RTÉ/TG4 win Magners League rights

icdg · 18-10-2009 12:07pm #1

RTÉ and TG4 have won a joint bid for the rights to the Magners League from next season onwards, according to today's Sunday Business Post (page 2). They'll each show one live game each week.

A big coup for RTÉ although there is of course the danger that they will simply show Leinster and Munster games and that Connacht and Ulster fans won't get a look in, never mind the rest of the league. Satellite viewers have BBC Wales, S4C, and STV to view other games but those of us with cable/MMDS don't. Suppose the devil will be in the detail of what Celtic Rugby insist the two stations show - although Leinster and Munster are of course the big draw in terms of ratings. Hopefully there will at least be highlights of other games and hopefully RTÉ will have Hook and Pope on most weeks! The other drawback is of course having to put up with Irish commentary on TG4. At least S4C make English commentary available via the red button but to do that here would probably be classed as 'anti-Irish langauge'.

Still it will mean an end to Setanta's insitance on putting the big games on the increasingly-bad value channel that is Setanta Sports 1. And the other big fallout is, where does Setanta go from here. They are basically left with 3pm Premier League kickoffs (until the end of the season) and Formula 1 (which most people interested in the sport will watch on BBC anyway, their coverage is far superior). The game is, IMO, up for Setanta Ireland now and a merger with Sky or ESPN would seem to be their only option.

Mossy Monk · 18-10-2009 1:30pm

Great news for rugby supporters. I am delighted.

channelsurfer · 18-10-2009 7:30pm

good news for the rugby fans free to air...... setanta must be in shock over loosing it... i cant read the article on the post website as it dosent say who won it!!!! see link below

http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/new-broadcast-homes-for-magners-league-45091.html

Ps any word on the premier league contract rights or is it out to tender yet.... there was talk of september for the irish rights but no word yet???

Apogee · 18-10-2009 7:48pm

icdg wrote: »

The other drawback is of course having to put up with Irish commentary on TG4. At least S4C make English commentary available via the red button but to do that here would probably be classed as 'anti-Irish langauge'.

They don't provide an alternate Irish commentary during the GAA championship on RTÉ during the summer either. By your logic, is that because they would be classed as 'anti-English langauge (sic)' or even 'anti-Ger Canning'?

Brian CivilEng · 18-10-2009 9:07pm

Can't say that this is good news, Setanta had plenty of air time to broadcast the Magners League. Pretty much every Leinster and Munster game is shown live and repeated ad infinitum over the next week. Can't see RTÉ or TG4 doing that.

Mossy Monk · 18-10-2009 9:19pm

abitofacomedian wrote: »

Can't say that this is good news, Setanta had plenty of air time to broadcast the Magners League.

Which could be viewed at €16 a month

Brian CivilEng · 18-10-2009 9:52pm

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Which could be viewed at €16 a month

What's better, paying to watch or not getting it at all?

fifth · 18-10-2009 9:55pm

This could be potentially brilliant for Irish rugby, if only we had more detail.

channelsurfer · 18-10-2009 10:12pm

probably will be announced tommorrow if its true by celtic rugby now the cats out of the bag..... and if eoin ryan makes heineken cup games available as has been rumoured it could be better

ynotdu · 19-10-2009 3:22am

I agree with ICDG that this HAS to be the final nail in the coffin for Setanta Ireland and 1.i am amazed that Setanta have kept any customers on UPC were Setanta Ireland comes as part of the 'basic' package.
not only have Setanta being charging too much they have also being treating customers with contempt.

I have to wonder was the guy{forget his name}who now holds a 60% in the Irish arm of Setanta crazy or has he got a buisness plan when even the 33 saturday games are again up for grabs?

I am curious who's money is behind the MSK channels promising only gailige sports on ch 433&437 on the Sky digital platform?
IMO it might be a placeholder for a Setanta return of types in the UK{but proably only available for pubs?}

Dont know about a merger though,at present who would want or need Setanta?

it seems to me that only a single Setanta can survive on UPC as part of the Dig-Max package.
On Satellite I do not see it having a future at all in NI,and just may'be enough for ex-pats in the UK if it became part of the news and events pack.
but then again there is time for strange things to happen yet!:)

Mossy Monk · 19-10-2009 9:49am

abitofacomedian wrote: »

What's better, paying to watch or not getting it at all?

Watching it on RTÉ and TG4 is better I think

Brian CivilEng · 19-10-2009 12:08pm

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Watching it on RTÉ and TG4 is better I think

Well I take it that you are just a casual fan then. I would prefer to sit down on Friday and watch a live game, and an as live game. Then a couple of games on Saturday afternoon and maybe the same on Sunday. I also enjoy the repeats during the week of games I have attended. Now if RTÉ put the games on the RTÉ Player then that sorts out the repeats, but I doubt that they will be showing too many games like Connacht v Dragons.

