Talks between the Conference and American sports broadcaster EPSN have collapsed at the last minute. The Walt Disney network abandoned talks last week hours before contracts were due to be signed. It is understood that ESPN became concerned about the full production costs of the 25 matches they had planned to show. ESPN said in a statement that ‘we decided it did not make business sense for us to show the league on the channel at this time.’ It is unlikely that the decision will jeopardise the renewal of Blue Square’s sponsorship of the league.
Talks between the Conference and American sports broadcaster EPSN have collapsed at the last minute. The Walt Disney network abandoned talks last week hours before contracts were due to be signed. It is understood that ESPN became concerned about the full production costs of the 25 matches they had planned to show. ESPN said in a statement that ‘we decided it did not make business sense for us to show the league on the channel at this time.’ It is unlikely that the decision will jeopardise the renewal of Blue Square’s sponsorship of the league. The Conference had a very good deal with Setanta, and although they say they are in discussions with other broadcasters, they will find it hard to match it or indeed to get any deal at all.
However, the Premiership had weighed in with a £1m donation to the Conference. Every Blue Square premier side will receive a cheque for £30,000, while teams in the Blue Square North and South will each get £6,000. Each Blue Square Premiership club lost £80,000 with the collapse of the Setanta deal, so the money will go some way to filling the gap. Attendances are holding up well in the Conference, but fans are spending less on programmes and refreshments.
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