Setanta Sports may be a distant memory to the UK market, but the sports channel has just launched an HD channel, on the UPC network in Ireland.
Transmissions from Setanta Ireland HD commenced last Saturday (November 27th) with coverage of Manchester United’s 7-1 Premier League drubbing of Blackburn Rovers. It is the first indigenous channel in Ireland to broadcast in high definition and is available at no extra cost to UPC subscribers.
“We announced in September that we would commence broadcasting in HD by Jan 2011, and with the help of UPC we are delighted to be able to start ahead of schedule,” said Setanta Sports CEO Colin Morgan. The channel also has coverage of Champions League and Europa League football, along with all 48 games in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Simon Kelehan, head of TV at UPC Ireland, added that the channel was part of an expansion of its HD line-up.
Setanta’s business in Great Britain went into administration in June 2009. Setanta Ireland was subsequently refinanced, though the US channel closed in January 2010.
