American broadcaster snaps up the rights to Premier League games.

Disney owned ESPN will show all of the matches that Setanta would have broadcast when the new season gets under way. The American broadcaster has snapped up the rights to show 46 live games next season that will be played on Saturday tea time and Monday evenings.

ESPN have also got the rights to show at least 23 games a season between 2010 and 1013. It is a very shrewd and astute move from the company that have no prior experience in hosting live English football to an audience that will have specific expectations. The broadcaster say the matches will be sold to the audience through Bskyb and it could mean a very different viewing experience to what we are used to.

It had been thought that Sky might make a last minute move to add a maximum of 23 more games to their live schedule for the season, which kicks off in mid-August. However, it appears that they made no attempt to block the bid from ESPN, which has brought live English Football to an American broadcaster for the first time in history.

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, said: “The timescale of our process was tight to say the least, and it is to the great credit of ESPN that they committed themselves to adding Barclays Premier League football to their already impressive portfolio of sports rights.”

“The speed at which we have been able to conclude this deal means that the preparations for next season will be able to continue without interruption and fans and clubs will have certainty over the broadcasting of Barclays Premier League matches for the next four seasons.”

The other reported bidders were Bskyb themselves and the English domestic Channel 4. If Channel 4 had managed to snap up the rights then it would have been a huge step forward for the mainstream audience for the first time in a long time. Ever since the days when ITV held all the rights to show Premier League highlights on a Saturday evening, the majority of the audience in England has been deprived of football unless they hold a subscription to Sky television.

Fair enough Match of the Day still does a terrific job for the BBC, but the point is that ITV were willing to show the matches at around 7-8pm in the evening, which made it a lot more viewable for a lot of people.

However, there should be a small sort of childish excitement at the fact that some Americans will have a say in how we watch our Saturday football. It can be expected that things may be glammed up quite a bit, which many people wouldn’t mind. We are so used to a specific routine from various broadcasters that it could actually go down quite well if the agenda is bent slightly.

Apart from Sky, the other bidders should not be downbeat about this whole affair. The domestic channels especially should continue to work hard and it would be fantastic if at some point in the near future they could acquire the rights to show matches live.