Setanta Cup Coverage

[dcfcsteve]

A few regulars on the Derry City forum have emailed Setanta to complain about the lack of highlights last night from the non-televised games. It represents a reduction in their coverage levels versus previous years.

The idea is to do it in a positive way - rather than just have a moan at them.

Here's the address for Setanta in the Republic if anyone else in interested in following suit : setanta.irl@setanta.com

And here's the text of an email I sent them earlier, if anyone is looking for suggestions on what to put in a message :



Dear Sir/Madam,

I have been a subscriber to Setanta Sports since 2005. I originally subscribed to access the Setanta Sports Cup games, and that tournament and your live Eircome League games are the only reasons that I have remained a subscriber ever since.

I was therefore disappointed to note last night that the level of coverage being given to the 2007 Setanta Sports Cup appears to have reduced versus previous years. Usually you provide coverage of one game live in each series, combined with highlights/goals of the other games. Last night, however, there was no coverage at all from the 3 games other than the live televised one.

I would be grateful if you could clarify if this represents a new approach towards covering the Cup that will continue this season. Subscription to Setanta Sports is expensive as it is, considering I am only interested in the Irish soccer, so if that element of your coverage were to be reduced I would have to reconsider the benefit to me of subscribing to your channels any more.

Keep up the good work on the games that you are televising - and I hope you will return to providing highlight coverage of the other games as well.

Thanks for your help.

Best Regards,

[Peadar]

Even their coverage of the live game was rubbish!

[pete]

I have no idea if they intend to reduce level of coverage but I can guarantee you they will mention they showing more eL games live this season in the reply...

[dcfcsteve]

I have no idea if they intend to reduce level of coverage but I can guarantee you they will mention they showing more eL games live this season in the reply...

Good news if they are.

But no harm in pushing them a bit on Setanta Cup coverage as well, and reminding them that there's people out there who only joined them for the Irish football.

We all moan about how we never get enough media coverage or how we have no influence as fans. Well here's a quick and easy opportunity to address both in a small way.

[Poor Student]

I moaned at them last year for showing too little of the IL teams and they gave me a detailed individually written reply. Being a subscriber based service they're more likely to care about complaints and suggestions especially when as Steve did, you mention your subscription is based on Irish football.

[Mark Breen]

A few regulars on the Derry City forum have emailed Setanta to complain about the lack of highlights last night from the non-televised games. It represents a reduction in their coverage levels versus previous years.

The idea is to do it in a positive way - rather than just have a moan at them.

Here's the address for Setanta in the Republic if anyone else in interested in following suit : setanta.irl@setanta.com

And here's the text of an email I sent them earlier, if anyone is looking for suggestions on what to put in a message :

Can you let us know if they respond to you. As i have NTL i receive Setanta Ireland as part if my NTL package so a lot of your letter does not really work for me, I will however send an e-mail questioning why the coverage is not up to there usual standards.

Cheers

[OneRedArmy]

They advertised their 10pm programme as a separate slot to the live match, rounding up the action on all the nights Setanta Cup games.

All they did was show the scores and interview the managers and a few players from the live game.

Fairly pathetic tbh.

Its crucial that a EL v IL final is engineered again this season to keep any level of interest (ideally involving Linfield).

[Darco Ooragnak]

Sent Setanta an email a while back asking for details of the coverage of the League, i was told they will be showing ten live games. I had also asked about any potential highlights programmes or if they could show highlights on the web, they said they would pass that query on to the relevant department.

[eirebhoy]

I actually think you get much more value for money with Setanta than you would with Sky Sports if you like your football. You should probably ring them though, or even write a letter.

[bluemovie]

The highlight of Monday night's coverage was the insightful post-match interview with Paul Doolin where he raised some very interesting points. The gist of it was:

"I think, to be fair, as I say - to be fair, as I say to be fair. I think as I say to be fair. As I say, I think to be fair. I think. As I say. To be fair".

[JW.]

The highlight of Monday night's coverage was the insightful post-match interview with Paul Doolin where he raised some very interesting points. The gist of it was:

"I think, to be fair, as I say - to be fair, as I say to be fair. I think as I say to be fair. As I say, I think to be fair. I think. As I say. To be fair".

:D :D :D

The points here are all valid. I assume when there are two games each night, they'll have highlights from the non-live one. The lack of live updates was poor as well. And they had two painfully long breaks in the last 25 minutes or so of the programme (for all that I never get tired of the Lifeline Hangover Defence ad).
It's fashionable these days to have a presenter who used to play the game etc but I've not seen two co-presenters who came from the football side. It was like good cop/bad cop at times. Jury out I think..

