** Premium sports broadcaster secures rights to broadcast Betfred.com League of Legends exclusively live **
London, 8th April 2008: Eight of the most illustrious names in darts history return to the big time this summer in an exciting new competition, the Betfred.com League of Legends, to be broadcast exclusively live on Setanta Sports.
Today’s announcement introduces darts to Setanta’s growing sporting rights portfolio, which this summer’s exclusively live content includes the Community Shield, Barclays Premier League football (08/09 season), US PGA Golf, Indian Premier League cricket (IPL), top-flight boxing, Ultimate Fighting Championship, England international friendlies and 2010 World Cup qualifiers involving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The League of Legends will see four former world champions of the 1980s, Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Bob Anderson and Keith Deller relive their famous battles of yesteryear as they go head to head against Bobby George, Cliff Lazarenko, Dave Whitcombe and Peter Evison, as the sport’s most popular personalities roll back the years to thrill the crowds again.
The tournament will take place on eight Friday nights between May 30th and August 22nd 2008, with the first event and the finals being staged at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet, Essex, former home of the World Championship. The competition will also visit Blackburn, Birmingham, Batley, Bridlington, Reading and Stoke-on-Trent, with each player contesting one match per night over the best of 12 legs. The top four in the league table when the round-robin stage has been completed will qualify for the semi-finals. All the action from the tournament will be screened exclusively live on Setanta Sports.
Trevor East, Director of Sport at Setanta Sports, said: “We are delighted to add darts to our growing portfolio. Our exclusively live coverage of the Betfred.com League of Legends will not only please darts fans but adds yet more value to our sports pack offering”
Fred Done, founder of title sponsor Betfred, said: “Darts is the fastest-growing sport in this country at present and I am delighted to be involved in giving young and older fans the chance to see these true sporting legends in action. The exploits of these eight players in the 1980s was the bedrock on which the sport’s current popularity was built and I know they will make the League of Legends a highly entertaining and competitive event.”
The Betfred.com League of Legends schedule, exclusively live on Setanta Sports, will be as follows:
May 30 – Circus Tavern, Purfleet, Essex
June 20 – King George Hall, Blackburn
June 27 – Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham
July 18 – Batley Frontier Variety Club, West Yorkshire
August 1 – Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading
August 8 – The Spa, Bridlington
August 15 – Town Hall, Stoke-on-Trent
August 22 – Circus Tavern, Purfleet, Essex (semi-finals and final)
Setanta Sports is available for £9.99 a month to satellite viewers, via a Freeview box or an iDTV viewing card adaptor (CAM) and on BT Vision and Tiscali. Virgin Media XL pack subscribers can see Setanta for no additional charge, whilst M and L pack subscribers can add the Setanta Sports Pack for just £9.99 per month.
For information on how to subscribe, go to: setanta.com or call 08712 10 20 30. Virgin Media, BT Vision and Tiscali customers should contact their operator.
-ends-
For further information regarding Setanta Sports, contact:
James Matheson or Richard Tompkins at Braben on: 020 566 2990 or email james@braben.co.uk / richardt@braben.co.uk
For more information regarding Betfred.com, contact:
Jon Wilde on: 01925 288598 or 07794 395356 or email: jon.wilde@betfred.com
Or
Vikki McCrindle at Bird Consultancy on: 0161 839 4846 or email vm@birdconsultancy.co.uk
Notes to the editors:
Setanta Sports is a leading international pay-TV sports broadcaster operating nine channels in the UK, Ireland, North America and Australia. Founded in 1992, its premium sports content is available to more than 50 million digital homes worldwide.
Setanta operates more sports channels than any other broadcaster in the UK and Ireland. Setanta Sports is the most widely-available premium sports channel in the UK and is available to all digital homes: on satellite, via Freeview, Virgin Media, Tiscali, BT Vision and by Broadband, ensuring the widest possible distribution to all sports fans.
Setanta Sports is the only broadcaster of premium sports on digital terrestrial (Freeview). The Setanta Sports 1 channel, featuring the best of Setanta’s premium live content, is available on Freeview boxes and digital TVs with viewing card slots.
The Setanta Sports Pack is available to satellite and cable customers and is made up of the following channels:
Setanta Sports 1
Setanta Sports 2
Setanta Golf
Racing UK
Racing World*
NASN (North American Sports Network)*
Celtic TV
Rangers TV
LFC TV
Arsenal TV*
Setanta Sports is also available online, live and on demand, via Setanta by Broadband, featuring all Setanta’s leading content offered on Setanta Sports 1, Setanta Sports 2 and Setanta Golf, allowing sports fans to access at home, work or elsewhere.
For a full list of Setanta Sports’ exclusively live sporting content and fixture details, please visit www.setanta.com. Content includes Barclays Premier League football, Indian Premier League cricket, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, Blue Square Premier, US PGA Golf, Live Magners League rugby, top-flight boxing, Ultimate Fighting Championship and action from some of Europe’s best football leagues. From 2008, Setanta’s exclusively live content will include the FA Cup, England international friendlies and 2010 World Cup qualifiers involving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Setanta Sports is available from £9.99 a month, with no annual contract required. For the latest pricing offers on any platform, please visit www.setanta.com or call 08712 10 20 30.
Setanta Sports is also joint owner with Virgin Media of Setanta Sports News, the new 24-hour sports news channel, available free-to-air on the Virgin Media platform, and also on satellite, covering all the top sports stories from the UK and abroad. Setanta Sports News provides viewers with the breaking sports headlines that matter every 20 minutes, delivered by a pool of presenters and multi-skilled reporters in the field, as well as supported by regular views and opinions from fan correspondents across the UK. Setanta Sports News EPG number on Virgin Media is 518. The satellite EPG number is 435. *not available to Virgin Media customers