Setanta Sports To Screen BDO International Grand Prix Series
** Exclusive deal with British Darts Organisation adds darts to Setanta’s growing sports portfolio **
London, 15th April 2008: A new and exciting ‘International Grand Prix’ of darts, comprising five established British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments is to be screened exclusively live by Setanta Sports from May to September 2008.
The five featured tournaments will be:
THE WELSH OPEN:
Pontin’s, Prestatyn - MAY 18th
THE BDO INTERNATIONAL OPEN:
Pontin’s, Brean Sands - JUNE 15th
THE BDO GOLD CUP:
Lakeside Country Club - JULY 12th
THE BDO BRITISH CLASSIC:
Kettering Leisure Village - JULY 26th
THE BDO BRITISH OPEN:
The Spa, Bridlington - SEPTEMBER 20th
In each event, the final stages of the Men’s Singles from the Quarter-Finals to the Final will be broadcast exclusively live on Setanta Sports. The Welsh Open will be shown from 7pm to 12.30am, and the remaining four events will each be screened from 6.30pm to midnight.
Although each tournament will be ‘stand-alone’, they will be played under a generic ‘umbrella’ International Grand Prix title, with points being awarded from Quarter-Finals to Final.
Trevor East, Director of Sport at Setanta Sports, said: “As part of our commitment to a wide variety of sports, we are extremely happy to be working alongside the BDO to bring this series of top darts tournaments to our viewers. Darts is an exciting sport with great across-the-board appeal, and we look forward to a successful liaison with the BDO and its players.”
Olly Croft, Managing Director of BDO Enterprises, said: “This latest innovation for BDO televised darts, is a clear indication that in its 35th Anniversary Year the BDO continues to move forward and look after the future of our sport.
“We are delighted that BDO darts and its players will be screened by Setanta Sports, and the series of five live ‘International Grand Prix’ tournaments perfectly complements our two majors – the Lakeside World Professional and the Winmau World Masters - on BBC terrestrial TV.
“It gives the BDO a portfolio of seven televised tournaments with the real potential of providing opportunities for fresh, as well as established names, to become the darts stars and characters of today and tomorrow”.
Setanta Sports is available for £9.99 a month to satellite viewers, via a Freeview box or an iDTV viewing card adaptor (CAM) and on BT Vision and Tiscali. Virgin Media XL pack subscribers can see Setanta for no additional charge, whilst M and L pack subscribers can add the Setanta Sports Pack for Just £9.99 per month.
For information on how to subscribe, go to: setanta.com or call 08712 10 20 30. Virgin Media, BT Vision and Tiscali customers should contact their operator.
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For further information regarding Setanta Sports, contact: James Matheson, Richard Tompkins or Sally Payne at Braben on: 020 566 2990 or email james@braben.co.uk / richardt@braben.co.uk / sally@braben.co.uk
Notes to the editors:
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a leading international pay-TV sports broadcaster operating nine 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. 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, Tiscali, BT Vision and by Broadband, ensuring the widest possible distribution to all sports fans. Setanta Sports is the only broadcaster of premium sports on digital terrestrial (Freeview). The Setanta Sports 1 channel, featuring the best of Setanta’s premium live content, is available on Freeview boxes and digital TVs with viewing card slots.
The Setanta Sports Pack is available to satellite and cable customers and is made up of the following channels:
Setanta Sports 1
Setanta Sports 2
Setanta Golf
Racing UK
NASN (North American Sports Network)*
Celtic TV
Rangers TV
LFC TV
Arsenal TV*
Setanta Sports is also available online, live and on demand, via Setanta by Broadband, featuring all Setanta’s leading content offered on Setanta Sports 1, Setanta Sports 2 and Setanta Golf, allowing sports fans to access at home, work or elsewhere.
For a full list of Setanta Sports’ exclusively live sporting content and fixture details, please visit www.setanta.com. Content includes Barclays Premier League football, Indian Premier League cricket, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, Blue Square Premier, US PGA Golf, Live Magners League rugby, top-flight boxing, Ultimate Fighting Championship and action from some of Europe’s best football leagues. From 2008, Setanta’s exclusively live content will include the FA Cup, England international friendlies and 2010 World Cup qualifiers involving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Setanta Sports is available from £9.99 a month, with no annual contract required. For the latest pricing offers on any platform, please visit www.setanta.com or call 08712 10 20 30.
Setanta Sports is also joint owner with Virgin Media of Setanta Sports News, the new 24-hour sports news channel, available free-to-air on the Virgin Media platform, and also on satellite, covering all the top sports stories from the UK and abroad. Setanta Sports News provides viewers with the breaking sports headlines that matter every 20 minutes, delivered by a pool of presenters and multi-skilled reporters in the field, as well as supported by regular views and opinions from fan correspondents across the UK. Setanta Sports News EPG number on Virgin Media is 518. The satellite EPG number is 435. *not available to Virgin Media customers