ESPN America caught in Setanta Sports saga

British baseball fans already reeling from the lack of free-to-air coverage of the sport are facing further uncertainty over their access to MLB games.  Setanta Sports is under severe threat of going into administration, a move that according to the Sunday Times “would mean Setanta could disappear from the airwaves immediately”.

If that did come true, ESPN America may disappear with it. 

ESPN America is currently the only TV-based platform in Britain that broadcasts MLB games.  The network, formerly known as the North American Sports Network (NASN), was co-launched by Setanta back in June 2002 and was acquired by ESPN in March 2007.  

This ownership change at least means that Setanta’s apparently imminent collapse will not directly affect the network; however its links with the founding company were continued by ESPN, who decided to keep the network with the overall Setanta Sports bundle available via Sky and Virgin Media.

Nobody is sure what will immediately happen to the channels that fall within the Setanta Sports bundle if the company does go into administration.  A BBC News story published yesterday stated that there are likely to be two options:

• coverage will continue as normal with the company being run as a going concern by the administrator (probably Deloitte),
• coverage would stop, along with all subscription payments.

Which decision is taken will depend on whether the administrator thinks a genuine buyer is out there, which largely relies on the formation of a viable new business plan for Setanta Sports. 

As noted in the same BBC article, one possibility would be for Setanta (either with the current or new ownership) to continue under a new business plan where they become a wholesale provider of programmes to Sky and BT Vision.  If ESPN America fell under that plan, it would benefit some people (Sky Sports subscribers who would no longer have to pay extra for Setanta) and hurt others (those who would have to buy all Sky Sports channels just to get ESPN America).

It’s not clear what ESPN America’s position would be if the administrators decide to stop all coverage. Presumably the network would be free to find a new home if Setanta goes under, but we don’t know what immediate contingency plans are in place for such an event.  That means there could be a period where the channel is off the air, leaving British baseball fans with no baseball on TV at all.  A happier alternative would see the channel change to ‘Free’ status (for Sky/Virgin Media customers) for the time being at least.

The most important part of the Setanta saga for ESPN America fans relates to the broadcasting rights that Setanta Sports hold.  They will all be open for tender if Setanta folds, including the Premier League packages.  These are sold in blocks of twenty-three games and Setanta has two of those for the 2009/10 season and one block for each of the three seasons after.  Sky could buy one of the 09/10 blocks, but is barred from buying the rest meaning that someone else is going to snap them up.

ESPN are being touted as the main potential bidders for these rights.  If they acquire them, it’s possible that a new ESPN sports package would be created, including ESPN America.  Their acquisition of NASN was labelled at the time as being part of ESPN’s strategy to move into the European sports network market, so this may be their next step.  An ESPN sports package could either be sold directly to consumers via a separate subscription, or a deal could be struck with Sky, Virgin Media and BT Vision for it to be included in their subscription options.

While fans of North American sports in the UK may hope that Setanta’s demise will literally set ESPN America free (and not just free from Setanta’s infamously poor customer service), the reality is likely to be more complicated.  The news reports suggest that Setanta’s fate may be revealed in the very near future, indeed some say they are already in the process of entering administration, so further developments could soon become clear.

Fingers crossed it is much-needed good news for British baseball fans.