[17.26] MediaGuardian report that Setanta Sports News, Setanta 1 and Setanta 2 are due to close down around 6pm this evening. Join us now, as we commentate live on exciting events as they happen. Or, more likely, don't. Meaning we end up deleting this post, and it goes the way of "New BBC Ident: Live Blog", "BBC Engineering Relay Station Tests 2007: Live Blog" and "Totally Saturday Series Launch: Live Blog".
[17.30] It's genuinely quite sad that the presenters on-air at Setanta Sports News may well not know they'll be out of a job in about 30 minutes. The channel aren't even reporting on their own closure, despite it being a live breaking news story. They're literally "on location" for this big breaking story, yet the SSN ticker bar isn't even referring to it. Mind you, neither are Sky Sports News, it seems.
[17.35] We feel like ghouls. We’re reporting on the downfall of a television channel, yet the people actually on it are ploughing on with Horatio Herbert Kitchener-grade stiff upper lippedness:
[17.44] Flicking through, all three channels due to close this evening are broadcasting programmes which end at 6pm. Hopefully there’ll be a fitting retrospective for what was – despite what braying crowds of England fans might have said – a commendable attempt at taking on the status quo.
[17.46] As the anchors keep on presenting the sports news, the office workers in the background are actually packing their bags.and walking away. There might be a temptation to make cheap gags at their expense here (“tee-hee, someone’s going round nicking all the mousemats!”, that sort of thing), but it’s a group of people actually losing their jobs, broadcast live on air.
[17.48] The closure of the channel is finally being mentioned, with a rundown of the events covered. Including the aside that “all sports were covered equally, no matter who the rights holder”. Nice touch, given that Sky Sports News don’t like to mention events that they don’t have the rights to.
[17.50] Maybe it’s just the short amount of notice they’ve had to get a retrospective together, but the ‘highlights’ package for the channel – a selection box of reporters in snow talking about deadline day, a few interviews with disinterested sportsmen, a clip of Rafa Benitez and his dossier, and clips from sporting events, often with the telltale score overlays from BBC Sport, but we can’t help but feel this cements the channel’s position as “poor relation to Sky Sports News”. Mind you, that’s more ITN’s fault (who were behind the channel) than Setanta’s.
[17.55] The musical bed for the montage is some nondescript top 20 ‘chart’ ‘smash’. Now, we know they’d had a bit longer to prepare for their demise, but as least ITV Digital closed with Pixies’ Monkey Gone To Heaven.
[17.58] It’s all over. And to be honest, it’s a shame.
[18.00] Anyone been watching Sky Sports News or Setanta 1 (or 2) over the last ten minutes? Sky Sports News seem to be leading with something or other about Chelsea at the moment (y’know, for a change), but we’d hope they could at least have acknowledged the passing of their sports-news-based adversaries as they slid back into their monopolistic position. Meanwhile, we’d guess Setanta 1 (and 2) had cut to the closing Setanta Sports News tribute from their last few minutes on air, as opposed to crashing into the caption above.
[18.20] For anyone wondering what happens next for the other channels available to Setanta subbers, here’s a quick rundown of which channels are on air, and which aren’t:
ESPN America (Sky channel 417) : ON AIR
Setanta News (418) : Closed
Setanta Sports 1 (423) : Closed
Setanta Sports 2 (424) : Closed
Setanta Golf (429) : Closed
Setanta Ireland (430): ON AIR
Racing UK (430) : ON AIR
Liverpool FC TV (434) : ON AIR
Arsenal TV (435) : ON AIR
Celtic TV (436) : EPG says “European night”, but blank screen.
Rangers TV (438): EPG says “The Wee Match”, but blank screen.
How long they’ll last, we’re not sure. None of the channels still on air are actually owned by Setanta, so presumably will stay ticking along whilst seeking a new subscription model, presumably via Sky. When Celtic and Rangers TV will return is anyone’s guess.
[18.45] So, with Setanta closed for less than an hour, resulting in 200 people suddenly becoming unemployed, how are people on Twitter showing their sympathy?
“Heart goes out to 200 people who no longer have a job at Setanta.”
“wats guna happen with ufc in the uk now? setanta you bastards, 2 weeks before 100!”
”SETANTA SPORTS GONE!!!! THAT WAS QUICK, SAD THAT SO MANY PEOPLE OUT OF WORK BCOZ OF IT.....”
