Sky eye up the All Ireland championship matches?

WesternZulu

Also the amount of posters in here that have never posted in the GAA forum in their lives threatening to throw their toys out of the pram is laughable.

I have seen the same on facebook and twitter, poorly constructed arguments about the 'Grab All Association' on an issue it's clear they know little about.

mickey1979

In my opinion, I think the GAA has gone down the correct route okay it's not going to suit everyone. But the advances in technology that SKY would offer would potentially be groundbreaking for viewers. I also am convinced this is a great deal for SKY and that the money given in this deal will only be a fraction of whats offered in the future. RTE has for too long not had any serious competition and this may force them to up their game. However their is a dark agenda at heart here I do believe that this deal is been driven by SKY'S big advertisers the gambling industry who potentially see huge profits in this great product getting wider exposure. I am sure that the GAA has little or no idea of how much money is been derived from the link between Sky Sports and their constant bombarding of the viewer with odds. We have never had to deal with this before on RTE/TV3 now we are going to be really hit with it. We do have to weigh this against what SKY will offer but at the heart of SKY SPORTS is the huge advertising revenue from gambling. Its up to the GAA to examine the pros and cons of this but first you actually have to give this route a try.

Mr. Incognito

Sky could have bought the rights to show it in the UK without the need to have exclusive rights in Ireland.

One big championship quarter final such as Kerry and Dublin being exclusive to Sky and their will be serious ramifications.

It's an amateur grassroots game. This money will not trickle down to the players, so as such Sky should have no exclusivity to exploit the players.

Gentleman Off The Pitch

Does anyone really think that in 10 years time Sky will have exclusive rights to just 14 games?

WesternZulu

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

It's an amateur grassroots game. This money will not trickle down to the players, so as such Sky should have no exclusivity to exploit the players.

No, but it will trickle down to all levels of the games just like the money from renting Croke Park to soccer and rugby, and the money obtained from previous TV rights in years gone by.

ted1

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Sky could have bought the rights to show it in the UK without the need to have exclusive rights in Ireland.

One big championship quarter final such as Kerry and Dublin being exclusive to Sky and their will be serious ramifications.

It's an amateur grassroots game. This money will not trickle down to the players, so as such Sky should have no exclusivity to exploit the players.

that makes no commercial sense for them. They will use Ireland as the base viewers, and them supplement these figures with viewers outside Ireland

Hidalgo

Unsurprisingly, this is a contentious issue. Part of this for me is its a step into the unknown.
I think the GAA have played the official announcement very poorly from a PR point of view. Rather than the bluster of growing the game globally, it would have made more sense to highlight where the Sky money will go, i.e a portion to redeveloping X county ground, a portion to 8 different clubs to improve training facilities.
Whilst is would be great to showcase the GAA in various parts of the world, the deal with Sky won't do so, only in the UK. Furthermore, would it not make more sense to grow hurling or football in weaker counties, like hurling in Roscommon etc.

There's a possibility that Sky signed this deal simply to ensure that BT didn't make a move for it in the future.

My own take on it.

There are some really positive aspects when looking at the deal in its entirety. Channel 7 showing 45 games live in Australia is brilliant for the countless number living down under. As someone who has 2 brothers living in Oz longterm, as well as countless friends I'm delighted they will have access.
I spent my Sunday nights in pubs watching games in Sydney about 6 years ago, having the games in your own sitting room is great for the ex-pats.

Likewise, the deal between RTE Digital and the GAA to stream matches online throughout the world is a positive move. I spent many a $20 note paying into bars in the US on Sunday mornings. At least I had access to them, many people living in 'non-Irish' areas had no access to coverage. Therefore, another positive.

I'm not sure if its that much of an advantage for Irish people living in the UK as Premier Sports will still hold rights to some games. If Sky had everything in the UK it may have made lifer easier for Irish there (that's if Premier Sports is an extra subscription in the UK).

