Has Setanta scored an own goal after failing to strike a deal with the BBC and ITV (LSE: ITV) to show highlights of England’s World Cup qualifying match against Croatia?

Last night, pay-TV sports broadcaster Setanta decided to lift its encryption technology and allow fans to watch highlights for free. Anyone with access to Setanta through Freeview, cable or satellite could view the highlights at 11:30 PM, though it was a bit too little, too late for fans, as the announcement was made at 6 pm last night.

Setanta, which has yet to break even, is in an awkward position. After paying £5 million pounds for the exclusive rights, the broadcaster is under immense pressure to make a return on their investment, by either luring in more subscribers, or selling off highlights rights.
But Setanta knows that by selling highlights to the terrestrial broadcasters, potential subscribers—many who sign up on the day of the game—are less likely to bother if they can watch highlights on terrestrial TV. As the FT.com notes, the broadcaster had to come up with a figure that took into account that the “last day [before a match] is often the most fruitful for subscriptions” and “decide how much they needed from ITV, the BBC or Five in order to compensate for losing that amount.” 

The problem was terrestrial channels didn’t want to play along, refusing to stump up the £1 million pounds the Irish broadcaster reportedly wanted for the right to show highlights of the game. ITV reportedly bid as low as £100,000 for the rights, with the BBC reportedly making a last ditch attempt of £500,000. Setanta dismissed the offers as “not financially viable.”

But it looks like Setanta’s calculations didn’t take into account the reaction of football fans. The Evening Standard called the broadcaster the most “loathed sports channel in England,” while fans at both yesterday’s match and Saturday’s England-Andorra game were heard chanting, “We Hate Setanta!” and likening the Irish company to the IRA. Hence, the last-minute decision to broadcast the highlights for free. It’s unclear if Setanta’s hardball tactics meant it was able to meet its own internal goals for subscribers, but next time around are terrestrial broadcasters going to be any more willing to pay a high price tag for highlights knowing that Setanta is also under pressure to appease fans?

Updated: It’s a good thing for Setanta that England thrashed Croatia in the game. The Guardian is now reporting that the Irish broadcaster has managed to strike a “low six-figure deal” with ITV to show the day-old highlights. ITV1 will broadcast an hour special of the highlights tonight.