Ireland's first dedicated television sports channel will begin broadcasting later this summer, cable company ntl revealed today.
Setanta Sports will televise live coverage of the English Premiership and Scottish Premier League to some 340,000 ntl customers as part of a basic package.
Setanta will also have exclusive live rights to rugby's Celtic League, and more sports content will be added ahead of the launch in August.
Setanta Sports will be the fifth national and the first indigenous channel to enter the market since TV3 began in September 1998.
The company said Setanta Sports will begin broadcasting on a weekend basis in August in time for the new football season.
From January next year broadcast hours will be extended to include weekday programmes.