Blue Square football league issue plea on TV rights deal (From York Press)

Blue Square football league issue plea on TV rights deal

10:15am Friday 26th June 2009 in

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FOOTBALL Conference independent chairman Brian Lee has invited broadcasters to enter talks over a new deal for live television coverage of Blue Square Premier games.

Setanta Sports’ fall into administration is expected to have a six-figure impact on Blue Square Premier club’s budgets next season with York City receiving £27,000 for their televised matches during 2008/9 to supplement the £80,000 lump sum they received annually from central funding.

Blue Square and other sponsors will continue to contribute to that pool but the Conference, while continuing to hold discussions with Setanta’s administrators, are now inviting approaches from other interested parties.

Disney-owned ESPN have already snapped up the rights to broadcast Setanta’s 46 Premier League games over the next two seasons.

Despite Setanta only attracting 1.2 million subscribers, which fell 700,000 short of their break-even figure, Lee still believes Conference games remain an “excellent marketable product”.

He said: “We may be considered to be a minor player in the demise of Setanta, but we know we have an excellent marketable product.

“Recent viewing figures, which are comparable with the Scottish Premier League, clearly show that we have a competition which is of major interest to subscribers who hold the sport so dear to their heart in this country.

“It would be silly not to recognise the value of Premier League packages which became available following Setanta going into administration, but with the Blue Square Premier now consisting of numerous ex-Football League clubs and the cream of the non-League battling it out season after season we would like to think that we can, among the debris, find a new broadcaster who values what the ordinary supporter wants from the game nowadays.

“Whether there is any mileage still to be obtained through the administrators or whether we accept a new approach, we want broadcasters to know we are happy to talk.

“We were the first to embrace the model of innovations brought to our screens by Setanta with their unique approach to presenting and we are willing to continue such an approach, if a broadcaster is also willing to help the top end of the grass roots game.

“In global terms the financial deal we had with Setanta was not huge by modern day standards but it was a major lifeline to my member clubs”.