Pay television company Setanta took the unusual step last week of suspending its encryption technology so that fans could watch highlights of England’s World Cup qualifying match against Croatia. The move meant that anyone with access to the channel on satellite, Freeview or cable television could watch the highlights at 11.30 p.m. (after the highlights from Scotland’s game against Iceland). There had been criticism of the BBC and ITV for failing to reach a deal on the highlights with Setanta which had paid £5m for exclusive rights to broadcast the match live from Zagreb.
Pay television company Setanta took the unusual step last week of suspending its encryption technology so that fans could watch highlights of England’s World Cup qualifying match against Croatia. The move meant that anyone with access to the channel on satellite, Freeview or cable television could watch the highlights at 11.30 p.m. (after the highlights from Scotland’s game against Iceland). There had been criticism of the BBC and ITV for failing to reach a deal on the highlights with Setanta which had paid £5m for exclusive rights to broadcast the match live from Zagreb. The company was reportedly demanding £1m for the excerpts, but ITV initially refused to pay more than £250,000. It doubled its offer, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
Setanta’s decision to drive a hard bargain was based on a complex calculation of the value of the game. Apparently their view was that selling highlights to a terrestial broadcaster would have proved a disincentive to the tens of thousands of people who might have chosen to take out a subscription to Setanta. The last day before a big match is often the most fruitful for subscription. With an England win, the maximum audience figure for the highlights would have been about three million. By contrast, ITV’s live broadcast of Liverpool playing in a Champions League game drew an audience of five million and cost only £300,000.