“As the lights sadly go out at Setanta, so starts the uploads of Setanta freelancer's showreels: http://bit.ly/50s6T”
“Haha in a bit Setanta Sports worst fucking TV channel ever”
“setanta is now off air I wannabe bloody refund”
Twitter, there. TV Newsroom already have Setanta’s farewell retrospective online. So, here’s a link to it: http://tvnewsroom.co.uk/blog/setanta-goes-into-administration/ As Simon Sweepingthenation mentions in the comments for this post, it was clearly a compilation cobbled together for in-house and trade purposes, what with all the captions being in the present tense. A shame there wasn’t really the chance to put together a more fitting tribute to the brand, but kind of fitting in with their all too quick demise.
Still, that’s it. Setanta – so long, and thanks for all the fish (sport).
14 .:
The presenters aren't even acknowledging the remaining newsroom staff packing their bags behind them,
It's really, really surreal, because Setanta was the big new name in TV just a few months ago and now it's Jason Robards in Magnolia, lying on its deathbed, croaking and wheezing about the GOD DAMN REGRET.
Is the studio sound quality usually this bad? It sounds like there's a howling gale in there. An ill wind, even.
Well, they're acknowledging it now. This montage is oddly low-res.
Much like the picture quality I've always noticed on Setanta Sports News - always thought it was my Sky box responsible for that, but clearly not.
Why isn't she Twittering live during these VTs? http://twitter.com/RachelBrookesTV
Yes that was interesting to watch. I wonder how long they'd had that retrospective package for?
I suspect from its tone that it was less a goodbye package than something they'd put together for in-house and trade use, in that it was all in the present tense and very insular in featuring fairly nondescript clips of features and pundits, with no real "news and events we brought to you first" coverage.
You've got to feel sorry for all the presenters who'd left Sky Sports to go and work for Setanta, who now face looking for a new job, and are possibly hoping their old employer will take them back.
True, it did look like a promo. The repeated mantra of "More than just sports news", and no 'sign off' caption at the end, just a Setanta/ITN/Virgin Media endcap.
Gah, I quickly tuned to Setanta Sports News at half five then went to make my tea and forgot all about it, so I missed all this fun. On Virgin all the channles have just gone black. You'd think Virgin Media might have put something about this on their website, wouldn't you? It's not even in the bloody TV news!
I dunno about Rangers and Celtic TV because Setanta sometimes used Celtic TV as an overflow channel is 1 and 2 were full, and referred to it as Setanta Sports On Channel 438 or something. They could do that because Rangers and Celtic TV aren't on air at the weekend, because of course nothing happens in football on a weekend, does it?
Good job Liverpool TV hasn't closed, they're still only on number 68 in Rafa's Top 100.
Anyway, I never got any news from Setanta Sports News, and it confirmed itself as the world's worst news channel in December 2007 when Phil O'Donnell died and Setanta, who own the rights to the SPL and you'd think would have reporters there, put it on their ticker and then just ignored it, instead playing for the umpteenth time an interview with Des Lynam on getting the OBE.
Also, for half of this season in all their Premier League build-up they had a "PREE RED TO SUBSCRIBE" DOG on screen, despite the fact the red button never worked on Virgin and you couldn't see the channel at all unless you subscribed. They were less interested in cable subscribers than Sky Sports! Also, they only showed four Wrexham matches last season, and they were supposed to be everyone's Cup Final. Good bloody riddance.
However, I do hope Rebecca Lowe is OK. Someone sign her up now!
Ooh, this just in, it's been replaced by a caption pointing you to www.virginmedia.com/setanta, which is just a Q and A which basically says "We dunno what's going to happen, but at least we've got Sky Sports".
This isn't as exciting as when Granada Plus closed, which was so abrupt NTL (as was) ended up broadcasting a test card with "PLEASE RETUNE TO ITV3" on it.
Steve - the end montage is now online at TV Newsroom - http://is.gd/1aCT9
Setanta Sports News quite clearly wasn't the best (by a long chalk), but given ITN's record when it came to running 24-hour rolling news stations, that probably wasn't a major surprise.
Curiously, BrokenTV is now getting a load of hits from an unofficial FC Bruges blog. Can't imagine why many of their supporters are interested in Setanta Sports News, but nonetheless, hello Belgium.
Post a Comment