The report says the investor has emerged in the last 24 hours and is now believed to offer the best prospect for Setanta surviving in its current form.
A board meeting will be held today and the BBC claims a deal could be finalised in the next 72 hours.
Setanta's week of crisis began with reports that the company was on the verge of being put into administration after it had failed to secure the full £100m amount it needed to continue.
It missed a £3m payment to the Scottish Premier League and has an impending deadline to transfer £30m to the English Premier League.
The board has been examining the option of radically changing Setanta's rights exploitation model from retail to wholesale, as major shareholders Balderton Capital and Doughty Hanson have apparently been reluctant to stump up more cash to keep it going.
By Tuesday, Setanta had stopped taking on new customers, but on Wednesday it emerged that founders and co-chief executives Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke were attempting to secure financing to buy the company.
Yesterday rival sports broadcaster ESPN issued a statement ruling out any interest in buying Setanta.
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