Setanta is believed to be seeking an urgent meeting with the Premier League in the hope it will help broker a deal to regain the rights it lost in last week's record-breaking TV auction. The Irish company won only one package for the rights to broadcast the Premier League between 2010 and 2013, cutting in half its current output. That would restrict coverage to 23 matches on Saturday evenings, which analysts believe may not be enough to sustain subscriber numbers and could plunge the loss-making channel further into the red.

The talks will revolve around trying to re-secure the Monday night package, which Sky won last week, but those close to the process believe that such a manoeuvre would be "virtually impossible". The auction process is heavily regulated by an independent scrutineer under a compromise agreement with the European Commission.

The six-year agreement, signed in 2005, allowed the Premier League to continue to auction its domestic rights collectively so long as its live matches were sold to more than one broadcaster. Last Friday, the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, unveiled the new domestic rights deal, which will bring in £1.782bn between 2010 and 2013.

Should Setanta be unsuccessful in securing a reverse of the auction, the state of the channel's funding is bound to come under increased scrutiny. Last night the media research group Enders Analysis questioned whether Setanta could survive in its current form. It calculated that Sky had ended up with five packages after resolving to maintain the level of investment that has proved mutually beneficial for the pay-TV giant and the Premier League over the past 17 years.

Of Setanta, Enders said: "We must therefore envisage mass subscriber defections, with every 100,000 subscribers now worth approximately £10m on in annual revenues. Today, Setanta reaches about 1.5 million direct subscribers, slightly short of its required break-even total [estimated at around 1.7-1.8m at current prices]. With live Premier League football such a jewel in its crown, the fear is that Setanta could easily lose upwards of a third of its current subscriber base. At the very least it has to review its entire business plan and survival cannot be taken for granted."

But Setanta will hope to persuade its backers that it has a viable business, even with fewer Premier League matches. "That said, it may also be the case that many diehard sports fans will still want Setanta even with a reduced Premier League offering," Enders added. "As a result the net benefit of reduced rights payments and subscriber numbers may actually prove positive."

Setanta paid £159m for its package of 23 games, a significant reduction on its existing deal. However, the 20% reduction on it existing outlay on the Saturday evening package will reduce its cost base. It is believed that its strategy of trying to secure a discount on the £355m it paid for 46 matches under the existing deal backfired when Sky won the fifth of six packages on offer. Setanta had hoped to retain two but pay less.

Setanta is believed to be examining a number of options, including the possibility of persuading BSkyB to sub-licence the fifth package of Monday night matches back to the broadcaster. Although the two rivals co-operate on selling matches to pubs, a deal that also covers home subscribers is seen as unlikely – partly because it may fall foul of competition rules.

A spokesman for Setanta dismissed suggestions that the business is in trouble. "Following the outcome of the Premier League rights auction there is understandable speculation about the future of the business," he said. "But Setanta retain the right to show 46 Premier League games per season until the end of 2009–10, along with a host of other top-class sport including international football, the FA Cup, golf, boxing, Indian Premier League cricket and Guinness Premiership rugby."