In North America, Setanta is proud to hold the exclusive rights to the best of Barclays Premier League 2008/2009 soccer, LIVE from England. Scroll down to see a complete schedule. This tentative schedule is subject to change. For the most up-to-date schedule, please see Setanta's Schedules page for the US.
Setanta Sports will telecast more than 150 Barclays Premier League matches per season. On Saturdays, Setanta has first and third choice for both the 7:30am ET and 10am ET matches. Additionally, both the Sunday 8:30am ET and Monday 3pm ET matches are first choice, and any games played Tuesdays or Wednesdays are also first picks by Setanta.
Setanta also carries matches from Manchester United TV (MUTV) and ChelseaTV so that you can see every match that these two teams play. And fans of English soccer will also enjoy watching their teams in the UEFA Champions League, which is on Setanta Sports in the US. And England (as in the national team) is also featured prominently in our programming, including the World Cup Qualifiers (LIVE on Setanta Premium) as well as many other European national teams. Most of these matches will be LIVE on the channel, and repeated as well.
New Managers such as Mark Hughes from Manchester City, Paul Ince from Blackburn Rovers, and the much better known Phil Scolari at Chelsea will want to get their managerial seasons off to a winning start. Expect Alex Ferguson at Manchester United to do all in his power to ensure that Rafa Benitez does not steer Liverpool to their first league title in a long time. New players signed in the close season such as Robbie Keane at Liverpool (from Tottenham Hotspur) Deco at Chelsea (from Barcelona) Peter Crouch at Portsmouth (from Liverpool) will be looking for goal scoring opportunities from day one.
Key fixtures early in the season:
- Liverpool v Manchester United - Sat Sep 13th at 7.45am ET. If Robbie Keane is determined to wear the number 7 Liverpool shirt previously worn by Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish with pride, no better way to start, than by scoring against Manchester United!
- Everton v Liverpool - Sat Sep 27th at 7.45am ET. Rafa Benitez as Liverpool Manager is getting used to the Mersey Derby game. Expect Everton at home to provide a stern examination of Liverpool resolve this season.
- Chelsea v Liverpool - Sun Oct 26th at 8.30am ET. This fixture could be a cup final! Provided Didier Drogba is back from injury for Chelsea and not falling down needlessly, expect him to be eager to impress 'Big Phil' and show Torres a thing or two!
- Manchester City v Manchester United - Sun Nov 30th at 8.30am ET. Most times we're eager to see the players for each team. This time it will be interesting to see the Managers. Mark Hughes new Manchester City manager and longtime Manchester United player under the wily Alex Ferguson will want to outwit the man who thought him many footballing lessons.