Giving anyone who has both the option to watch AI finals and semis on Sky or RTE is a good move, it will allow a comparison on coverage and analysis.

Whils't Sky Go and apps on phones/tablets are all a great option, not everyone has access to decent broadband. I invite anyone to vome to my part of the west and try and watch a stream online, it will drive you gaga.

Personally I would have liked if Sky started showing qualifiers that otherwise wouldn't be shown by RTE or TV3 in recent years. The rule of only allowing one of each code on a Saturday evening was silly imo.

Its when this new deal is up for renewal that the s*it could really hit the fan. If this venture is loss making, expect Sky to bail out. If however its a profitable action, they'll more than likely go after a bigger slice of the market. Whatever RTE bid, Sky can easily outdo the figure of the national broadcaster. That's when the GAA will have a big decision to make. One which could result in the majority of games on PPV.

Anyone that is of the belief that PPV won't affect viewership figures should have a gander at the attached article. I read it about a month ago and found the stats quite interesting. It got a few mentions on Prime Time. Some of the figures are probable outdated by now and more homes have Sky, but the figures are still sombering.
http://historyhub.ie/the-impact-of-pay-tv-on-sport

Hidalgo

Gentleman Off The Pitch wrote: »

Does anyone really think that in 10 years time Sky will have exclusive rights to just 14 games?

If this initial venture isn't profitable, Sky won't have any game in 10 years time.
Alternatively, if they're on a winner, they'll probable have a monopoly of the share. Potentially everything bar whatever remains off limits via government legislation.

maestroamado

Hidalgo wrote: »

If this initial venture isn't profitable, Sky won't have any game in 10 years time.
Alternatively, if they're on a winner, they'll probable have a monopoly of the share. Potentially everything bar whatever remains off limits via government legislation.

This is in my opinion a gigantic step by the gaa... if it succeeds I do not see how the players who are now on the same channel as messi will not demand a slice of the action...
if sky are not there in ten years I wonder what the situation be....

namloc1980

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

One big championship quarter final such as Kerry and Dublin being exclusive to Sky and their will be serious ramifications..

Like what? 25 years ago people said allowing Jersey sponsor would be the end of the GAA. 20 years ago people said allowing more games on TV would be the end of the GAA. 17 years ago people said allowing qualifiers would be the end of the GAA. 15 years ago people said getting rid of Rule 21 would be the end of the GAA. 7 years ago people said allowing rugby and soccer in croke park would be the end of the GAA. And yet the world hasn't ended.

wirehairmax

Sad day for the GAA. I had hoped it was an April 1st joke but woke up this morning to sickening headlines. I for one don't have Sky Sports as the extra €36 odd to have it is too much. I hate Sky coverage anyway. Its so OTT and tabloid style and most of it is just pure overblown spin and nonsense. Its painful to watch the HC rugby and that crap that is the most over-rated league in the work ie: the Premiership on Sky.
I actually quite like the RTE coverage of sport. Aside from a few buffoons, (Hook, Brolly, Spillanne, Dunphy) the commentary is not bad. Our games don't need the type of nonsense that Sky produce. Championship weekends are already special and there is nothing to compare to Marty Morrissey describing the athmosphere from the sideline in Semple, Croker, Pairc ui Choimh, Clones, etc. Imagine what Sky would do to destroy that? True TV3 was quite bland and tried too hard to be all professional and ended up being somewhat detached from the athmosphere and the commentators were awful.
As for the argument that GAA is being shown to a wider audience, well that is pure rubbish. I totally agree that ex-pats deserve to be able to view the games, but an internet based service is going to take care of this aspect I believe? After all most ex-pats are still members of the GAA no matter where they go, as GAA membership is for life and the GAA have a duty to their members to enable them to support and follow their home counties through the year. Who cares whether or not its being watched in Africa or Birmingham or China by people other than ex-pats? The GAA and its games are uniquely Irish and why do we need to ''market'' our sports to foreign lands? GAA is almost the last thing we have to ourselves that is not being regulated and dictated by Europe.

