Michael Bucks joins Setanta as chief financial officer
Setanta Sports today announces that Michael Bucks has joined the group as chief financial officer.
Michael O’Rourke and Leonard Ryan, joint chief executives, said: “We are glad to welcome Michael to Setanta. His appointment reflects the rapid growth that the company has undergone over the past year. He will have an important role to play as the business reaches a new scale and maturity.”
Michael Bucks, 44, has more than 20 years experience as an accountant and corporate financier, including nine years in the sports rights and marketing industry at Octagon and CSI. Since August 2004, he has worked as a strategic and financial consultant within the sports and entertainment sector, advising private equity and also running the private office of Michael Watt, the founder of CSI and an early backer of Setanta Sports.
Bucks was responsible for the sale of CSI to Octagon, the sports marketing arm of the Interpublic Group, in 1998, and subsequently held senior roles including chief operating officer of Octagon Marketing in EMEA and executive vice president of corporate development for Octagon Worldwide. He originally joined CSI Limited as head of business affairs.
Earlier in his career, Bucks was a director of Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance, advising a wide range of media and other companies in Europe and the Americas. He is a chartered accountant and has a degree in chemical engineering.
For more details, please contact:
Powerscourt (financial PR adviser to Setanta)
Paul Durman/Claire Melly
+44 207 250 1446
Notes to editors
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a leading international pay-TV sports broadcaster operating ten channels in the UK, Ireland, North America and Australia. Founded in 1992, its premium sports content is available to more than 50 million digital homes worldwide. Setanta operates more sports channels than any other broadcaster in the UK and Ireland. From August Setanta started broadcasting the Barclays Premier League in the UK for the first time. It also holds the rights to the majority of the away internationals that England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play in the qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Cup.
Setanta Sports is the most widely-available premium sports channel in the UK and is available to all digital homes: on satellite, via Freeview, Virgin Media, BT Vision and Tiscali, ensuring the widest possible distribution to all sports fans.
The Setanta Sports Pack is available on satellite at £9.99 per month with no annual contract. Virgin Media customers who take the XL package will receive eight Setanta channels – Setanta Sports 1, Setanta Sports 2, Setanta Golf, Racing UK, Celtic TV, Rangers TV, Liverpool TV and Arsenal TV (coming soon) – as part of their bundle. Virgin Media customers who take the M and L packages will receive these channels for £8 per month.
Setanta Sports 1, featuring the best of Setanta’s premium live content, is the first and only premium sports channel available on the Freeview (digital terrestrial) platform for £9.99 per month, with no annual contract. In November 2007, Setanta began broadcasting free-to-air on cable and satellite Setanta Sports News, a joint venture with Virgin Media with programming produced by ITN.