Not me, personally, but it's on YouTube and it's what England fans are singing on the terraces about the digital sports channel that scored an almighty own goal with its failure to sell the highlights package to the England v Croatia game. Millions of pounds in marketing undone. Nice work.
Setanta has been accused of holding fans to ransom after it paid a ridiculous amount of money for the rights for England World Cup away match qualifiers.
It paid £5m alone for England's 4-1 win in Croatia and refused to sell the highlights package for anything less than £1m.
Both figure are crazy money and it seems a pretty dumb thing to reject ITV's offer of £500,000, which seems a more than generous sum for the highlights to an England game.
The BBC has been criticised for not offering more than the £200,000 it did, but it was right to do so. Setanta can't expect other broadcasters to shell out because it overpaid.
Now Gordon Brown has waded in and expressed his disappointment that millions of fans were unable to see any of Wednesday's game other than those who picked up on the Irish broadcaster's late announcement that it was to offer its channel free to air so people could see the highlights. But even when it did this it made it as hard as it possibly could by putting them on at 11:30pm. By that time most knew the score and had given up hope. In the end the number who saw the highlights was around 222,000 viewers. Typically on BBC One or ITV you would expect as many as 4m to tune in.
The "We hate Satanta" chant (you have to give it to the terraces, it might not be inspired, but as is so often it is spot on) started after Setanta failed to sign a terrestrial highlights package for England's dull game against Andorra at the weekend. Not only were fans chanting "We hate Setanta", but they were also singing in support of the BBC.
For a broadcaster that wants to sell its sports packages to fans it is an absolutely terrible own goal and damaging to its brand. Just read what one Mark Johnson wrote in our forums: "I hope they go bust. I hope the government passes a law insisting that all national sport is available on a pay-per-view basis, at the very least. I have Sky, and I hate the brand all the more for having it. They have captured my cash, not my loyalty. Mark Johnson, researcher, planner @ www.manwith3heads.com". That's not the kind of publicity that you want. I don't remember Sky Sports ever making it to the terraces in the way that Setanta has done in its short association with top flight international football.
If this happens again Setanta's reputation will sink and it will damage the game as millions are missing out. The BBC and ITV are both said to be interested the highlights for upcoming away games, I hope they doen't over pay.
A source at ITV told the Daily Mail: "Setanta were ill advised, and have misjudged the mood of the nation. You end up just making enemies of the nation when you do this. I think they have been stung and I am sure it will get sorted now but it should not have come to this. The feeling in the industry is that this can't happen again."
The fiasco again highlights the role the FA has played in all of this. The decision should not be in the hands of broadcasters to sign side deals like this. These are national sporting events that belong to the nation (at a reasonable price, fair enough) and I’d quite like to see the goals thanks very much.
Gordon Macmillan
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