Setanta Good or bad?

**superfrank** · 08/07/2007, 2:08 PM

I think it is good. At least in Pat Dolan and Felix Healy they have people who may be somewhat recognisable to the public. Dolan has a column in the papers doesn't he? And Healy's a former NI International, WC player too.

I love Setanta. I watch all the football. German, Dutch, French, English, Scottish, Italian, Portuguese and Irish. I don't compare the quality. I don't care who's playing. I simply love to watch football. As well as that they have F1, hockey and the GAA. So for people like me it will attract them to watch el football, maybe before they wouldn't have.

I prefer the TG4 coverage though. It's better organised and it's as Gaeilge, another bonus, and at least the "foreign" game here is being backed by gaelg�irs, which is also good.

Anyway, I think Setanta IS good for the el. It's more exposure, more revenue, more sponsorship. The game time changing is frankly annoying but at least this Monday I get to watch MY team play on the telly when I can't go to see it. That's very good.

**dcfcsteve** · 08/07/2007, 2:23 PM

Originally Posted by dancinpants

I think some people call it "lip service" steve. Whats wrong with showing coverage of the EL over here? Why would an IRISH satellite station NOT cover Irish football? At what point does that make sense? "Lets keep the Germans, Italians, French, English, and Scottish happy - we're Irish but fcuk the Irish".

Because sadly Irish people in the main want to watch German, Spanish, Italan, English etc football over the Irish variety.

We all know that. It's got fcuk all to do with supposedly pleasing certain nationalities.

**DaveyCakes** · 08/07/2007, 3:36 PM

Originally Posted by dcfcsteve

Because sadly Irish people in the main want to watch German, Spanish, Italan, English etc football over the Irish variety.

We all know that. It's got fcuk all to do with supposedly pleasing certain nationalities.

Their coverage of European footy dropped considerably over the last few months of the season..

**LukeO** · 08/07/2007, 4:11 PM

Originally Posted by bohs til i die

Thats a very simplistic view dcfcsteve. Bohs last played a home game on a Friday night on May 11th and wont play another home game on a Friday night until August 10th because of games being switched to Monday nights [our home game with Derry is put back 24 hours because of Derry's European game].

Our crowds for Monday night games are down compared to what they would be on Friday nights. At the start of last season, after 3 defeats in a row we played Waterford Utd in front of 1752 people at Dalymount.

We are doing much better this year and recently played Waterford on a Monday night in front of 1230 people.

Add in a drop in programme sales, bar takings would drop significantly and the �5k for moving the game doesnt look so attractive afterall.

Setanta showed a fukking GAA re-run for the zillionth time on Friday evening when they could easily have shown Bohs v Bray on Friday night and put the GAA on Monday instead.

Have to agree with all that, our game tomorrow will be third home game in two months switched to Monday to suit Setanta. This is costing us a ****ing fortune in lost bar income, lower gates and in other matchday income. It wouldn't bother me as much if the games were switched to a Saturday evening but Monday night football is a disaster.

**Kivlehan** · 08/07/2007, 4:12 PM

It would be nice if they could at least show a game of the week from the League of Ireland on the US version. Feature one game each week. Wouldn't kill them would it? Run one less replay of some match from five years ago or one less Aussie Rules match and you've got the spot. If ESPN can find a spot for MLS, surely Setanta can find one for a League of Ireland game too?

**Dodge** · 08/07/2007, 4:20 PM

Originally Posted by Kivlehan

It would be nice if they could at least show a game of the week from the League of Ireland on the US version. Feature one game each week. Wouldn't kill them would it? Run one less replay of some match from five years ago or one less Aussie Rules match and you've got the spot. If ESPN can find a spot for MLS, surely Setanta can find one for a League of Ireland game too?

They are completely separate channels.

**mypost** · 08/07/2007, 4:20 PM

Originally Posted by superfrank

I prefer the TG4 coverage though. It's better organised and it's as Gaeilge, another bonus.

That's a switch-off attraction for me.

You may as well have matches in Japanese as in Irish, as most people watching, understand as much of both of them.

**superfrank** · 08/07/2007, 4:42 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

That's a switch-off attraction for me.

To each his own.

**bohs til i die** · 08/07/2007, 5:15 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Oh and the dip in gate receipts should be more than made up with the fre publicity.