[Jerry The Saint]

"I think, to be fair, as I say - to be fair, as I say to be fair. I think as I say to be fair. As I say, I think to be fair. I think. As I say. To be fair".

Well you can't say fairer than that.

[David]

Its crucial that a EL v IL final is engineered again this season to keep any level of interest (ideally involving Linfield).

They didn't engineer it too well for us with that draw. :p

[londonhoop]

Unbelievable.
Some people are never happy."There is not enough EL shown on TV","Noone cares about showing EL football" and then when a forward thinking company like setanta come along,sponsor and broadcast a tournament including teams from the north and south,what happens they get stick for it.
Unbelievable.

[JC_GUFC]

And they had two painfully long breaks in the last 25 minutes or so of the programme (for all that I never get tired of the Lifeline Hangover Defence ad).


That's just a blatant copy of the Alcohol Killer ad. I dunno how they didn't sued over that.

At one stage I thought the programme was over the ads were so long! :eek:

[pete]

...when a forward thinking company like setanta come along,sponsor and broadcast a tournament including teams from the north and south,what happens they get stick for it.
Unbelievable.

I believe it was mentioned above as "constructive criticism" & why complementing previous coverage querying why its been reduced.

[dcfcsteve]

Unbelievable.
Some people are never happy."There is not enough EL shown on TV","Noone cares about showing EL football" and then when a forward thinking company like setanta come along,sponsor and broadcast a tournament including teams from the north and south,what happens they get stick for it.
Unbelievable.

Who's talking about giving them stick ??? :confused:

[londonhoop]

If they do start showing the goals from different grounds in future broadcasts people will start moaning that they didnt dedicate enough after match coverage from the live game.
All im saying is be glad that we have another broadcaster other than rte,tv3,tg4 who is showing el and the setanta cup.

[Pablo Escobar]

If they do start showing the goals from different grounds in future broadcasts people will start moaning that they didnt dedicate enough after match coverage from the live game.
All im saying is be glad that we have another broadcaster other than rte,tv3,tg4 who is showing el and the setanta cup.

People pay an extra fee for this channel!

[londonhoop]

Not if your on ntl you dont.
besides the point anyway.RTE is not "free" still have to pay for your tv license.Anyway the point im making is that no matter what they do they will be criticised.Like slagging off doolin and everyone else thay have on like dolan etc.
Its irish football, who do people want doing the commentary and analysis?Gray,tyler and keys??Dont blame setanta for irish football not having ex pro's who can hold conversations.

[Dodge]

.Like slagging off doolin and everyone else thay have on like dolan etc.
Its irish football, who do people want doing the commentary and analysis?Gray,tyler and keys??Dont blame setanta for irish football not having ex pro's who can hold conversations.

Dolan's great at his job. And Doolin wasn't an analyst he was the losing manager interviewed. Its the equivalent of slagging Arsene Wenger being interviewed on Sky.

[Jerry The Saint]

If they do start showing the goals from different grounds in future broadcasts people will start moaning that they didnt dedicate enough after match coverage from the live game.


I don't think so. No-one's slagging them off - it's just customers of a subscription TV channel letting them know what they want to see.This is a big tournament whatever way you look at it and it's a shame that Setanta couldn't arrange one camera for each of the other three grounds, particularly when they did so in previous seasons. The footage from Pats vs. Portadown alone could have supplied them with a year's worth of promos :D

Too much emphasis is put on the post-match talking shops in this country (RTE, I'm looking at you) - most fans would sacrifice a few minutes if it meant seeing the best couple of incidents from the other games. The only video from Richmond is the worst of the three goals on stpatsfc.com.

On the plus side, we still have the element of surprise because anyone who wasn't at the game is still in the dark as to just how good we are this year... ;)

[Risteard]

On the plus side, we still have the element of surprise because . . . . . is still in the dark as to just how good we are this year... ;)
Well ye would have if only ye shut the f*ck up about it. :p

[BohsFans]

A few regulars on the Derry City forum have emailed Setanta to complain about the lack of highlights last night from the non-televised games. It represents a reduction in their coverage levels versus previous years.

The idea is to do it in a positive way - rather than just have a moan at them.

Here's the address for Setanta in the Republic if anyone else in interested in following suit : setanta.irl@setanta.com

And here's the text of an email I sent them earlier, if anyone is looking for suggestions on what to put in a message :

Any response?

