ESPN, Setanta Ink Deal for Live US Broadband Coverage of The Football League and Carling Cup Soccer

ESPN and Setanta Sports have agreed a new deal to bring US soccer fans extensive live broadband coverage of England’s Football League and Carling Cup tournaments, featuring many top English soccer teams including Leeds United, Wolves and Sheffield United.  The Football League consists of competitions from The Coca-Cola Championships, League One, League Two and the Carling Cup, which is the annual tournament that matches Football League and Barclays Premier League teams.

The deal will bring live coverage (and replay availability) of nearly 100 English soccer matches on ESPN360.com, the company’s signature broadband sports television network.  ESPN360.com’s schedule will include up to two Football League matches per week (totaling up to 84 matches this season), Football League playoff and final matches, and will feature five matches from rounds 1-5, four semi-final matches and the finals from Carling Cup competition.

“We have established ESPN360.com as one of the leading destinations for U.S. fans of global soccer. Adding matches from the Football League and Carling Cup to our lineup further adds to that leadership,” said Damon Phillips, vice president, ESPN360.com. “These competitions feature some of the highest-level clubs and players in the world, which have an enormous, passionate base of fans around the globe and in the US.”

Shane O’Rourke, president of North American and Australia Operations, added, “Setanta is committed to increasing the exposure of the Football League and the Carling Cup alongside our other key properties and working with ESPN360.com is a great way to achieve this.”

Setanta viewers can see the matches on Setanta’s 24/7 residential channel and their premium service for businesses.

About ESPN360

In the US, ESPN360.com is a 24/7 broadband sports television network that delivers more than 3,000 live global sports events annually. ESPN360.com is available at no charge to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated Internet service provider.  It is available free to approximately 18 million students and military personnel via any computer on a US campus or military base computer network.  Additionally, it is available in 24 million households nationwide via more than 20 Internet service providers around the country including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and more. 

The Football League and Carling Cup join a growing lineup of the world’s top International soccer competitions on ESPN360.com, including:

- UEFA Champions League           - UEFA Cup                                     - UEFA Euro

- FIFA World Cup                           - FIFA Women’s World Cup          - Serie A

- Portuguese Liga Sagres             - Australian A League                     - Italian Cup (Coppa Italia)

- CONCACAF                                  - MLS                                                - USA National Team

- World Cup qualifiers                     - Russian Premier League             - Chinese Super League

- J League (Japan)                       - FIFA U-20 World Cup                   - FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

- FIFA Futsal World Cup                 - UEFA U-19 Championships        - U-17 Championships

About Setanta Sports

Setanta Sports (www.setanta.com) operates the only dedicated International sports channel in America. In 2008, the 24-hour, digital pay TV network will air more than 1,000 live events, including European and International soccer, world-class rugby and other sports programming designed to meet the growing demands of international sports fans. Setanta Sports is owned by Dublin-based Setanta Sports Holdings, a leading international pay television broadcaster and the number two sports broadcaster in the United Kingdom, providing top sports leagues and events to more than 100 million digital television homes globally and to commercial venues in six countries. Setanta Sports is currently available to subscribers via DIRECTV, Dish Network, Cox and Verizon FiOs TV, as well as in commercial settings such as sports bars and pubs nationwide.

About The Football League

The Football League was founded in 1888, making it the oldest professional soccer competition in the world.  It was the top football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the FA Premier League.  Since 1995, the Football League has had 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions — the Championship, League One, and League Two. All clubs are English, with the exception of two clubs from Wales.  Each division has 24 clubs and each club plays each of the others in the division twice (home and away) — for a total of 46 games. Clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat.

Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the League and extends to the Premier League as well, with the top Championship clubs exchanging places with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League.  Likewise, the bottom clubs of League Two switch with the top two clubs of the Football Conference.

About The Carling Cup

The Carling Cup was established in 1960 by the Football League and is open to all Football League and Premier League clubs, with the winner eligible to participate in the UEFA Cup.

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