Setanta kicks off season with promising start

LONDON - Setanta Sports has made an encouraging start to its first season of live Premier League football coverage by pulling in 355,000 viewers for its opening game on Saturday.

The game between Liverpool and Aston Villa, which the Merseyside club won 2-1 with a dramatic late free-kick by captain Steven Gerrard, gave Setanta a 3.5% share in multi-channel homes, according to unofficial figures. It aired in an early evening slot starting at 5.15pm.

The size of Setanta's audience is the first sign that Sky is beginning to face some serious competition in the UK pay-TV market from rival sports broadcasters.

Sky Sports showed three games over the weekend, beginning with Premier League newcomers Sunderland's surprise victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday lunchtime.

It was watched by 768,000 viewers and a 13.6% share between 12pm-3pm on Sky Sports 1.

The following day Sky Sports 1 offered subscribers a double-header, with Chelsea's 3-2 victory over Birmingham at 1pm attracting 861,000 viewers and a 12% share.

Manchester United's goalless draw with Reading at 3.30pm pulled in 1.3m viewers and a 13.3% share.

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