The annual survey on the digital TV market, Continental Research's Digital TV 2007 Report, which is out next week, polled 620 individuals in digital TV households.
It found 6% were quite likely to subscribe to Setanta, with 20% not very likely and 70% not at all likely.
A spokeswoman for Sentanta said the results of the research "in no way reflect the real sales experience we have at Setanta".
According to the company, 6% to 7% of UK satellite homes now have Setanta Sports channels in their homes, while 1% of digital homes have purchased the standalone service, just one month into Setanta's first season.
Setanta now has over 2.5m customers in the UK and Ireland and is the only broadcaster that is available on all digital platforms in the UK.
Although Setanta is in its infancy and it's too early to judge its long-term future, the report's findings will be welcomed by Setanta's main rival Sky.
And there will be more good news for Sky in the report, with the small number of people who said they were likely to buy Setanta claiming it would be in addition to Sky Sports instead of a replacement.
James Myring, associate director at Continental Research, said: "Setanta may have more success in expanding its reach through the tie-up with Virgin Media that has given premium Virgin Media subscribers access to Setanta premiership games.
"BT is already offering access to the 46 live Setanta games and delayed (but full) coverage of another 242 matches. This type of partnership may be the route for Setanta to maximise its distribution, rather than via additional subscriptions on Sky and Freeview."
Setanta has embarked on a heavyweight ad campaign to promote its coverage of 46 live Premier League games.
The campaign features former 'Match of the Day' presenter Des Lynam and 'Big Brother' fake contestant Thalia Zucchi in a TV ad.
Setanta is also shoring up its presence with the launch of a Sports News channel that will initially be available to around 3m cable customers as part of Virgin's basic TV package. However, there are plans to make the channel available via satellite and broadband.
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