The production of Setanta Sports News will result in 56 new editorial and production positions being created at ITN. The new roles will be based at ITN’s London studios, as well as a number of further video journalist positions to be based around the UK to cover sporting stories as they break across the country.
The channel will initially be available initially to Virgin Media’s 3m digital subscribers across the UK later this year and to a wider base in the early part of next year. The channel will operate hand-in-hand with Setanta’s popular sports channels, which include exclusively live coverage of 46 Barclays Premier League and Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
Mark Wood, chief executive of ITN said: “ITN is excited to be involved in this new venture and will bring to bear its experience and skills as the producer of ITV News and Channel 4 News and as a multi-platform content provider. This new channel will set the sports news agenda in Britain with exclusive news, ground-breaking interviews and programmes which will be must-see television for sports fans everywhere.”
Michael O'Rourke, co-founder of Setanta Sports, said: “We are delighted to appoint ITN at such an exciting time in Setanta’s growth and are very confident that they will bring their expertise in producing rolling news to Setanta Sports News.This channel will sit well alongside our other range of sports channels and club TV channels and also delivers on a long held ambition to launch a sports news channel.”
Malcolm Wall, Virgin Media's CEO of content, said: "We are extremely pleased to be working with ITN to create a powerful new voice in sports TV reporting and expect Setanta Sports News will fast become a favourite with sports fans. At Virgin Media, we're committed to investing in content that our customers love and Setanta Sports News will play a big part in our strategy to bring more great telly to viewers.”
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