The European Commission’s decision to deny Sky Sports the right to broadcast every televised game will again hit fans in the wallet

The Spoiler hoped that the one good thing that could potentially stem from Setanta’s collapse would be Premier League football being made cheaper to watch - obviously we weren’t too optimistic but we kept our fingers crossed.

However, it has today been confirmed that ESPN’s new UK channel will launch on August 3 at a premium of £9 a month to Sky Sports customers and £12 to those who have Sky without the sports packages.

Whereas with Setanta, you were also getting FA Cup, Blue Square Premier, Bundesliga and international games thrown in for your money, ESPN’s 46 games (less than four a month on average, less than two a month from 2010-11 onwards) is expected to be supplemented with coverage of American football, ice hockey, baseball, college football and basketball.

With the BBC reporting that Sky Sports will handle production for the ESPN matches as well as the channel’s advertising, they look certain to make a profit out of it. Therefore, it seems like the fans are the only ones really suffering from the motion forced by the European Commission in 2005 to stop Sky Sports showing every game.