Setanta enters administration

Setanta Sport went into administration this afternoon after the collapse of the business in Britain.

Deloitte have been appointed as administrators and the Irish broadcaster will soon cease to broadcast to the United Kingdom.

The development was expected after the Premier League pulled the plug on Setanta last week, and now the Football Association will have to find a new broadcast partner for FA Cup and England matches.

Neville Kahn, one of the joint administrators, said: "After a huge effort by the Setanta board, management team and its backers, it has not been possible to save the GB business, which will be wound down in due course."

Setanta have 1.2million subscribers and also had broadcast deals with the Scottish Premier League, the Blue Square Premiership, cricket's Indian Premier League and golf's PGA tour.

Kahn added: "This decision means that it will shortly cease broadcasting to its customers in Great Britain. However the International and Ireland businesses continue to trade on air whilst we are in discussions with parties to take these businesses on as going concerns.

"Regrettably, approximately 200 employees will be made redundant in respect of the GB business. Setanta has today suspended the collection of subscription payments from customers in Great Britain.

"We can confirm that no further monthly subscriptions or direct debits will be accepted from customers of the UK business."