Setanta will pay £392m for the 'C' and 'D' packages, a total of 46 games. Sky paid £1.314b for the remaining rights, 20pc more than it paid for all of the games under the current contract.

"It's a fantastic result, " Setanta chief executive Niall Cogley said. "We made a very serious proposal to the Premier League. To win one of the packages would have been great. To win two is spectacular."

"It's a very good result for them. It puts Setanta firmly on the map as a player in the UK, " said Theresa Wise, media analyst with Accenture in London.

Many analysts had expressed doubt that Setanta would be able to muster the financial muscle to outbid its rivals for even one package. Some doubters may wonder if the company has bitten off more than it can chew.

"It is a big bill, " said Cogley, a former RTE executive, of the £392m. "It's a big event.

The Premier League is the main event in the UK, upon which you can build a business. Our model was prepared for one package. Two packages makes it easier.

We've done our sums. We're not guessing in the dark."

Pressed on the financial arrangements, Cogley said, "we have a number of partners. We're not going around with a hat."

Dublin-based Setanta, which also won expanded rights to cover the Scottish Premier League for £71m last month, is backed by deeppocketed venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Europe, which last year took a 40% stake. AIG's Global Sports and Entertainment fund also hold a minority stake.

Wise, who had predicted Setanta would win at least one package, was optimistic about their prospects.

"Setanta can make the money back if they're smart, by sharing the costs, selling on the free-to-air highlights to a terrestrial broadcaster and broadband rights to internet service providers, " she said.

Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV and BBC are all potential buyers from Setanta.

While British consumers will come to know Setanta in the run-up to the launch in August 2007, Wise said the media world had already taken stock. "Setanta are smart, canny and understand this market, " she said. "I suspect their rivals have a sneaking regard for them."

Setanta is available in the UK on both Sky satellite and NTL's cable. Cogley said the Premiership games would be broadcast over their sevenchannel "sports pack", a bundle including its own channels, North American Sports Network, Celtic TV, Rangers TV and Racing World.