I dont know what the Setanta viewing figures are like but I'd imagine a lot of fans of other clubs would watch the games on TV so the publicity to fans of your rivals is worth sweet fukk all.

**osarusan** · 09/07/2007, 9:20 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

They are completely separate channels.

I think his point was that if a US channel can be successful while devoting time to the national league in the US, surely Setanta can do the same with the eL.

**CollegeTillIDie** · 09/07/2007, 9:36 AM

I think some clarity needs to be brought in here the 5k is made up as follows.
Home team gets 3k and visitors get 2k. Now given that dynamic Bohs are losing a fortune everytime they are on telly directly. Indirectly they may be able to get more advertising and sponsorship revenues.... cause they are on TV more.
It's hard to know in the short term what is best. Bohemians becoming better known through being on TV will in the medium term make them more marketable and therefore more interesting to potential advertisers.

My lot are playing Rovers on Monday 16th in Tolka. It will be interesting to see if the home support is reduced noticeably by a) being on a Monday and b) being live on TV. And of course it won't look great cause only our travelling support ( a tiny fraction of our core home support) will be seen because we will have the main Richmond Road stand given we are the visitors.

As regards TG4, their coverage is excellent. The commentator, Gary McDonnachada used to present a weekly sports magazine show called SportIris on the station about 10 years ago or so. Charlie McGeever regularly did an EL round up on that programme. Other occasional contributors included Aidan Fitzmaurice ( then with The Title). So at least the participants are knowledgeable. Shame about the viewing audience most of whom don't know their own language but that's for another thread, or possibly even a different message board entirely.

**Dodge** · 09/07/2007, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by bohs til i die

I dont know what the Setanta viewing figures are like but I'd imagine a lot of fans of other clubs would watch the games on TV so the publicity to fans of your rivals is worth sweet fukk all.

Not to your sponsors its not. And I think you're massively underestimating how many people will watch whatever football is on TV. Most of the lads I work with have a minimal interest in the LOI but would probably watch most games on Setanta on monday nights

**Schumi** · 09/07/2007, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

the 5k is made up as follows.
Home team gets 3k and visitors get 2k.

I thought it was �5k for the home team and �2.5k for the away team.

Does anyone know what kind of viewing figures Setanta get for EL games?

**Dodge** · 09/07/2007, 12:05 PM

I thought CTID was right regarding the figures

A setanta guy told a Pats marketing man this year they were "happy with the figures" No idea what that means

**londonhoop** · 09/07/2007, 1:34 PM

Originally Posted by LukeO

Have to agree with all that, our game tomorrow will be third home game in two months switched to Monday to suit Setanta. This is costing us a ****ing fortune in lost bar income, lower gates and in other matchday income. It wouldn't bother me as much if the games were switched to a Saturday evening but Monday night football is a disaster.

Before you post you should probably do some research otherwise you will just make youself look like an idiot.
Setanta only have the rights to show eircom league on a monday night,this was the only package available to them and they took it.

Regarding the viewing figures,around 90k per match.

**Dodge** · 09/07/2007, 1:41 PM

Originally Posted by londonhoop

Before you post you should probably do some research otherwise you will just make youself look like an idiot.

Oooh you're going to look silly

Setanta only have the rights to show eircom league on a monday night,this was the only package available to them and they took it.

There are no packages. They can show games whenever they want, and have shown games on a Thursday already this year. They choose to show them on a Monday

**dcfcsteve** · 09/07/2007, 1:55 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

That's a switch-off attraction for me.

You may as well have matches in Japanese as in Irish, as most people watching, understand as much of both of them.

Nonesense to suggest Irish people understand as much Irish as they do Japanese.........

And not everyone is as ignorant of their own national language as you'd like to believe...

**dcfcsteve** · 09/07/2007, 1:58 PM

Originally Posted by Schumi

I thought it was �5k for the home team and �2.5k for the away team.

Does anyone know what kind of viewing figures Setanta get for EL games?

As far as I'm aware, they don't publish viewing figures.

**dcfcsteve** · 09/07/2007, 1:59 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Most of the lads I work with have a minimal interest in the LOI but would probably watch most games on Setanta on monday nights

Anecdotally - when I tell people in England that I'm a fan of Irish football, the odd one can tell me of a game that they've seen on Setanta (e.g. Bohs v Waterford).

This has happened to me twice already this season.