Setanta Get Irish Rights to Live Broadcast London 2012 Paralympics

Irish fans will see live coverage of the Paralympics for the first time after Setanta secured the TV rights for the event.

All coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be broadcast on a freeview basis on the Setanta Ireland channel.

Setanta Sports also confirmed that they will be showing this coverage on a ‘freeview’ basis on Setanta Ireland. This means that the coverage on the Setanta Ireland channel on satellite will be unencrypted so that all viewers in Sky homes will have free access to the channel whether they are a Setanta subscriber or not. This combined with the Setanta Ireland channel being free on UPC and the Setanta player being available in all eircom broadband homes means that approximately 1.3 million households will be able to view the games.

Present at the launch were five Irish Paralympic athletes who are targeting success at London 2012. Mark Rohan, buy Orla Barry, bronchi Padraic Moran, pills Eimear Breathnach and Darragh McDonald were delighted to know that those friends and family who won’t be able to make it to London will still have a chance to see them compete.

Brian Quinn Marketing Director of Setanta Sports commented “We are delighted to be broadcasting the games on a freeview basis. This means that the majority of Irish households will be able to follow the Irish performances. I would like to pay tribute to Allianz for their support. They are not simply a sponsor of our coverage, they have played a far bigger role than that. Without them live Paralympics TV coverage would not be seen in Ireland. We appreciate their vision and are very thankful to have the opportunity to bring live coverage to the friends, families and fans of Irish Paralympians.”

Brendan Murphy CEO of Allianz Ireland added “For the first time ever Irish audiences will witness the achievements of Team Ireland as they happen, which for Allianz, as a long-time partner of the Paralympic Movement, was seen as a fundamental need in the Irish market. By supporting Paralympics Ireland and Irish athletes, Allianz supports their quest for medals but also, through our association with Setanta, to drive awareness of the Paralympic movement and provide live, real time access to all that is achieved.”

Liam Harbison CEO of Paralympics Ireland, said: “This is a momentous announcement for Irish Paralympic sport. The Irish Team are on the cusp of great success at London 2012 and we’re thrilled that the support of Setanta and Allianz will allow the Irish public to view, admire and be inspired by the achievements of Ireland’s elite Paralympians. Paralympic sport at the top level is exciting, gripping and ferociously competitive – we look forward to Setanta bringing this to Irish sports fans.”

by Ismail Uddin