[JW.]

It'll be interesting to see if they have highlights from Portadown tomorrow night. Undoubtedly though, whatever highlights they have will be subservient in quality to the Ulster/Scots ads.

[BohsFans]

here's the Pat's game anyway! Their own production.

YRdYu3UrCxE


What's up with the Inchicore end? Building a terrace?

[dcfcsteve]

Any response?

Nothing yet. Sent it on Tuesday after office hours.

[kdjaC]

here's the Pat's game anyway! Their own production.



What's up with the Inchicore end? Building a terrace?

We planting Red and White Poppies and it will spell out SAINTS, going after the horticulturists. Clever marketting tbh.



kdjac

[dcfcsteve]

Any response?

Nothing yet. Sent it on Tuesday after office hours.

[headtheball]

No coverage of the other game tonight either. Look's like our fear's have been confirmed. Setanta have more or less diluted their coverage of their self named trophy. The last 2 seasons coverage was first class, this season, in my opinion, they are only fulfilling the agreement to show a live game.

A very worrying development. :( They also have not responded to my email either and it was sent a week today.

[Ebmania]

here's the Pat's game anyway! Their own production.

How great did the three new lads look. Shame Gary didnt score but what potential. We are gonna win this Dame Cup.

[paul_oshea]

Can you let us know if they respond to you. As i have NTL i receive Setanta Ireland as part if my NTL package so a lot of your letter does not really work for me, I will however send an e-mail questioning why the coverage is not up to there usual standards.

Cheers


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http://www.dvb-shop24.net/index.php

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[niamh]

No coverage of the other game tonight either. Look's like our fear's have been confirmed. Setanta have more or less diluted their coverage of their self named trophy. The last 2 seasons coverage was first class, this season, in my opinion, they are only fulfilling the agreement to show a live game.

A very worrying development. :( They also have not responded to my email either and it was sent a week today.

The lack of replies may have something to do with the fact that very valid points are being made...
As for the future of the competition, they did announce that they had extended their deal with the FAI and IFA when the draw was made. By another 3/4 years if I remember correctly.

[BohsFans]

No coverage of the other game tonight either. Look's like our fear's have been confirmed. Setanta have more or less diluted their coverage of their self named trophy. The last 2 seasons coverage was first class, this season, in my opinion, they are only fulfilling the agreement to show a live game.

A very worrying development. :( They also have not responded to my email either and it was sent a week today.

STILL in their TV listings on setanta.com
Mon 5 Mar:

10:00pm
Live Setanta Sports Cup Round Up
Live round up of the day's results in the Setanta Sports Cup.

:rolleyes:

Incidentally they did have Derry's goal from Glentoran last week at the start of the show, in amongst a load of other Glentoran clips.

[dcfcsteve]

who's on live next week


Cork v Pats

[wws]

the camerawork in that clip above is appalling

whoever is responsible should be beaten to a pulp

[dcfcsteve]

Have this morning received the following response form Setanta :




Dear Mr Bradley

In this season's Setanta Sports Cup, we have made some changes to our coverage from last year, with regard to the showing of goals from other games being played on the night. While last year, it was very much a focus, this year we have decided to concentrate more closely on our live game, and dedicate our half an hour build up and our half an hour post match programme to this main event.

I completely understand the disappointment which fans of the other participating teams feel over this, and I would say that when we get down to those nights when the groups could be decided, we will endeavour to have cameras as the other group game of the night, and offer such a service as showing those goals.

I do think though that it is important to point out that Setanta Sports has a very real commitment to showing the best action from club football on this island, through both the Setanta Sports Cup and the Eircom league - the two competitions we have television rights to. I can assure you that all the production staff in the football department are
completely dedicated to improving our coverage and coming up with new and innovative ways to promote the product. To this end, we work closely with the clubs in trying to achieve this, and the co-operation that is given to us by those participating clubs is, due in no small way, to a joint belief that we are in a partnership to make the product work for
all of us.

We feel strongly that we can help develop the audience for Irish club football through our coverage, because it is important to point out that while the fan base is extremely loyal and dedicated, it must grow and develop into areas of potential support within the Irish football community that has to this point, preferred to look overseas to follow the game.

To this end, we have trebled our live Eircom League commitment this season and will be showing 16 Eircom League game starting later this month (we showed 5 live games last season) and going straight through until August. In total, Setanta Sports will offer, between the Setanta Sports Cup and the Eircom League, 28 live games involving club sides on
this island. Before you even begin to look at all the other football product we offer (Premiership, Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Leagues etc) the extent of our Irish club football makes the annual subscription tremendous value for money.

