Get your TV out for the lads

Good to see England’s next generation make it through to the Under-21 European Championship finals after their play-off win over Wales tonight.

Well, it would have been – had the game not been on Setanta.

I don't have much of a problem with general sport being a reserve of the subscription television channels as a whole, as long as we get to see the major events for free. And there’s no vendetta from me as a response to the painfully one-sided build-up and analysis to Norwich’s pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur shown on channel Setanta. Honest.

But when you have a first leg of a play-off final shown on Sky (which we do have in the office, and many people pay a lot of money for at home) which was a cracking game, it seems a little silly to have the second leg on a completely different network where, I would imagine there are not many people who pay for both sports services.

It was a similar problem with the full England internationals last month, when no-one seemed able to sort out some highlights. Setanta got round to airing them for free to digital views, although most people here only found out when Jonathan told us the next morning.

I’m not convinced it will do anyone any favours if coverage of football and what-have-you is so sporadically and randomly shared around, each at its own cost.

I guess that makes me a snooker-on-terrestrial-telly fan then. Go Ronnie, go, go, go…

posted on 14 October 2008 23:33 byMichael Bailey - Sportsdesk

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