Eir Sport (stylised as eir Sport; formerly Setanta Sports) was a group of Irish television sports channels operated by Eircom Sport Limited, a subsidiary of Eir. In December 2015, Eir purchased original Setanta Sports operations in the Republic of Ireland, which the company rebranded as Eir Sport on 5 July 2016.

History

In the wake of the financial difficulties of Setanta GB, it was reported in June 2009 by

RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs ( ga, Nuacht agus Cúrsaí Reatha RTÉ), also known as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Its services include local, nationa ...

that the original Setanta Sports channel, Setanta Ireland, might be bought out by an existing consortium who already hold interests in Setanta Sport Holdings Ltd., the Irish arm of Setanta Sports. Setanta Sports Ireland and Setanta Sports North America were the only brands which made a profit in 2008. In July 2009, the ownership structure of Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited (previously Setanta Sports Ireland Ltd) changed. Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited was co-owned by Gaiety Investments (60% share) with the remaining 40% share made up by Danu Partners Limited. The main shareholders in Danu are Michael O'Rourke, Leonard Ryan, and Mark O'Meara. Danu purchased 100% of the shares in Setanta Sports North America Limited which was disposed of in early 2010. Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Limited is licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The Setanta business in Ireland has managed to survive, making a strong recovery since the adversity in Great Britain. The company continued its resurrection by employing a further 50 employees in February 2010. Colin Morgan, formerly CEO of Quinn Direct Insurance, joined the Setanta Ireland business in October 2010. In June 2013 it was announced that Setanta Sports would carry the new BT Sport channels as part of its overall sports package for Irish viewers. The deal added 38 live Premier League games to its television package and brought to 71 the total number of top-flight English matches on offer to Irish subscribers for the following three years. In 2015, it was announced that Eir were in the process of buying Setanta's remaining Irish operations (Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1). The deal also included the sale of the Setanta Sports Pack which includes BT Sport. On 5 July 2016, Setanta Sports was renamed Eir Sport. In May 2021, it was announced that eir Sport would cease operations by the end of 2021.

Channels

* Eir Sport 1 – formerly Setanta Ireland (Ceased broadcasting on October 28th 2021) * Eir Sport 2 – formerly Setanta Sports 1 (Ceased broadcasting on July 20th 2021) * Eir Sport X1 – only available on

Eir TV Eircom Limited, trading as Eir ( ; stylised eir), is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The now privatised company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to the Ireland's former ...

(Ceased broadcasting on July 20th 2021) * Eir Sport X2 – only available on

(Ceased broadcasting on July 20th 2021) * Eir Sport UHD – only available on

(Ceased broadcasting on July 20th 2021) In addition to the television channels above, Eir Sport also distributes the following BT Sport channels in the Republic of Ireland: BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3,

BT Sport ESPN BT Sport 4 is a British sports television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA and the BT Group. It is part of the BT Sport group of channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and is predominantly focused on sports from North America. ...

and BoxNation

Sports coverage

Eir Sport offered sports from several countries around the world programming of sports such as football,

gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

, hurling, golf, cricket, Australian rules football, boxing, NHL ice hockey and rugby union and league. In May 2018, it was announced that Eir Sport would broadcast all 152 games in the Pro14 rugby union competition from the 2018-19 season after agreeing a three-year deal.

Availability

Eir Sport services are included in the cost of the Eir Sport package on Eir Broadband. Eir Sport services are also available through Sky Ireland,

and

Vodafone TV Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vodafo ...

. The channels were previously available to the customers of what is now Virgin Media Ireland. In February 2010, the Setanta Ireland channel was available to entire subscribers of the cable TV provider as a basic channel in Ireland. From August 2016, Virgin Media Ireland no longer has Eir Sport (and BT Sport) channels available to customers.

High definition

Setanta Sports launched Ireland's first high-definition channel. The channel was announced in September 2010, and later launched as Setanta HD February 2011, exclusively on UPC Ireland. The Dublin v

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Gaelic football encounter on 5 February 2011 was Ireland's first broadcast of Gaelic games in high definition.Setanta to broadcast GAA matches in HD
Business and Leadership, 1 February 2011

References

External links

* {{EngvarB, date=June 2014 1990 establishments in Ireland Television channels and stations established in 1990 Sports television channels in Ireland Television networks in Ireland 2021 disestablishments in Ireland Television channels and stations disestablished in 2021