Sports broadcaster Setanta has suspended all new customer subscriptions in Britain as the fate of the company hangs in the balance.
The cash-strapped Irish firm is seeking to stave off administration with a last-minute rescue. A Setanta spokesperson said last night it was looking at what it termed 'live options', which could mean possible offers for the company.
A statement on Setanta's UK website said: 'The company has not gone into administration. All our channels are still broadcasting across all platforms and our subscribers can continue to enjoy our programming. However, in the current circumstances, we have decided to suspend temporarily the acceptance of new subscriptions.'
Yesterday, BSkyB said it had refused a £50m lifeline to the struggling sports broadcaster. Sky's chief executive Jeremy Darroch said the company were 'a broadcaster not a bank' but insisted it had no wish to see Setanta go into administration.
Reports said Setanta had asked Sky for a £50m interest-free loan and in return offered access to the live rights to 46 English Premier League games next season as an add-on option to Sky Sports.
Mr Darroch told a Sports Industry Group event in London yesterday: 'Our job is not to fund other companies. We have been talking to Setanta, and trying to work with them and help them.'
Setanta currently holds the rights to show two English Premier League packages, or 46 live matches a season, but it lost out in the auction for the next three-year deal to BSkyB and will in future show only 23 games per season against BSkyB's 115.
The failure to win the rights prompted Setanta to conduct a review of its business and attempt to renegotiate rights payments with a range of sporting bodies.
It missed a £3m payment to the Scottish Premier League last week and faces a more than £30m payment to the English Premier League, according to media reports.
Were the group to be placed in administration, the majority of its sporting rights would be returned to the sporting bodies for auction, but analysts believe they would reach a much lower price than before.
BSkyB could acquire some rights, although not all, due to competition rules, while Disney's sports service ESPN could be interested again after failing at the previous auction.