Mossy Monk · 19-10-2009 12:11pm

abitofacomedian wrote: »

Well I take it that you are just a casual fan then. I would prefer to sit down on Friday and watch a live game, and an as live game. Then a couple of games on Saturday afternoon and maybe the same on Sunday. I also enjoy the repeats during the week of games I have attended. Now if RTÉ put the games on the RTÉ Player then that sorts out the repeats, but I doubt that they will be showing too many games like Connacht v Dragons.

Yep, that's right. I am not a real rugby supporter because I would prefer to have it on free television :rolleyes:

I have a box under my television that allows me to record games from a variety of channels and that means I can watch them whenever I like even games I am not able to be at my television for. Games like Connaught v Dragons I am sure will be shown by BBC Wales and S4C. Granted cable viewers don't have those but then they don't pay for Setanta either. In that respect I can understand why they might be a bit annoyed by Setanta losing the rights.

channelsurfer · 19-10-2009 12:20pm

probably means rte/tg4 wont bid for the 3pm premiership soccer matches and will be happy with live magners league or is it the start of a new joint bidding strategy?.... setanta will have to at least get the 2 packages that espn currently have along with the 3pm matches to make it viable again and make people want to subscribe...

Mossy Monk · 19-10-2009 12:44pm

channelsurfer wrote: »

probably means rte/tg4 wont bid for the 3pm premiership soccer matches and will be happy with live magners league or is it the start of a new joint bidding strategy?.... setanta will have to at least get the 2 packages that espn currently have along with the 3pm matches to make it viable again and make people want to subscribe...

Can they afford to compete with ESPN? They can only do so by bidding outrageously and we all saw what happened the last time they did that. Setanta should go like Eurosport. It works well for them to be a basic channel.

Brian CivilEng · 19-10-2009 3:04pm

Mossy Monk wrote: »

In that respect I can understand why they might be a bit annoyed by Setanta losing the rights.

Caught me, cable viewer here.

I wonder is there any chance of Setanta getting secondary rights? Sort of like the way they used to show repeats of GAA games that RTÉ had already shown, or maybe showing games that RTÉ or TG4 don't want.

Elmo · 19-10-2009 5:21pm

icdg wrote: »

The other drawback is of course having to put up with Irish commentary on TG4. At least S4C make English commentary available via the red button but to do that here would probably be classed as 'anti-Irish langauge'.

This is the first time RTÉ have taken a interest in these games and lets face many were annoyed (even with the Irish Language commentary) that Setanta took over the rights to those games. TG4 and S4C should just commentate in their respective languages after all that is what they are there to do but to promote their languages, TG4/S4C can't be narrow minded and only broadcast to those only interested in their respective languages. Anyway enough with the TG4 bashing.

On another note Setanta must now be up **** creek. I don't see how they are attractive for a Pay TV option.

And what about Scottish viewers?

Elmo · 19-10-2009 5:27pm

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Can they afford to compete with ESPN? They can only do so by bidding outrageously and we all saw what happened the last time they did that. Setanta should go like Eurosport. It works well for them to be a basic channel.

Is Eurosport not part owned by Sky?

Mossy Monk · 19-10-2009 5:56pm

Elmo wrote: »

Is Eurosport not part owned by Sky?

No. TF1 own them I think.

byte · 19-10-2009 9:52pm

Yeah, looking at Wikipedia (I know, I know), it would seem that Eurosport launched as a joint venture between EBU and Sky.

Then it was merged with Screensport in the early nineties, owned jointly by TF1, Canal+ and Havas Images.

Now, it's wholly owned by TF1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurosport

That said, I did think that Eurosport UK was a joint venture with somebody, but seems not.

celticfc · 19-10-2009 9:57pm

Great News!

Elmo wrote: »

And what about Scottish viewers?

From: http://www.theairwaves.net/index.php/tvindustrynews/3959-rte-a-tg4-seal-new-rugby-deal

Setanta currently hold these rights in Ireland, with BBC Wales and S4C showing live matches in Wales and STV having highlights and selected live coverage in Scotland of Glasgow vs Edinburgh. The BBC also show BBC Wales's coverage via their interactive service throughout the UK.

Mossy Monk · 19-10-2009 10:08pm

byte wrote: »

That said, I did think that Eurosport UK was a joint venture with somebody, but seems not.

