Des Lynam stars as ‘Setanta Claus’ in new TV ad!
-Nation’s favourite presenter promotes Premium Sport on a Freeview Box-
-Perfect Christmas present for sports fans. Just £9.99 a month. No annual contract-
November 29, 2007: Setanta Sports’ new Christmas TV ad stars Des Lynam as you’ve never seen him before! The ad, which gets its network premiere this Saturday 1st December during Family Fortunes on ITV1, sees Des as ‘Setanta Claus’, where he hands out the perfect Christmas present for sports fans everywhere - Premium Sport on a Freeview Box.
In the ad, Des appears in a glittering Christmas grotto, helped by his glamorous assistant Tinseltoes (played by Thaila Zucchi), who is dressed in an elf outfit leaving little to the imagination! The ad reprises the on-screen pairing of Lynam and Zucchi first seen in this summer’s Setanta Pie Van campaign. This time round, Des is seen in a specially designed yellow Santa costume!
Des Lynam commented: “Sports fans have never had the opportunity to get premium sport on Freeview until now. I loved taking on this role because it celebrates a unique first for sports fans in the UK in a brilliantly fun way. So, thanks to ‘Setanta Claus’, there’s now a perfect Christmas present for sports fans out there!”
Setanta Sports is the first and only premium sports service available on Freeview and Setanta’s own range of exclusive Setanta Freeview Subscription Packs are available now from major retailers including Tesco, Argos, Comet, Currys and online at setanta.com. The packs start from just £19.99 – and cost only £9.99 a month thereafter - with the first month and initial connection included. They also come without the fuss of an annual contract!
Setanta has an action-packed line-up of exclusively live sport over the festive period, including Barclays Premier League games, US PGA Golf Tour and top-flight boxing.
The confirmed Barclays Premier League games on Setanta Sports over Christmas and New Year are:
• Saturday, 1 December @ 5.15pm - Arsenal v Aston Villa
• Monday, 3 December @ 8pm - Manchester United v Fulham
• Saturday, 8 December @ 5.15pm - Reading v Liverpool
• Sunday, 9 December @ 1.30pm - Middlesbrough v Arsenal
• Saturday, 15 December @ 5.15pm - Fulham v Newcastle United
• Sunday, 23 December @ 12pm - Manchester United v Everton
• Saturday, 29 December @ 5.15pm - Everton v Arsenal
• Saturday, 12 January @ 5.15pm - Manchester United v Newcastle United
• Monday, 14 January @ 8pm - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
• Saturday, 19 January @ 5.15pm - Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers
• Monday, 21st January @ 8pm - Birmingham City v Chelsea
In addition to its Barclays Premier League games, Setanta also has exclusively live coverage of the Alex Arthur v Steve Foster WBO Super-Featherweight Title on December 15th, the first Rangers v Celtic Old Firm derby of 2008 on January 2nd and three top-class US PGA Tour events including the Buick Invitational on 24th - 27th January, 2008.
Setanta’s Premium Sport On A Freeview Box Christmas ad, created by Big Al’s Creative Emporium, with media planned and bought by BLM, features a male shopper visiting Setanta Claus in his grotto.
“So, what can Setanta Claus get for you?”, asks Des.
“Some live Barclays Premier League football please, Des”, says the man.
Tinseltoes then pulls out a Setanta Freeview box, but the shopper is momentarily distracted by her ‘natural assets’ and ends up asking Setanta Claus for a couple of puppies as well!
The TV ad will play in 30 second and 10 second versions will run from December 1 to December 21 on terrestrial and multi-channel TV stations including ITV 1, 2 and 4, Channel 4 and five.
Setanta Sports is available for £9.99 a month to satellite viewers, via a Freeview box or integrated digital TV with a viewing card slot and on BT Vision and Tiscali. Virgin Media XL pack subscribers can see Setanta for no additional charge, whilst M and L pack subscribers can add the Setanta Sports Pack for just £9.99 per month. To subscribe, call 08712 10 20 30 or go to setanta.com, and choose from satellite, Freeview, Virgin Media, BT Vision or Broadband and hit subscribe. Virgin Media, Tiscali and BT Vision subscribers should contact their operator.
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For further information, please contact: James Matheson or Sally Payne at braben on 020 7566 2990 or james@braben.co.uk / sally@braben.co.uk
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a leading international pay-TV sports broadcaster operating nine channels in the UK, Ireland, North America and Australia. Founded in 1992, its premium sports content is available to more than 50 million digital homes worldwide.
Setanta operates more sports channels than any other broadcaster in the UK and Ireland. Setanta Sports is the most widely-available premium sports channel in the UK and is available to all digital homes: on satellite, via Freeview, Virgin Media, Tiscali, BT Vision and by Broadband, ensuring the widest possible distribution to all sports fans.
Setanta Sports is the only broadcaster of premium sports on digital terrestrial (Freeview). The Setanta Sports 1 channel, featuring the best of Setanta’s premium live content, is available on Freeview boxes and digital TVs with viewing card slots.
The Setanta Sports Pack is available to satellite and cable customers and is made up of the following channels:
Setanta Sports 1
Setanta Sports 2
Setanta Golf
Racing UK
Racing World*
NASN (North American Sports Network)*
Celtic TV
Rangers TV
LFC TV
Arsenal TV (coming in January 2008)
Setanta Sports is also available online, live and on demand, via Setanta by Broadband, featuring all Setanta’s leading content offered on Setanta Sports 1, Setanta Sports 2 and Setanta Golf, allowing sports fans to access at home, work or elsewhere.
For a full list of Setanta Sports’ exclusively live sporting content and fixture details, please visit www.setanta.com. Content includes Barclays Premier League Football, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, Blue Square Premier, US PGA Golf, Live Magners League rugby, top-flight boxing, Ultimate Fighting Championship and action from some of Europe’s best football leagues. From 2008, Setanta’s exclusively live content will include the FA Cup, England international friendlies and 2010 World Cup qualifiers involving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Setanta Sports is available from £9.99 a month, with no annual contract required. For the latest pricing offers on any platform, please visit www.setanta.com or call 08712 00 33 22.
Setanta Sports is also joint owner with Virgin Media of Setanta Sports News, the new 24-hour sports news channel, available free-to-air on the Virgin Media platform, and also on satellite, covering all the top sports stories from the UK and abroad. Setanta Sports News provides viewers with the breaking sports headlines that matter every 20 minutes, delivered by a pool of presenters and multi-skilled reporters in the field, as well as supported by regular views and opinions from fan correspondents across the UK. Setanta Sports News EPG number on Virgin Media is 518. The satellite EPG number is 435.
*not available to Virgin Media customers