Setanta to recruit 'fan correspondents' for news channel

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 06-Nov-07, 11:00

LONDON - Setanta Sports News is planning to put the views of fans at the heart of its coverage and is recruiting a base of 'fan correspondents' for every sport featured on the channel, including one fan for every Premiership League football club.

The channel will launch on November 29 and will be available free on Virgin Media and on satellite. It is promising a fresh, straightforward approach to covering sports news and will use its team of fan correspondents to participate in phone-in debates and give their reaction to news stories regarding their club or sport.

In addition to the presenting team, Kelly Dalglish, daughter of Kenny, is confirmed to present a weekly chat show. The programme will discuss all the main sports stories of the day with a panel of high-profile guests, including a fan phone-in element.

Geoff Hill, editor-in-chief of Setanta Sports News, said: "Viewers will get the sports news that matters delivered in a thorough, concise and accurate way, but this channel will be much more than a rolling sports news service -- we want the added value of passionate input from fans."

Setanta Sports News is jointly owned by Setanta Sports and Virgin Media, and will be produced by ITN.