Will Setanta screw Dutch League again this year?

[matty311]

I live in Canada, so my viewing of the Dutch league last year was restricted to games that Setanta would show during bar hours, so I could watch at a pub(lots of games would be on at 630am). But since Setanta is finally available in Canada I was very excited to be able to watch the Dutch league week in and week out at home. But I remember lots of weekends last year when they wouldnt show any Dutch games at all. And today, I checked the listings for Setanta during the weekend of the 18th and 19th and they dont have any Dutch games listed for the opening round of fixtures. Is it that hard to fit in one game a week, even a tape delay Sunday night, or even Monday morning is fine? Any thoughts.

[Força Sporting]

IMHO, Setanta will only show matches that involve PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord and AZ against each other. Please don't take this as a slight against the Eredivisie, because I love the football played in Holland, but there just isn't a demand for it. I'm Portuguese and I pay $329 for the Portuguese PPV package on ExpressVu, and I know that had this option not existed, I wouldn't watch any matches unless the Big 3 (Sporting, Porto and Benfica) faced each other. The best thing that you can do is e-mail Setanta to let them know that you are interested in watching more Dutch football, and encourage those that like Dutch football to do likewise. Good luck :)

[MrEleganza]

IMHO, Setanta will only show matches that involve PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord and AZ against each other.

Last year I can remember at least a couple games they showed that involved teams other than those four (although, to be sure, at least one of those four).

The full schedule kicks off the 18th, right? As I write this, we can only "see" their listings up to the 20th on their website. So maybe they will show something Tuesday or Wednesday.

[HDSports]

I live in Canada, so my viewing of the Dutch league last year was restricted to games that Setanta would show during bar hours, so I could watch at a pub(lots of games would be on at 630am). But since Setanta is finally available in Canada I was very excited to be able to watch the Dutch league week in and week out at home. But I remember lots of weekends last year when they wouldnt show any Dutch games at all. And today, I checked the listings for Setanta during the weekend of the 18th and 19th and they dont have any Dutch games listed for the opening round of fixtures. Is it that hard to fit in one game a week, even a tape delay Sunday night, or even Monday morning is fine? Any thoughts.

Check over the next couple of days, and there might be a listing for a tape delayed match shown during the week. In addition, Setanta makes changes all the time....if you look at the current schedule, they still list the Blackburn-Arsenal game on the 18th, and that game was moved to Sunday several days ago after Blackburn found that they had to go to Finland the Thursday night before the game for a UEFA Cup qualifier.

But all too often in the case of Dutch football, Setanta unfortunately seems to rely on telecasts from Setanta Ireland for their broadcasts. Their only 'live' timeslot was 6:30 am Sunday, and it was often preempted if there was anything else to show. I recall one Sunday when there wasn't even an EPL match on early, and a Dutch game on their initial schedule. AS the weekend approached, the game was removed, and a Scottish game was put in. That game was scheduled for a 9 am kickoff, but the telecast started an hour before that and so conflicted with the second half of the Dutch 6:30 match.

With most Coca Cola Championship matches being shown at 12:15 on Saturdays this year instead of the previous Friday 2:30 pm spot, it would be great if Setanta put on the 'Friday night' Dutch game live in that slot. I am not hopeful though, because Setanta does not give the league any kind of prioirty. And you will get to notice that, except if its a Premiership game or Champions League, Setanta chooses one match over another rather than show both. (A good example of this is this coming Monday, where there is a Scottish League match available (they showed one last Monday), but they've chosen to show a first round Carling Cup match instead. The game from Scotland will not be seen at all, even on delay).

Incidentally, good news for you if you like the Premiership. In Canada, Setanta wil show ALL games but two on weekends (one Saturday 10 am match goes to the Score, and the 11 am Sunday match goes to Rogers).

[Arjen_Robben1]

Does Setanta have a highlight show for the eredivisie?

[themaestro]

It did have the 1hr long highlights show last year. I guess the same this =year.

