By my reckoning they are 2 live EPL games down. Two have gone to TSN2 and one to Sportsnet 1 but one has come from the Score. Also, Sat at 10am they still have the first choice game. Whether you want to watch or not there has been an increase in English Championship games including one which replaces the French Sunday game (preferable I would say) and two which compete with early Sat TSN2 and Sportsnet 1 games. There also has been the addition of some magazine programs including a Friday EPL preview. Carling Cup and FA Cup as well as rugby through the season remains unchanged. Additionally any Tuesday/Wed EPL games remain with Setanta.

Setanta are only down 1 game a week. Every week there is either a Saturday 7:45 or Monday 3:00, usually not both. They also lost first pick on Saturday 10:00 on weeks when TSN2 has a game in that timeslot.

Sportsnet will have some Tuesday Premier League games, but I'd guess that Setanta will have first pick.

I think that the loss of Ligue 1 (and probably Russian Premier League after this season) has hurt them, but really the channel has always been all about the English leagues and cups, with everything else being secondary anyway.

Thanks all for the heads-up on where to view the Man City v Liverpool fixture. I normally have previously grouped and checked 400, 410, 412, besides the Setanta 420 channel, so I need to make yet a further addition to the recent inclusion of the 1414 HD channel. Even the previous routine of checking 10.am. and 3.pm. time slots has been further affected with the Setanta "1st Airings" which can appear in any time slot of their choosing, but at least their web site helps in that regard.

I certainly do have to survey the businesses involved in the 400 series more closely, for sad to say I do not have a clue when it comes down to the inner workings of the parties behind the disseminating of UK & European soccer games to the Canadian TV viewers. I've just read a posting from NB Josh, who stated: "Sportsnet simply wanted to sell a package of 1-2 games a week to TSN so they could make some money off the package." Whose money are we talking about here, Bell's or subscribers' ?

All this carving up of the fixtures to some selected partnerships is certainly not doing any favours for the fans who subscribe, for it has now dawned on me that by permitting TSN2 to telecast games makes those matches freely available to anyone ... for now, so why are we not seeing a lowering of the Setanta Sports monthly subscription fee ? Or will TSN2 now start to want subscriptions since they bought this game from Sportsnet ?

I am, on the other hand, quite pleased to see the LIVE telecasts on channel 1414 enhanced by the studio discussions prior to, during the interval and at the conclusion of the match. Certainly beats hands down the constant irritating "Setanta Sports" yelling of so-called promos and other time-filling segments. However, I find the 'carving up' of what was formerly a straight-forward subscription very disconcerting.

I've just read a posting from NB Josh, who stated: "Sportsnet simply wanted to sell a package of 1-2 games a week to TSN so they could make some money off the package." Whose money are we talking about here, Bell's or subscribers' ?
Rogers would be getting money from TSN2 (CTVglobemedia and ESPN) for that package of games. It has nothing to do with Bell or any other provider. Of course that also makes TSN2 a slightly more desirable channel, so in the end they get some money back by way of subscriptions.

They also lost first pick on Saturday 10:00 on weeks when TSN2 has a game in that timeslot.

So when there is no early match on Saturday TSN2 gets the first choice, Setanta 2nd, and regular Sportsnet 3rd?

Essientially. TSN2 has to air the same match as ESPN2 in the States and ESPN2 has first choice on those weeks. Setanta was originally scheduled to have Arsenal-Blackpool until ESPN2 picked it up in the US the past Saturday.

"Thanks all for the heads-up on where to view the Man City v Liverpool fixture"

You can always fall back on: http://footballtvcanada.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Pontcanna, that's really a great help. It's nice to see that individuals go to such lengths to help their fellow soccer fans.

...odd problem. Sentanta SD and HD both are gone from my lineup, even when I 'view all' on Telus Sat. Anyone still see it on Bell? Im not a subscriber but just wondering WTH is going on.

Well we pulled the pin on Setanta. We only had it for the EPL games and the occasional international friendly. Now we can watch all of the EPL games on Sportsnet's streaming service for the same price. I get the feeling that Canada's broadcasters sense that soccer is gaining popularity so they're dividing the pie to get maximum short term revenue. They certainly aren't making it easy or affordable. :(

Back to square one. Awful picture today for the Sevilla/Braga game. Like night and day compared to the TSN games.

This is now trying my patience. On Saturday at noon for $15/month for Setanta we get to watch Leicester vs Reading or if you can get Sportsnet One you get to see the Manchester Utd vs West Ham. Being a Bell customer I am without control of what I can watch (I would gladly pay to watch any BPL games) and as said before in these forums I am held hostage. I wonder why people still enter the "grey market" where you can see any game. Get rid of the CRTC and let the freedom begin.