So while we changed one aspect of our coverage with the goals from other games, we have far outweighed that in the positive with our overall live game commitment. It is also important to say that we show far more games of this type than any other Irish broadcaster, and in our programmes, we come on air much earlier before kick-off, and stay on much longer after the final whistle, than any of our competitors.

I would like to thank you for taking the trouble to write and voice your concerns, but I hope that the detail of our coverage which I have outlined above will help ease any fears that our plans for Irish club football are being curtailed. I can assure you it is very much the opposite.

Kind Regards,


Tim Tuomey

Football Editor, Setanta Sports Ireland

Whilst I disgaree with his thoughts on Setanta coverage - and his unwillingness to commit to showing goals form other games even as the group's climax is worrying - I hve to say this is a much more encouraging response than I had expected to receive.

He clearly accepts that Setanta have an important role to play in the promotion of Irish football and appears willing to embrace that role (unlike the terrestrial broadcasters).

Overall, I'm encouraged by this response

[pete]

Overall, I'm encouraged by this response

Yeah very good response & eventhough they used the "we showing more games" line they offered much more information explaining their schedules.

I've received & seen RTE responses & never been one a patch on Setantas.

[NY Hoop]

here's the Pat's game anyway! Their own production.
What's up with the Inchicore end? Building a terrace?

As you say their own production. Bad form that they are not sending cameras to the other non televised games no matter what they say in their letter. If they had "a real commitment" they would show all the games. I mean there is only 8 clubs involved:eek:

Sounds like they are going down the TV3 route. While there are only 6 premier games a week they only ever show 3 or 4. Pathetic and worrying.

Live games shlive games WE NEED A DECENT HIGHLIGHTS PROGRAMME.

Saying the above cos the FAI read this;)

KOH

[Jerry The Saint]

WE NEED A DECENT HIGHLIGHTS PROGRAMME.

Saying the above cos the FAI read this;)



Exactly. I'd prefer to have Patrick and Felix come back later in the week for a half-hour programme showing goals from the non-live games than listen to them waffle on about the live match for an extra half an hour.

[A face]

Got this reply from Setanta


Dear Sirs

In this season's Setanta Sports Cup, we have made some changes to our coverage from last year, with regard to the showing of goals from other games being played on the night. While last year, it was very much a focus, this year we have decided to concentrate more closely on our live game, and dedicate our half an hour build up and our half an hour post match programme to this main event.

I completely understand the disappointment which fans of the other participating teams feel over this, and I would say that when we get down to those nights when the groups could be decided, we will endeavour to have cameras as the other group game of the night, and offer such a service as showing those goals.

I do think though that it is important to point out that Setanta Sports has a very real commitment to showing the best action from club football on this island, through both the Setanta Sports Cup and the Eircom league - the two competitions we have television rights to. I can assure you that all the production staff in the football department are
completely dedicated to improving our coverage and coming up with new and innovative ways to promote the product. To this end, we work closely with the clubs in trying to achieve this, and the co-operation that is given to us by those participating clubs is, due in no small way, to a joint belief that we are in a partnership to make the product work for
all of us.

We feel strongly that we can help develop the audience for Irish club football through our coverage, because it is important to point out that while the fan base is extremely loyal and dedicated, it must grow and develop into areas of potential support within the Irish football community that has to this point, preferred to look overseas to follow the game.

To this end, we have trebled our live Eircom League commitment this season and will be showing 16 Eircom League game starting later this month (we showed 5 live games last season) and going straight through until August. In total, Setanta Sports will offer, between the Setanta Sports Cup and the Eircom League, 28 live games involving club sides on this island. Before you even begin to look at all the other football product we offer (Premiership, Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Leagues etc) the extent of our Irish club football makes the annual subscription tremendous value for money.

So while we changed one aspect of our coverage with the goals from other games, we have far outweighed that in the positive with our overall live game commitment. It is also important to say that we show far more games of this type than any other Irish broadcaster, and in our programmes, we come on air much earlier before kick-off, and stay on much longer after the final whistle, than any of our competitors.

I would like to thank you for taking the trouble to write and voice your concerns, but I hope that the detail of our coverage which I have outlined above will help ease any fears that our plans for Irish club football are being curtailed. I can assure you it is very much the opposite.


Kind Regards,
Tim Tuomey
Football Editor, Setanta Sports Ireland

Setanta Sports Customer Services