[matty311]

Hmmmm.......There is no listing for any Eredivise game this coming Sunday on Setanta USA or Canada, as well as the following weekend. Are they going to show this league at all??

[golazo_usa]

I saw some Dutch soccer highlights program last year on BVN TV. It is
broadcasted FTA to the US and available recently OTA on a
digital sub-channel of WNVC (57-3), DC area public channel.

I don't know how long BVN will be on WNVC 57-3 but check out the program on Monday nights. They repeat the programming for every 6-8 hour block.

This from the BVN website (sorry for the Babel Fish translation):

BVN football are transmitted on Monday night. BVN football offer summaries of all - in the weekend played - games of the Dutch eredivisievoetbal you. Each week live presented Mari Carmen Oudendijk from Rnw-studio in hilversum.


Org. Dutch text:

BVN Voetbal wordt uitgezonden op maandagavond. BVN Voetbal biedt u samenvattingen van alle - in het weekend gespeelde - wedstrijden van het Nederlandse eredivisievoetbal. Elke week live gepresenteerd door Mari Carmen Oudendijk vanuit de RNW-studio in Hilversum.

[golazo_usa]

OK, show times for the 1hr highlights program are:

BVN VOETBAL, Mondays 2:45 pm EDT (8:45 pm Amsterdam)
BVN VOETBAL, Tuesdays 2:45 am EDT (8:45 am Amsterdam)

[Persian Luis Figo]

I'm disappointed with Setanta regarding Eredivisie matters too!

I was very much looking forward to seeing ONE game per week. I don't think that's too much to ask and considering we don't even mind if we don't get it LIVE, I really expected them to come through with it.

But the league has already started and no fixtures from the opening round were shown and still no concerte news on whether we will have any Dutch league coverage on Setanta this year or not! :confused:

[danielmak]

The "again" in the subject line is a little misleading because the coverage last year was okay given the recent ranking of the Eredivise (i.e., non-Eredivise fans are most likely going to tune in when the big 3 are playing), but Setanta truly has screwed the Dutch fans this year. So far they are showing a highlights show only. I have to say that the overall quality of the channel has dropped noticeably this season. First, they are adding more general highlights shows. Who needs this when we've already got highlights shows for each league and the CL? Second, they have radically increased the quantity of rugby and Australian Rules. As a futbol fan I understand the need for a channel that will provide fans of sports beyond the big 4 (plus Tennis/Golf) with an outlet. At the same time, I'm bummed that that has come at the expense of futbol offerings on Setanta. Finally, if I am correct in my count, the Setanta schedule for the next week has Boro-Newcastle showing 5 times. My god, these two mid-table dwellers don't need to be shown that much especially since most Setanta subscribers are likely wearing out their DVR, DVD-R, or VCR. I understand showing a match a couple times (I wish they would have done that with the first leg of Celtic-Spartak since my dish was out during the first half of the game and these knuckleheads only showed the game once) but 5 times? At least one of these slots could have been used for a Dutch league game. Take care.

[HDSports]

If you go to soccertv.com, Setanta has its ad up at the top of the page as always. However, they no longer mention the Eredivisie as part of the Setanta Sports USA Channel and their tv promos for the month mentions the French Ligue 1, but not the Dutch league.

I would normally conclude that they do not have the rights this year (they do have Dutch games on their schedule in Great Britain...PSV v. NEC this weekend), but then again, the highlights show continues to be seen here....there are early Dutch (6:30 am Sunday) games scheduled for September 2nd and they are showing a rerun of a BPL Saturday game in that timeslot, so draw your own conclusions.

...and with the Rugby World Cup on the horizon, I expect we'll be looking through listings more and more trying to find the delayed soccer broadcasts.


