Trevor East is the director of Setanta Sports which is an international sports broadcaster, operating 12 channels in 24 countries. It was set up in 1990 by two Irish entrepreneurs Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan. After spending a lot of money on rights, it now airs 46 exclusive live Premiership games a season, a number of FA cup games, and International football matches. Also, it shows exclusive live PGA golf, and live Scottish Premier League football.
Setanta - named after a mythical Celtic warrior - has come a long way since it was set up by Irish entrepreneurs Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan in 1990 to beam football games to ex-pats living in London.
Backed by venture capitalist Benchmark, the live FA Cup and England games swelled Setanta's portfolio, which already includes 46 live Premiership games a season, exclusive live PGA golf (also poached from Sky) and live Scottish Premier League football.
The former deputy director of Sky Sports, East joined Setanta two years ago at a time when the group was little known outside its home market. East worked at Sky for a decade, and before that spent 22 years at ITV.
Having spent so much money on rights, Setanta now has to start seeing some returns.
It will begin showing live Premier League football matches for the first time next month, and launched a cut-price Freeview channel earlier this year for football fans who do not want to get a dish or shell out for Sky. It is targeting 1 million subscribers by the end of 2008.
Setanta - the Celtic warrior, not the sports channel - was renamed Cuchulainn after killing a vicious guard dog with his bare hands. A vicious guard dog is one thing, Sky might prove quite another.
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