it was only ever a gentlemans agreement, nothing more formal than that, and came in after the italy game in 97, when, ironiclly, there was an outcry over the then new broadcaster, a certain Sky TV, having exclusive live rights and bbc and itv not being prepared to pay for highlights. it came about after the then sports minister tony banks banged some heads together, but it was only ever an informal arrangement. setanta are only doing what Sky were doing 10-15 years ago, paying vastly over the odds in a land grab of exclusive rights, in a bid to drive subscriber numbers