Just a thought...if the rights are available, GOL TV should grab them...without Serie A this year, they start their Sunday schedule at 11 am ET.. They can put on live Dutch soccer at 8:30 am Sunday (and even the occasional earlier 6:30 am game). I suspect that Setanta might still own the rights but are just not showing the games :confused:

[Persian Luis Figo]

Finally, if I am correct in my count, the Setanta schedule for the next week has Boro-Newcastle showing 5 times. My god, these two mid-table dwellers don't need to be shown that much especially since most Setanta subscribers are likely wearing out their DVR, DVD-R, or VCR. I understand showing a match a couple times (I wish they would have done that with the first leg of Celtic-Spartak since my dish was out during the first half of the game and these knuckleheads only showed the game once) but 5 times? At least one of these slots could have been used for a Dutch league game.

Well said!!

I'm happy Setanta has got EPL coverage but my god... the hype is over the top and it's affected the channel badly for some of us.

Next thing you know, they'll kick French football (Ligue 1) out, just so they can show and repeat even more EPL games. :rolleyes:

I'm not a huge Eredivisie fan by any means. But I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to following the league with at least ONE match per week since I already watch several from the top leagues (EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundi and Ligue 1) but now it looks like, we might not even be getting that ONE game. :rolleyes:

[HDSports]

Well said!!

Next thing you know, they'll kick French football (Ligue 1) out, just so they can show and repeat even more EPL games. :rolleyes:



Look at the Setanta schedule for the next two Sundays: the 3 pm French game is pushed back to 10 pm both times. This Sunday it is for a live Rugby exhibition game, but on September 2, looks like what you feared: an afternoon of EPL reruns preempts the live Ligue 1 match.

Sunday, August 26th

3pm
Rugby
Setanta Challenge Cup USA Eagles v Munster LIVE

10pm
Soccer
Le Championnat Lyon v St. Etienne

Sunday, September 2nd

2pm
Soccer
EPL Teams TBC

3:45pm
Soccer
EPL Arsenal v Portsmouth

10am
Soccer
Le Championnat Teams TBC

[HDSports]

Mixed news! Setanta has updated their schedule to include Saturdays PSV v. NEC game...it will be shown Sunday night at 10 pm

...of course, they did it at the expense of showing the Lyon - St. Etienne Ligue 1 match, which has now disappeared from the scheudle. (They show a rerun of PSG-Lille on Monday but the other game is not shown at all)

[HDSports]

Mixed news! Setanta has updated their schedule to include Saturdays PSV v. NEC game...it will be shown Sunday night at 10 pm

...of course, they did it at the expense of showing the Lyon - St. Etienne Ligue 1 match, which has now disappeared from the scheudle. (They show a rerun of PSG-Lille on Monday but the other game is not shown at all)

On the bright side, they now are showing the second French game (2:45 pm - Nice v. Lens) on Sept 2nd live.

[Persian Luis Figo]

What the ********!!! Now I'm even MORE pissed off!! :mad:

They're not gonna be showing OL vs. Les Verts at all?!!?!? :eek: :confused:

It is the big derby and after so many years, this time St. Etienne will have a good chance of putting one past their local rivals, since OL is in bad form right now and confidence is nowhere near as high as it used to be.

Man.. I knew Setanta getting EPL rights would eventually be the downfall of the channel for some like me. I love EPL. It's my fav league. But hell no... I don't want it when it means I get 9 matches from that and 1 from some others. A little bit of balance is all we ask for.

Show your 2 Ligue 1 games and preferably live since they're always only Sunday ones anyway and show your Eredivisie game, and we can live with 6-7 EPL games repeated once or twice. Not repeated N times.

[themaestro]

They do some of the dumbest things.

:(

Hopefully they show OL V St. Ettiene at some point.
And their schedule for the Dutch is league is nearly impossible to follow.

[danielmak]

I think the commercials during the EuroQ/Friendlies noted both Ligue 1 games. I would set the DVR via Manual Recording just in case the Lyon-St. Etienne game runs. As I noted in my post above, Setanta's Web site is not always accurate, which truly is amazing. If they don't what they're showing....

Of course by Sunday evening (according to the Web site) Liverpool-Sunderland will have aired three times. I am a Liverpool fan, but three times in two days when there are other games (Eredivisie/Ligue 1) that could be shown is ridiculous. Take care.

[Persian Luis Figo]

I've sent them an email now telling them about my concerns.