The Blue Square Premiership is confident about selling its television rights after the collapse of its five year £12m deal with Setanta, although whether it will raise as much money remains to be seen. Martin James of Sport 360, the Conference’s official advertising agency, commented, ‘We’re not talking Top-Up TV or anything like that.’ A free to air bidder is a possibility.
The Blue Square Premiership is confident about selling its television rights after the collapse of its five year £12m deal with Setanta, although whether it will raise as much money remains to be seen. Martin James of Sport 360, the Conference’s official advertising agency, commented, ‘We’re not talking Top-Up TV or anything like that.’ A free to air bidder is a possibility. Setanta’s deal guaranteed all Blue Square Premier clubs a minimum of £70,000 a year from the league’s central funding, with a further £8,000 for the home side and £3,000 for the away team featured in a broadcast match. Step 2 sides received £15,000 a year. The sum paid out to Premiership clubs represents anything between 15 and 25 per cent of most clubs’ budgets. For example, Cambridge United made around £135,000 from Setanta last season. There has been speculation that live attendances have been dented by awkward match nights such as Thursdays, but the evidence suggests little consistent impact on attendances. There is little hope that extra fans returning will cover the shortfall, so the Conference needs to negotiate as good a deal as it can.