Setanta poaches marketing director from AOL

Setanta Sports has appointed former AOL man, Timothy Ryan, as GB Marketing Director.

Ryan, who has fifteen years experience in marketing, has a remit to build a powerful new sports-centric television brand, focusing on the recently acquired FA Cup and England home game rights Setanta won last week with ITV.

His task will also involve positioning Setanta Sports as the alternative to Sky Sports in the pay-TV sports market, reporting into Setanta’s group commercial director, Mark Mohan.

Mohan said: "2007 has already been an exciting year with securing the exclusive rights for the US PGA Tour, as well as the recent FA CUP, FA Community Shield and England international rights. Coupled with the 46 Premiership games in August, the future is looking bright for Setanta and we’re sure a heavyweight marketer like Timothy will push both the brand and subscriptions for the company forward."

Brand marketing director at AOL UK since 2005, prior to that Ryan was head of brand and marketing strategy at Orange UK for four years. He has also worked at agencies FutureBrand and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Ryan commented: "Setanta Sports is a real force – a fantastic combination of content, team and partnerships. The energy here is awesome and I'm looking forward to adding to this and playing a part in fulfilling the significant ambitions we have as a company."