Eir Sport 2
eir Sport 2 (formerly Setanta Sports 1) is an Irish pay television channel owned by Setanta Sports Channel Ireland.[1]
| eir Sport 2 | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2004 (as Setanta Sports 1) |
| Owned by | Eir |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Country | Ireland |
| Broadcast area | Ireland Northern Ireland |
| Formerly called | Setanta Sports 1 (2004–2016) |
| Sister channel(s) | Eir Sport 1, Virgin Media Sport |
| Website | www.eirsport.ie |
Availability | |
| IPTV | |
| Eir Vision | Channel 406 Channel 421 (HD) |
The channel carries coverage of association football (including top-flight European leagues and UEFA Europa League), boxing, golf, motorsport, and coverage of the SSE Airtricity League.
On 16 December 2013 Setanta Sports launched a high-definition of Setanta Sports 1. Setanta Sports 1 HD was first exclusively available through Virgin Media Ireland, but later launched on Sky on 20 July 2015, along with Premier Sports HD.[2]
On 15 August 2019, eir Sport and Virgin Media Sport contracted a deal to show Virgin Media Sport on eir Vision and eir Sport 1 on Virgin Media Ireland.[3]
Broadcast rights
Most of these air on both Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1 and are shared between the two channels. In some instances (largely football coverage) Setanta only possess Republic of Ireland rights, during such programming the channel is unavailable in Northern Ireland. Conversely, live coverage of GAA Championship matches is available only in Northern Ireland and not the Republic.
Club football
International football
- Copa América
- Friendly matches, typically on a once-off basis
Gaelic Athletic Association
- GAA Football National League
- GAA Hurling National League
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (Live coverage in Northern Ireland, Deferred (not same day) in the Republic of Ireland)
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (Live coverage in Northern Ireland, Deferred (not same day) in the Republic of Ireland)
Rugby Union
- IRB Rugby World Cup
- Pro14 (Deferred/highlights only from September 2010 onwards)
- Exclusive rights to the highlights of the RBS 6 Nations
- Certain international rugby union Test games on a one-off basis
- IRB Sevens
Rugby League
Other programming
Setanta's major in-house programme is The Sports Show (formerly The Hub) which airs daily. It also simulcasts the radio show Off The Ball from Newstalk.
Setanta Sports Cup
Setanta was the sponsor of the Setanta Sports Cup, an annual soccer tournament which featured teams from the League of Ireland and Irish Football League.
Availability
As of July 2016 in the Republic of Ireland, the Eir Sport Package is available for free to any Eir broadband customer. This includes the BT Sport package. Additionally the Eir Sport Package is available on Eir TV, Virgin Media Ireland, Sky Ireland and Vodafone TV.[4][5] Eir Sport offers commercial venues in Ireland programming of sports such as football (soccer), Gaelic football, hurling, golf, cricket, rugby union and rugby league and boxing.
On 12 September 2019, eir Sport 2 was removed from Sky in Ireland and was replaced by Virgin Media Sport.
References
- BCI approves ownership changes at Setanta and signs 2 new Content Contracts Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, 28 July 2009
- Costanza, Tina (16 December 2013). "UPC adds Setanta 1 in HD to its TV offerings - Gear | siliconrepublic.com - Ireland's Technology News Service". Silicon Republic.
- Croke, Ruaidhrí. "Eir Sport and Virgin Media agree deal to share sports packages". The Irish Times.
- Paul, Mark (5 July 2016). "Eir Sport secures rights to 2019 rugby world cup". The Irish Times.
- "Eir rebrands Setanta channels as part of new offer". RTÉ News. 5 July 2016.