Setanta Sports has agreed to sell its business in Ukraine to Adjara Media Group for an undisclosed fee.
The deal will see the Georgian based entity take full control of Setanta Sports Ukraine, making Adjara the largest provider of sports content in the Eastern European market.
Setanta Sports operates two linear TV channels and an OTT service in Ukraine and was launched in 2019 by long-time Setanta executive Dwyer McCaughley and Setanta founder Michael O’Rourke. The channels are three years in operation and carry a large rights portfolio of international sports content. Both McCaughley and O’Rourke will remain on the Adjara board and continue to work with the CEO Giorgi Pruidze and the wider Adjara team.
Adjara Group already has significant TV operations in Eurasia following its purchase of Setanta Sports Eurasia in 2020 and now adds Ukraine to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The channels will continue to be branded Setanta Sports in all 14 markets and broadcast its portfolio of rights including English Premier League, FA Cup, Bundesliga, Belgian Pro League, SPFL, EFL Championship & Cup, UFC, Formula 1, ATP, WTA, Wimbledon, NHL, NBA, EuroLeague, Formula E and The Masters.
Setanta Sports Ukraine has distribution agreements with over 150 platform operators and is available in over 2 million homes in the market.
Commenting on the transaction, McCaughley said: “Following the sale of Setanta Sports Eurasia, the Adjara Group has already proven that they have the expertise to build an online OTT product that will transform Setanta Sports Ukraine into the market leading online sports content provider. This acquisition means sports fans in Ukraine will be offered unrivalled choice of the best international sports content across linear TV and OTT platforms with expert Ukrainian language commentary”.
Giorgi Pruidze, CEO of Setanta Sports Eurasia, added: “Ukraine is one of the most developed and competitive markets with high engagement already in OTT. Taking into consideration that Setanta Ukraine was operating across the country since 2019, covering over 2 million households, we envisioned Setanta Ukraine as the shortest path to accomplish our ambitious goals of being the go-to destination for all sports fans and offering an industry leading and unique OTT platform to Ukrainian users”.