I think NTL had some sort of a stake in them at one point.

icdg · 20-10-2009 11:27pm

Elmo wrote: »

This is the first time RTÉ have taken a interest in these games and lets face many were annoyed (even with the Irish Language commentary) that Setanta took over the rights to those games. TG4 and S4C should just commentate in their respective languages after all that is what they are there to do but to promote their languages, TG4/S4C can't be narrow minded and only broadcast to those only interested in their respective languages. Anyway enough with the TG4 bashing.

On another note Setanta must now be up **** creek. I don't see how they are attractive for a Pay TV option.

And what about Scottish viewers?

Scottish viewers are in an even worse position than we will be. They only have highlights on STV and the only (a whole two a year!) games they'll cover live will be the Edinburgh-Glasgow derbies.

Digifriendly · 20-10-2009 11:38pm

icdg wrote: »

Scottish viewers are in an even worse position than we will be. They only have highlights on STV and the only (a whole two a year!) games they'll cover live will be the Edinburgh-Glasgow derbies.

Yes that's as it stands at present but could this not change from next season? Games in Scotland Setanta have shown live this season e.g. Glasgow vs Munster/Edinburgh vs Leinster, might they not be live on STV next season as Setanta as far as we know will no longer be showing any live ML games?

Elmo · 20-10-2009 11:45pm

Digifriendly wrote: »

Yes that's as it stands at presnt but could this not change from next season? Games in Scotland Setanta have shown live this season e.g. Glasgow vs Munster/Edinburgh vs Leinster, might they not be live on STV next season as Setanta as far as we know will no longer be showing any live ML games?

If RTÉ or TG4 are host broadcaster they should be able to provide STV or BBC Scotland with a live feed.

keith99 · 21-10-2009 8:30am

Elmo wrote: »

If RTÉ or TG4 are host broadcaster they should be able to provide STV or BBC Scotland with a live feed.

From: Info <Info@rte.ie>
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:50:35 +0100
Subject: RE: 2010 magners rugby tv rights
To:

Dear Keith

The update from RTÉ is that we expect the Magners League to make an announcement in the coming week or so. As the process is ongoing, we are not in a position to make any comment in the meantime.

Thank you for your query.

Kind Regards

RTÉ Information-Communications

channelsurfer · 21-10-2009 9:37am

keith99 wrote: »

From: Info <Info@rte.ie>
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:50:35 +0100
Subject: RE: 2010 magners rugby tv rights
To:

Dear Keith

The update from RTÉ is that we expect the Magners League to make an announcement in the coming week or so. As the process is ongoing, we are not in a position to make any comment in the meantime.

Thank you for your query.

Kind Regards

RTÉ Information-Communications

interesting.... wonder how the sunday bus post got hold of the story then? did RTE leak it or someone from Magners league in the hope that setanta would increase their bid?

channelsurfer · 01-11-2009 12:43pm

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/rte-plays-hardball-in-rights-war-1930465.html

more today in the indo.... a very anti rte article and more of a whinge that you would think tv3 would write..... why shouldnt they use some of my 160euro a year to provide me with magners league...

keith99 · 01-11-2009 1:01pm

channelsurfer wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/rte-plays-hardball-in-rights-war-1930465.html

more today in the indo.... a very anti rte article and more of a whinge that you would think tv3 would write..... why shouldnt they use some of my 160euro a year to provide me with magners league...

another terrible move by tv3, what next bertie ahern presenting their champions league coverage and their rugby world cup coverage

Europa League

Everton v Benfica: Live on 3e!, the irish tv3 spin off channel

Benfica grabbed top spot in Group 1 from Everton with a 5-0 thrashing in Lisbon last time out, so can David Moyes’ side put it right at Goodison?

Former World Snooker Champion Ken Doherty will be joining 3e as a guest presenter for next Thursday’s Live Europe League game. Ken will be joined in studio by former Ireland defender Gary Kelly and Irish Independent soccer correspondent Daniel McDonnell for analysis. Kirsteen O’Sullivan will also be alongside Ken with the regular text and email comments from our viewers.

Mossy Monk · 01-11-2009 1:05pm

That article reads like everyone has Setanta. It is a load of nonsense and I am happy that RTÉ and TG4 have the rights.

RTÉ have bought the rights to the Magners League so they can get the World Cup says the journalist. I didn't think the Independent were ones for conspiracy theories.

Elmo · 01-11-2009 1:31pm

Operating costs at RTE 2 are not 120 they are 90.

TV3 have only begun to look at sports not soccer related in recent years which is a good thing but I some how cann't see them wanting Magner's League indeed if Setanta had gone for a deal with TV3 it would have been very risky with Setanta. Magner's League is a minority league that was first put on TG4 when on other channel was interested.

RTÉ/TG4 win Magners League rights

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