Setanta difficulties: Your views

Readers say they cannot subscribe using the website

Setanta faces administration "within days" unless backers provide more funds to pay £30m it owes to the English Premier League, reports have suggested.

The broadcaster has already failed to pay the Scottish Premier League £3m it owes in television rights money.

Setanta, which also shows cricket, golf and rugby union, has about 1.2 million subscribers but is losing up to £100m a year, analysts say.

BBC News website readers have been sending their comments about Setanta's current situation.

Have subscribed to Setanta over the last two years, mainly because Sky stopped broadcasting Australian Rugby League which is now currently shown on Setanta. The best channel on the Setanta Sports Package though is ESPN America with College Football, NASCAR, Major League Baseball along with such shows as Round The Horn. It will be a very sad day if Setanta stops broadcasting and all these great sports are lost to the U.K. public.
Richard Stone, Bridgend

Setanta appear to have stopped signing up new subscribers. The "subscribe now" part of the website does not work and if you phone them they say they cannot accept new subscriptions at the moment
Simon Wood, London

All I can say is good riddance to them. I paid for a subscription and I never once got a signal to my house. When I demanded my money back they tried every trick in the book to wriggle out of it. You cannot speak to anyone on the phone who has the power to grant refunds. Their cancellations office is based in Ireland and you must write to them. They take 6 weeks to reply and any subsequent remittance is also 6 weeks away. I feel sorry for the people working for them if they lose their jobs, but as a company I could not care less.
Jimbo, London

When I tried to cancel they told me a date my service would end and carried on taking my money for 3 months after. They only stopped when my credit card company threatened them.
John, Leeds

I for one am very happy that Setanta are going to the wall. I and everyone I know has cancelled due to the amazingly poor customer service. You pay in advance for the service; I called to cancel, they charged me for the month then cut me off!! So I paid for a month with no service. I complained and they said they did nothing wrong, then started to send me letters asking me to subscribe!
Mr Jones, Wirral

I have been a subscriber for some time and Setanta has been extremely disappointing. Poor transmitting service, the slightest bit of rain or high winds and i lose all Setanta channels. I will be cancelling my subscription.
Javan Dupree, Belfast

As an example of Setanta's customer service, I called their loosely termed helpline to report that I had lost picture during the Croatia v England World Cup qualifier last season. I was told I just had to wait until it stopped raining and the picture would come back!
Phil, Manchester

Good. Sorry for anyone facing losing their job due to this but great news. When the EU announced due the competition right, that Sky's monopoly had to be broken, it should have also stipulated that the rights could not be shared between two pay for broadcasters, this helped nobody having Sky and Setanta share it. They should have sold the main rights to the highest bidder (Sky or Setanta) and then the rest to the highest terrestrial bidder. Brings the game to more people and doesn't require people to pay to subscriptions to see all the football.The death of Setanta is a good day for football.
James Buckley, Leicester

I'm not surprised Setanta is going downhill. I've made several attempts to cancel my subscription over the past 2 years and always get fobbed off, cut off etc. I've grown to accept the money leaving my account for channels I barely watch.
Steven, Lancaster, Lancashire

The money Setanta have put into Scottish football is a very small amount compared to what Sky put into the English Premiership, so hopefully a decent company will now buy the rights to the SPL and show decent coverage whilst offering good money to the Scottish teams. If no Scottish football is shown on tv this season then it will be a travesty.
Mr Campbell, Kilwinning

I am really angry at Setanta, as this was for Scottish football fans, our only option to see a game on a weekly basis. But at the same time Setanta are not a very customer focussed organisation, I have had to call them on a couple of occasions due to me losing signal and bad picture quality, they were not helpful or very customer friendly. Unprofessional.
Calum Gorrie, Perth

The fact Setanta are going to go bust is a disgrace. They have taken on too much by trying to brake into the English football TV market when they should could have won quite a lot of football fans if they scrapped the money from that idea and shifted into showing European leagues such as Italy, Portugal, Belgium, and also the US, as well as the Dutch, German, and French leagues that they did go for.
Colin Stewart, Glasgow

Never mind the Premier league and the SPL, what about the Conference teams games being viewed next year?
Darren, Oxford

I am a US Setanta subscriber, and the service we get here is superb. We get big games every week, 2 games each on Saturday and Sunday, one live and one delayed, plus much, much more. ESPN have the Champions League rights here and they have no feel for Football at all. I'm a bit distressed about this news to be honest.
Steve Rodgers, New York, USA

I am a subscriber to Setanta and not having the service they provide will radically change my life. Every Saturday and Sunday I "veg" out in front of the idiot box watching the EPL games -I am an addict- I need help!! On the other hand the wife and kids might enjoy being able to watch something other than football all weekend!
LoftusRoadLad, Burke, USA

I am a UK ex-pat and like many compatriots here took out a subscription to Setanta in Canada per my local Ontario cable company as soon as it became available several years ago. For soccer lovers it is our main access to The Prem, FA Cup, and some international games, so would be sorely missed if dropped. It is usual here though to cancel subscriptions June-August during the off-season as there is no interest in Gaelic, hurling, Oz rules or Australian rugby.
Edgar McCullins, Bradford, Ontario, Canada

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