EUROSPORT: So, how's Hong Kong's 100 index faring? Mary Hannigan laments the passing of Ireland's only free, all-sport television station

They may be only less than one per cent of cable group NTL's 370,000 customer base, according to the company's market research, but Eurosport's Irish viewers are fighting back and doing their best to make their voices heard before the channel is taken off air in Ireland tonight. SOE (Save Our Eurosport) is the message.

NTL insists its decision to replace Eurosport with business channel CNBC in its "package" was based purely on market research, which showed a mere 0.9 per cent of its customers watch the sports channel.

However, Greg d'Assche, Eurosport Ireland's area manager, said yesterday: "I advise you to look at the latest BARB (Broadcasters Audience Research Board) ratings for CNBC in the UK."

Indeed. A quick look at the BARB website (www.barb.co.uk) reveals CNBC's latest share of the UK multi-channel market to be precisely 0 per cent, on a par with the less than all-conquering Wellbeing Channel, and 0.3 behind Eurosport.

"Need I say any more," said d'Assche. "If our ratings aren't impressive, then theirs are even less."

Motor sport, cycling, swimming and "winter sport" junkies will be among the worst hit when Eurosport vanishes from our screens, but tennis fans will, perhaps, be the most glum of all. And not even the promise of on- the-hour, every hour updates from the Hong Kong stock exchange will pacify them.

"I would have thought that CNBC is the channel you view when you're in a hotel room late at night and it's a choice between it or the mini-bar - in the end you might go for CNBC because it gives you less of a hangover," said Tennis Ireland chief executive Des Allen.

"For the past few days we have received a considerable volume of phone calls from tennis fans who have ranged from being very, very angry with NTL to being positively livid. We are extremely disappointed because Eurosport is the station for tennis cover age and we desperately hope that NTL will reconsider its decision."

A selection of emails received by Eurosport from Irish viewers, and forwarded to The Irish Times, echo Allen's views. "I will certainly miss the tennis," said one viewer. "The only other Australian Open coverage is on the BBC when Tim Henman is playing. The tournament coverage ends when Tim 'nice but dim' loses."

Cycling fans? Not happy. "It is absolutely unfair that this is going to happen. I'm raging personally, as I'm huge into cycling and no terrestrial station in Ireland shows it. This latest occurrence depicts perfectly that cycling is still, and will probably remain, nothing more than the poor relation in Irish sport."

On Eurosport's website (www.eurosport.com/ireland) the complaints have been flooding

in, too. "They (NTL) can't seriously intend doing this. As a swimmer in Ireland Eurosport is my only link via television to all the latest info. This could be fatal for our sport. NTL need to consider their actions a little more carefully

and the impact they may directly and indirectly have on a number of Irish sports. Yours sincerely, Ronan Collins (member of Irish national swimming squad)."

"Look, I don't want to be drawn in to a public battle with NTL over this, but there are facts that need to be stated," said d'Assche. "The feedback we have had from Ireland since NTL made their decision has been incredible and, based on that, we hope to re-open discussions with them and find a solution."

If NTL were offering its customers an alternative sports channel, maybe the outcry wouldn't be as loud. But CNBC? As one complainant put it: "Hello?"

C'mon NTL, give us telly sports junkies a break.