Forget the battle between Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea – this season's real Premiership scrap will take place on the television screen as Setanta thrown their heavyweights at the long-established Sky Sports in a battle royal.
Steve McManaman, Emmanuel Petit, Tim Sherwood will lock horns with Andy Gray, Jamie Redknapp and Ruud Gullit as the battle lines are drawn. But perhaps the most intriguing signing of all is the decision of Setanta to bring back Des Lynam to the pressurised world of the Premiership.
Silky smooth Lynam will be hosting a weekly flagship interview show and is delighted to be back in the thick of the action. Lynam said of his decision to join Setanta: "It's a new kid on the block. Sky could do with a rival and I think it will do great. It's healthy for the sport to have another main player in the game."
However, there is no love lost in this on-screen battle and it is becoming an increasingly acrimonious battle for viewers. A record £2.7bn is being poured into Premiership clubs by media groups in the new deal and amidst clandestine tales of the two broadcasters poaching one another's staff as the kick-off approaches, Setanta yesterday declared war on Sky with an aggressive marketing campaign.
This highlights its cheaper prices, and unveiled Lynam as its secret weapon. Both are trying to present themselves as the choice of genuine football fans, with Setanta's marketing featuring romantic images of children kicking balls against walls, emotional crowd shots and the tag line 'born out of a love for the game'.
The irony of Setanta trying to position itself as a youthful David to Sky's Goliath is not lost on executives at the pay-TV giant's west London headquarters, given that Sky owes much of its success to aggressively taking on the broadcasting establishment.
Setanta Sports, headed by former Sky Sports number two Trevor East and including a number of other former Sky figures among its executive team, has poached Angus Scott from ITV as its main football anchor and also signed up Football Italia presenter James Richardson.
It will also launch its own versions of Sky's innovations, including a Saturday afternoon live results show and a rolling sports news channel. Until now, Sky has had a virtual monopoly on Premiership rights since the top flight broke away from the Football League in 1992.
BSkyB, widely considered to have raised the bar in terms of quality sports coverage, points to the depth and breadth of its service and its technological innovation with Sky Plus, high definition and low cost broadband.
Setanta further raised the ire of BSkyB by aligning itself last week with bitter rival Virgin Media, the cable company in which Sir Richard Branson is the largest single shareholder. Virgin will offer Setanta Sports for nothing to the 1.4m subscribers to its top tier package. Setanta has done a similar deal with BT Vision, the internet television arm of the telecom giant that is also hoping to use football as a key weapon in the scrap for broadband customers.
LET BATTLE COMMENCE...
Setanta Sports
Premier League: 46 live matches on Saturday teatime and Monday evening
Other football: 60 live Scottish Premier League matches; 79 live Blue Square Premier matches; games in Holland, Germany, France, Portugal
Presenters: Angus Scott, James Richardson
Pundits: Steve McManaman, Emmanuel Petit, Tim Sherwood, Les Ferdinand, Neil Warnock
* How much? £9.95 a month for eight channels on Sky; £9.95 for 'best of' channel on Freeview; £8 for Virgin Media cable customers
Sky Sports
Premier League: 92 live matches, 242 delayed games on Football First
Other football: 14 live matches a week from Uefa Champions League; 70 live matches; Coca-Cola Football League play-offs; Spanish La Liga; FA Cup; Carling Cup; international football
Presenters: Richard Keys, Jeff Stelling
Pundits: Andy Gray, Jamie Redknapp, Ruud Gullit
* How much? £28 a month for one sports channel, £34 for two
BBC
Premier League: Match of the Day
Other football: FA Cup; England home competitive internationals
Presenters: Gary Lineker, Ray Stubbs
Pundits: Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, Alan Shearer
* How much? Licence fee £131.50 a year
ITV
Other football: Live Champions League, Football League highlights
Presenters: Steve Rider, Matt Scott
Pundits: Andy Townsend, Terry Venables, Robbie Earle
BT Vision
Premier League: £4 a month for 242 delayed matches in full; £1.99 to watch full delayed matches on pay per view basis; £12 for 242 delayed matches, plus Setanta's 'best of channel' including 46 live games.
Virgin Media
New free website offering five-minute highlight packages of Premier League matches. Weekend games available from midnight on Sunday and midweek matches from midnight on day they are played
