Business News

eir acquires Setanta Sports

By Business & Finance
07 December 2015
Champions League

Telecommunications company eir has purchased sports broadcaster Setanta Sports for an undisclosed sum.

Setanta was originally founded in 1992 to bring Irish sport to fans around the world and has since grown to have operations around the world. The Setanta Ireland channel commenced broadcasting in 2004 and is now available across Sky, Virgin Media and eir. The purchase of Setanta will allow eir to significantly expand its TV offering to customers.

Setanta Sports offers much sought-after sports content, such as live Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, European Rugby Champions Cup, Formula 1, plus English Aviva Premiership rugby.

The deal will require the approval of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources before completion.

Richard Moat, CEO of eir, said: “This is an extremely exciting and very important first step for us in television content ownership. We will now offer our customers the widest range and highest calibre of sports content in Ireland. Buying Setanta Sports Ireland is a game changer for eir and is our largest acquisition since we purchased Meteor in 2005.”

Michael O’Rourke, CEO, Setanta Sports Ireland, commented: “Today marks a significant milestone for Setanta Sports Ireland. This is really positive news for our customers, our colleagues and our business. eir’s scale and reach presents us with the opportunity to grow our sports offering in Ireland. Since the launch of our Irish business in 2004 we have worked hard to build a business that ensures Irish sports fans can access the widest possible choice of Irish and International sport. This agreement will ensure growing investment in Irish sport. I’m delighted for the team at Setanta and the investors who have shown so much commitment over the years. I have no doubt the business will grow even further in the future.”

Photo: Florian Christoph