Setanta Sports on Freeview

Until Setanta's demise in June 2009, it was possible to watch Setanta with a Freeview set-top box or Digital TV set.

Setanta Sports in administration. More

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Setanta Sports:

Setanta Sports broadcast 46 live Barclays Premier League matches each season, 60 SPL games, live international and World Cup qualifying football matches featuring the home nations, some of the best boxing from both sides of the Atlantic and UFC. That is, until it went into Administration in June 2009.

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Setanta Sports on Freeview?

Setanta Sports 1 has a subscription channel. As well as being available on Sky and Virgin, it was available with Freeview, using a standard TV aerial.

It was possible to get the flagship Setanta Sports 1 channel for just £10.99 a month with no annual contract. It was on Freeview Channel 34 seven days a week, from midday to 3am (4am on Saturdays).

1. Setanta on a basic Freeview box

Sagem box with Setanta Setanta was a subscription channel, and so you needed equipment with a special card slot that takes the Setanta Subscription Card. Some Freeview boxes have a card slot that may be suitable.

If you didn't have a box with a suitable card slot, you could have bought a box, plus subscription, direct from Setanta, or from high street retailers such as Currys , Comet and Argos.

2. Setanta on a Digital TV set

Many of today's newer LCD and Plasma TV sets have a built-in Freeview receiver - these TVs are known as IDTV (Integrated Digital TV) sets. A good number of digital TV sets have a slot somewhere (a Common Interface) to allow for a subscription card module to be inserted. If your telly has a suitable CI slot, it was possible to use this to get Setanta.

These slots can't accept the credit card Setanta Subscription card directly - you had to use a special card reader, called a CAM (Conditional Access Module). These adapters fit into the CI slot in compatible TV sets, and then accept the viewing card.

There's more information on using a CAM with your IDTV set on our How to use a CAM page.

Setanta Sports CAM with subscription card

3. Setanta on a PC with a Freeview USB Adapter

Got a PC or laptop and in a Freeview coverage area? Who needs a TV set, when you can watch on your PC?

To get Setanta, you needed a PC TV receiver and a card reader (to accept the subscription card). Hauppauge makes a suitable USB TV receiver that can get all of the Freeview channels, and comes with a card slot ready for a viewing card. These were available at Dixons Online.

Setanta Sports Freeview FAQ:

News 23 June 2009: Setanta Sports in administration. More

Q. Getting Freeview: Freeview is not available in all parts of the UK. How can I tell if I can get Setanta?

Setanta is no longer available on Freeview.

If you want to check you're able to get Freeview, see our Freeview Coverage page.

For help on improving your Freeview signal, see our Reception page, or listen to our podcast on the subject.

Q. When I try to watch Setanta, the picture breaks up or freezes. What do I do?

Setanta Sports was transmitted on Channel 34 of Freeview, on Multiplex A. Those experiencing interference on this channel were probably also be having problems with the other channels on Multiplex A - Five, Five USA and QVC channels.

If you're getting interference when receiving Freeview, take a look at the advice on our Freeview Interference Advice page.

Q. I'm having problems activating Setanta on Freeview

Here are the notes we offered to Setanta customers whilst the service was operating:

Subscription / activation is sent over the air using the Freeview transmission system - you must have your set-top box switched on and connected to a TV aerial with a decent signal

The over-the-air signal can take a while to get through - from experience this is around 15 minutes, but we understand Setanta quotes two hours

It can help to set the set-top box to the right channel

Make sure you haven't quoted the wrong subscription card number when you activated your subscription

Make sure your viewing card is correctly inserted (the right way up). Also, try rebooting your box

If you're not getting a decent signal on the Setanta channel, this could cause problems - see our Reception page for help on improving signal reception and reducing interference.

If you still can't get activated, call Setanta Sports on 08712 00 33 22 to get them to send a new activation signal

To discuss Setanta Sport, or for help with Freeview, please contact us, or visit our forum