From the minute that the EPL Talk Podcast interview with Setanta Sports premiered on Friday, the message boards and blogs on the internet have been a buzzing with soccer fans talking about IPTV and whether it’s a suitable alternative for them if they can’t (or don’t want to) sign up with DirecTV in order to watch the Premiership matches on Setanta.

Although an announcement has yet to be made official, we can tell you that the IPTV company is Interactive Television Networks (ITVN). As soon as the news breaks, we’ll let you know. But this is what we know thus far:

ITVN launched more than 18 months ago and delivers high-quality video over the internet via a device, reportedly no bigger than a cigar box. According to PC Magazine, the set top box is $100 but it’s possible, based on ITVN’s promotions in the past, that they may offer the set top box for free with a 12-month subscription to Setanta. However, we won’t know whether this will happen until we hear an official announcement from ITVN and Setanta.

At the Digital Life tradeshow in 2005, ITVN won PC Magazine’s Innovator Award. PC Mag called it “the most innovative” and mentioned that “the future of TV is broadband and ITVN is right at the center of the revolution.” Lastly, PC Magazine says this about ITVN: “Of all the IP-based TV technologies out there, this one remains the simplest and in some ways the most effective.”

So, from what I can gather, the technology seems sound. Now let’s just see what ITVN and Setanta offers us, and if they can get the service set up as soon as possible before the Premiership season kicks off in 10 days.

While we wait, please post your questions here for ITVN and I’ll see if I can schedule an interview with an ITVN executive to get them answered for you.