s portfolio of rights, including some England national team games and the FA Cup, could become available if the network collapses after a potential rescue package fell through last week. As a result, the company failed to meet the payment deadline last Friday with the Premier League.

“The timescale of our process was tight to say the least, and it is to the great credit of ESPN that they committed themselves to adding Premier League football to their already impressive portfolio of sports rights,” Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said.

Sky Sports, part of Rupert Murdoch’s broadcast empire, has the rights to air the majority of Premier League matches live in Britain. U.S. rights are held by Fox Soccer Channel, part of Murdoch’s News Corp. FSC sublicenses some to Setanta US.

Earlier this year, ESPN was outbid by Setanta for rights to air the 23 live matches each season between 2010-13.

ESPN channels showing EPL games will be part of packages retailed by Sky. Central to Setanta’s decline was its need to sell subscriptions to its own channels — and it has only sold 1.2 million while teetering on the brink of administration, short of the reported 1.9 million it needs to break even.

Under existing deals, Sky will air 92 matches next season and in the following three seasons 115, including 38 first-choice matches and a large majority of the second-choice games.