[TELEVISION WATCH] Setanta Sports confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to cease broadcasting in the United States at the end of February and sell select programming rights, including those to many premium soccer and rugby events, to Fox Soccer Channel.

Until then, Setanta will feature its usual lineup of top games from the English Premier League, English FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and other competitions.

Setanta Sports will also cease broadcasting its channel in the Caribbean but continue to operate elsewhere, notably in Canada under the joint ownership of the Setanta Group and Rogers Communications.

"This is a significant milestone in the reorganization of Setanta Sports, following the acquisition of Setanta's businesses in Ireland, the U.S., Canada and Australia in July 2009," said Setanta Sports co-founder Leonard Ryan. "Having examined several options for our U.S. business, we concluded that the best course of action for the Group is to exit the U.S. market and to concentrate on other markets where we can be a more substantial player in sports television.  This transaction enables us to achieve that objective and to explore new opportunities in other markets."