Setanta confirms plans for DTT channel

Satdude

Setanta confirms plans for DTT channel

Setanta has confirmed plans to offer a new subscription channel via Top Up TV.

The new station - launching some time in the next year - will house its live Premier League games, as well as coverage of the Scottish Premier League.

The broadcaster also intends to launch a broadband offering and roll out its seven-channel portfolio via cable.

"[The DTT channel] will be on a subscription basis," joint chief executive Michael O'Rourke told The Telegraph. "We haven't decided whether people will have to take it for a whole year or for part of a year but people will have to make some sort of commitment."

Setanta also denied reports that it overpaid for the rights - £392 million over four years - allowing it to air 46 games a season beginning in 2007-08.

"The amount we paid was well within the range we had set ourselves," added chief exec Leonard Ryan. "We're very comfortable that we can generate a profit. The press has come out with some crazy break-even numbers. We're not going to say what our break-even point is but it's a reasonable figure."

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