Sky lets licensee end contract early

A licensee whose trade was hit hard by the loss of Irish sport on TV has been

allowed to terminate his Sky contract following a dispute with the broadcaster.

Terry Lennon, licensee at Southampton's Dorchester Arms, told the MA earlier this month that he had stopped his direct debit payments to Sky as he could not screen the matches.

He said Sky had been in touch since and offered to release him from his £886 per month contract. Sky said this was because he was outside the minimum terms of his agreement.

He said he will probably rejoin Sky in September, when he hopes Irish sports will be screened again.

"I did see the Ulster final several weeks ago, as it was on BBC Northern Ireland. But it was too late to let people know. They come from all across the south of England to my pub to see the matches."

Lennon said only half a dozen were there to watch it. "Last year I took more than £1,000 on Sundays, that Sunday I took £200," he said.

Pubs across the country continue to suffer following Setanta's collapse, as broadcasting rights for Irish sports have not yet been picked up by a UK distributor.

Andrew Connor, the managing director of London-based FT Pubs & Bars, whose nine Irish pubs show the weekend games, said: "It's a loss of £500, and that's the bare minimum, across nine pubs per week."

Diarmuid Power, of the Gaelic Athletic Association, hoped games would return to UK screens by this weekend.

Sky was showing Irish sports, including Gaelic football, as part of its Ultimate package until Irish broadcaster Setanta went into administration on 23 June.