I wonder why people still enter the "grey market" where you can see any game. Get rid of the CRTC and let the freedom begin.What does this have to do with the CRTC? You can't get Sportsnet One because of issues between Bell and Rogers - it has nothing to do with the CRTC. This is strictly an issue around commercial rights for the EPL and it has nothing to do with a regulatory body.

You often get the same issues in the US, such as when there was a dispute between some of the NYC cable companies and YESnetwork which carries the NY Yankees.

What does this have to do with the CRTC? You can't get Sportsnet One because of issues between Bell and Rogers - it has nothing to do with the CRTC. This is strictly an issue around commercial rights for the EPL and it has nothing to do with a regulatory body.

You often get the same issues in the US, such as when there was a dispute between some of the NYC cable companies and YESnetwork which carries the NY Yankees.
It has nothing to do with commercial rights for the EPL perse. Rogers controls those rights and apparently can do whatever they please with them. Unfortunately that includes switching games to Sportsnet One BEFORE everyone has access to them and therefore using those rights as a bargaining tool to force other carriers to sign on or to come over to Rogers.

And it has plenty to do with the CRTC because if they had any gonads, they would never allow carriers to have their own channels and use them to browbeat others.

It has nothing to do with commercial rights for the EPL perse. Rogers controls those rights and apparently can do whatever they please with them. Unfortunately that includes switching games to Sportsnet One BEFORE everyone has access to them and therefore using those rights as a bargaining tool to force other carriers to sign on or to come over to Rogers.

And it has plenty to do with the CRTC because if they had any gonads, they would never allow carriers to have their own channels and use them to browbeat others.

I agree. In order to obtain a license to broadcast as Sportsnet One it has to be approved by the CRTC and the CRTC knows exactly what they are showing for programming with that license. If Rogers can play games then I should be able to take my $15/month elsewhere and legally go south of the border.

It used to read "Canada, the telephone company country" maybe that honor now lies with Rogers.

The CRTC gives them a license to have a channel, in this case Sportsnet One, and the games played between Rogers, Bell, Shaw, etc are different and have nothing to do with the CRTC.

The US does not have the CRTC but it has the exact same issues. Read this (http://www.multichannel.com/article/55082-YES_Carriage_Deal_Craters.php) story from 2003 about the Yankees and NYC cable companies.

There have been similar issues with the NFL Network in the last couple of years.

The channel owners and the BDUs are playing a game of chicken and holding the customers hostage. It is happening more frequently now since there is more concentration of ownership and the BDUs and channel owners are often part of the same conglomerates. A very similar issue kept Rogers customers from receiving TSN2 and a whole bunch of Raptors games in 2008-9.

But if you abolished the CRTC it would mean that you could start a new channel whenever you want but you are own your own to negotiate carriage with BDUs. How is that any different than when the CRTC exists. Do you want the CRTC to mandate Sportsnet One as a "must carry" channel?

No, I want the CRTC to mandate an open and free market where the CONSUMER decides what they do and don't want to watch and pay for. I also want them to mandate that companies like Rogers don't use the consumers as pawns to get their own way.

Getting back to the actual thread. Setanta HD still has a lousy picture. And if they don't improve it soon, people will vote with their money and spend it elsewhere. What a disastrous way to handle a free preview...drive customers away.

And it has plenty to do with the CRTC because if they had any gonads, they would never allow carriers to have their own channels and use them to browbeat others.
That is the opposite of this.
Get rid of the CRTC and let the freedom begin.Some want the CRTC to regulate more and some want less.
Why blame Rogers when you can blame the CRTC?:rolleyes:

I am finally going to drop Setanta (SD) completely. The quality is poor and at times unwatchable, and there is no HD from Shaw any time soon (even that may not be an improvement from what I see in this forum). I'm going to subscribe to premierleaguelive.tv instead. The feed is not cable TV quality, but neither is Setanta and with that I have more choices on which games I get to see. I don't think they offer any Champions League action, but I'll wait until later and see how that (and Sportsnet One) plays out.

I'm going to subscribe to premierleaguelive.tv instead. The feed is not cable TV quality, but neither is Setanta and with that I have more choices on which games I get to see. I don't think they offer any Champions League action, but I'll wait until later and see how that (and Sportsnet One) plays out.

The quality is superior to Setanta SD and, as I mentioned earlier, it is on a par with the TSNHD F1 coverage (upconverted widescreen). At least I can make out the names on the shirts of players watching on premierleaguelive.tv.