The English Premier League says sports broadcaster Setanta has lost its contract to show 46 football matches next season.
Setanta will lose its licence with immediate effect after it was unable to meet 'certain contractual requirements', the League said.
The matches, which are for the upcoming 2009/10 season, will now be put on the market. Setanta was due to make a £30m payment to the Premier League.
The broadcaster is not commenting, but its management is understood to be meeting to consider its options.
In a statement, the Premier League said: 'It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet their obligations. As such the existing licence agreement between us has been terminated with immediate effect.'
An emergency tender of Setanta's games for 2009/10 had already been launched as a contingency measure.
Setanta is attempting to stave off administration by raising funds to help pay TV rights bills, which include the Premier League, as well as the FA Cup and Scottish Premier League (SPL).
A deal has been put forward by US tycoon Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, which is reportedly offering £20m in return for a 51% stake. Big Brother maker Endemol has also been linked with an investment.
The company, which started taking new subscriptions again this week on hopes of a rescue, boasts around 1.2 million subscribers - but that is still short of the reported 1.9 million it needs to break even and customer numbers have been hit by the recession.
Setanta had suspended new subscriptions last week, prompting fears over the future of the business. It also missed a £3m payment due to the SPL under the current deal - forcing the league to pay clubs from its own pocket.
Deloitte has been lined up as administrator if the broadcaster's survival efforts fail.
Setanta was founded in 1990 by Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan.
It held the rights to show two English Premier League packages, or 46 live matches a season, until the end of next season. But it lost out in the auction for the next three-year deal to BSkyB, winning rights to show only 23 games per season against BSkyB's 115.
