The Premier League have terminated their contract with broadcaster Setanta.

The failure to pull off a last-gasp rescue package led to Setanta defaulting on the balance of a £30million payment to the Premier League, who terminated their contract for 46 live matches next season with immediate effect.

Those 46 games will now be auctioned off, with Sky favourites to win half of them and ESPN the other 23 when the bidding closes on Monday.

As for Setanta, the disaster which has been looming for several weeks finally struck after efforts to woo US tycoon Len Blavatnik's Access Industries ended in failure - due mainly to concerns over a £50million tax bill due to be paid by the broadcaster.

Setanta still have a contract with the Premier League to show 23 live games a season from 2010 to 2013, but after their failure to come up with the money for next season the company looks close to the point of collapse.