Setanta Sports Philippines Limited is a pay television sports channel and over-the-top streaming service operating in the Philippines owned by Eurasian Broadcasting Enterprise Ltd.
 | |
| Country | Singapore Philippines |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Philippines Previous: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Taiwan |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 480i/576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Eurasian Broadcasting Enterprise Ltd. |
| Parent | Philippines: Setanta Sports Philippines Ltd. |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 February 2011 3 November 2022 (Philippines; relaunch) |
| Closed | 29 January 2020 (8 years, 11 months and 4 weeks) |
| Replaced by | Rugby Pass TV (2020) Premier Sports Asia (2021) |
| Links | |
| Website | setantasports |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| YouTube | Watch Live (Philippines only; selected events only) |
| Blast TV (Philippines) | Watch Live (user membership and subscription required) |
Originally broadcasting as Setanta Sports Asia, an Asian pay television sports channel operating in the Asia Pacific region owned by Discovery Communications.[1][2] It primarily airs the sports of rugby union and rugby league. The channel was available on TV platforms in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia/Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Taiwan.
As of 2024, Setanta Sports is only available in the Philippines after the latter's owners (including founder Michael O’Rouke and Georgia-based Adjara Group) relaunched the platform in 2022 to sole exclusive broadcast rights for the Premier League.[3]
History
editIn February 2011, Setanta Sports Asia launched in Hong Kong on Now TV, and in Malaysia and Brunei on Astro. In June 2015, Setanta Sports in Dublin confirmed it has sold its Asian operations to Discovery Communications.[4]
From 29 January 2020, Setanta Sports Asia has been replaced by the new dedicated rugby channel, Rugby Pass TV which launched its OTT service first, since February 2016.[5] Rugby Pass was later shut down due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Premier Sports Asia took over the acquisition of all Rugby Pass subscribers in 2021.
In November 2022, Setanta Sports founder Michael O'Rouke and Georgia-based Adjara Group jointly relaunched the brand as a linear channel and OTT platform in the Philippines after it obtained its broadcast exclusivity rights to the Premier League for the said country after the league's contract with local broadcaster TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation was expired.[3]
Availability
editPrior to its relaunch in the Philippines in 2022, the channel was available on the following platforms throughout Asia:
- In Hong Kong via Now TV
- In Indonesia via First Media, Big TV, and MNC Play
- In Malaysia and Brunei on Astro
- In Mongolia via Univision and Sky Media
- In the Philippines on SkyCable
- In Thailand via TrueVisions
- In Singapore via Toggle
- In Sri Lanka via LBN, Dialog and SLT Peo TV
- In Taiwan via bbTV
Since 2022, Setanta Sports Philippines is available both as a linear channel and through video on demand on its official website and mobile application on a monthly subscription basis. In February 2024, Setanta Sports becomes available on local streaming service Blast TV.
Coverage
editCurrent
editSetanta Sports (Philippines) has broadcast rights to international sporting leagues, including:
- Football
- Basketball
- NBA[6][7]
- NBL Australia
- Chinese Basketball Association
- Liga ACB
- Türkiye Basketbol Ligi
- Lega Basket Serie A
- LNB Pro A
- Combat sports
Past coverage
editSetanta was the leading broadcaster of rugby in Asia, covering a variety of competitions from the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Setanta's former Rugby rights were:
Rugby league
edit- Super League
- RFL Championship
- National Rugby League (until 2017 season)
Rugby union
edit- International tests
- Six Nations Championship (2011–2013 on Setanta; Return in 2017)
- The Rugby Championship (formerly Tri-Nations)[8]
- Super Rugby[9]
- Pro14[10]
- Premiership Rugby[11]
- Ligue Nationale de Rugby
- Mitre 10 Cup[12]
- Currie Cup[13]
- European Professional Club Rugby (2014–15 until 2017–18)
GAA
editSetanta provided coverage of the Gaelic Athletic Association football and hurling championships.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Businesses & Brands – Discovery, Inc". Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ "Discovery acquires Setanta Sports Asia". Broadband TV News. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ a b Lingeswaran, Susan (3 November 2022). "Setanta Sports launches in the Philippines". Sportcal. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Discovery buys Setanta Sports Asia". 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ Astro (28 January 2020). "Hi. Astro's dedicated Rugby Channel, Setanta Sports HD (CH823) will be renamed to RugbyPass TV beginning from 29 Jan 2020. There will be no additional charges for customers subscribed to Setanta Sports HD. ^qiss". Twitter. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ McCullagh, Kevin (3 November 2022). "Basketball and football form backbone of Setanta's new Philippines service". SportBusiness. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "NBA, Setanta Sports announce multi-year pact to deliver live games, programming to PH fans". Manila Standard. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ setanta.com/asia (2 August 2011). "Super Rugby in Asia". Setanta Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ setanta.com/asia (2 August 2011). "Archived copy". Setanta Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ setanta.com/asia (2 August 2011). "Archived copy". Setanta Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ setanta.com/asia (2 August 2011). "GAA Football & Hurling | Setanta". Setanta Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 29 July 2011.