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Published: Wednesday June 24, 2009 MYT 9:31:00 AM

US PGA Tour looking for TV partner for Britain

FARMINGDALE, New York (AP) - The U.S. PGA Tour is broadcast to more than 230 countries in 35 languages with a maximum reach of just under 600 million homes. For the moment, it has gone dark in Britain.

Irish-based Setanta Sports, which had broadcast rights to the U.S. PGA Tour among other sports in Britain, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and said it will soon stop broadcasting to customers in Britain.

Setanta's contract with the U.S. tour started in 2007 and was to expire in 2012.

"The PGA Tour is disappointed that Setanta has gone into administration," the tour said in a statement, referring to the British term for bankruptcy. "Our main focus going forward will be to immediately and aggressively explore all options that will ensure that the PGA Tour will continue to be made available on television in the U.K."

Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said Setanta would be off the air late Tuesday, meaning the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut this week would not be televised in Britain until the tour can replace Setanta.

Sky Sports previously had the U.S. PGA Tour rights for Britain, and it continues to broadcast the majors and the World Golf Championships through an agreement with the European Tour. Other options for the U.S. PGA Tour could include Eurosport and ESPN, which has a presence in Europe to televise the English Premier League, among other things.

ESPN has not televised the U.S. PGA Tour in the United States since 2006, except for the majors.

"I don't think we're going to be off long," Votaw said. "We think we have a valuable product, an attractive product. We have a lot of international players, including players from the U.K., and it's shown in prime time."

Votaw declined to say how much Setanta paid for U.S. PGA Tour broadcast rights, only that it was a "lucrative agreement." He said it had paid the tour for its first 2 years.

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