<snip>

''Marketing'' is a fashionable word in the GAA right now, but what good will it do for a club in rural Wexford, Kerry or Roscommon if the games are slowly filtered off terrestrial television and piped to Asia, Africa and god knows where else. Does anybody honestly think for one moment the GAA will make even 50% of this revenue acsessible to clubs or create additional coaching positions in the weaker counties?
Sky are a different animal to RTE/TG4/TV3 etc. To them its purely business and in my view the GAA are getting into bed with the devil. Look at what the battle for TV rights is threatening to do to the HC rugby. In a few years, will we see counties being forced to go on pre-season tours of China and the Middle East as part of their duty for the television company. Sky will want their pound of flesh and are not the type of company to settle for what they have. They are testing the water now but I would be afraid of what the future holds. If Sky smell money now, you can guarantee that when the current deal expires they will want a bigger slice of the pie and will stop at nothing to get it. RTE et al will just not be in a position to compete due to the financial mismatch.

Happyman42

Gentleman Off The Pitch wrote: »

Does anyone really think that in 10 years time Sky will have exclusive rights to just 14 games?

This is the nub of it all for me.
P. Duffy's obvious discomfort when asked about this last night makes me think that Sky have been promised more 'exclusivity' in the future. And the major stumbling block and sea-change is the 'exclusivity' within this deal.
I would be seriously worried for the future.

nxbyveromdwjpg

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/columnists/daragh-keany/sky-tv-will-make-the-gaa-even-better

Hidalgo

maestroamado wrote: »

This is in my opinion a gigantic step by the gaa... if it succeeds I do not see how the players who are now on the same channel as messi will not demand a slice of the action...
if sky are not there in ten years I wonder what the situation be....

Yup, if Sky decide to come all in, it could leave the GAA with a far-reaching decision, one bigger than opening up Croke Park imo.

Only time will tell, but its certainly interesting times

WesternZulu

wirehairmax wrote: »

Sad day for the GAA. I had hoped it was an April 1st joke but woke up this morning to sickening headlines. I for one don't have Sky Sports as the extra €36 odd to have it is too much. I hate Sky coverage anyway. Its so OTT and tabloid style and most of it is just pure overblown spin and nonsense. Its painful to watch the HC rugby and that crap that is the most over-rated league in the work ie: the Premiership on Sky.
I actually quite like the RTE coverage of sport. Aside from a few buffoons, (Hook, Brolly, Spillanne, Dunphy) the commentary is not bad. Our games don't need the type of nonsense that Sky produce. Championship weekends are already special and there is nothing to compare to Marty Morrissey describing the athmosphere from the sideline in Semple, Croker, Pairc ui Choimh, Clones, etc. Imagine what Sky would do to destroy that? True TV3 was quite bland and tried too hard to be all professional and ended up being somewhat detached from the athmosphere and the commentators were awful.
As for the argument that GAA is being shown to a wider audience, well that is pure rubbish. I totally agree that ex-pats deserve to be able to view the games, but an internet based service is going to take care of this aspect I believe? After all most ex-pats are still members of the GAA no matter where they go, as GAA membership is for life and the GAA have a duty to their members to enable them to support and follow their home counties through the year. Who cares whether or not its being watched in Africa or Birmingham or China by people other than ex-pats? The GAA and its games are uniquely Irish and why do we need to ''market'' our sports to foreign lands? GAA is almost the last thing we have to ourselves that is not being regulated and dictated by Europe.
''Marketing'' is a fashionable word in the GAA right now, but what good will it do for a club in rural Wexford, Kerry or Roscommon if the games are slowly filtered off terrestrial television and piped to Asia, Africa and god knows where else. Does anybody honestly think for one moment the GAA will make even 50% of this revenue acsessible to clubs or create additional coaching positions in the weaker counties?
Sky are a different animal to RTE/TG4/TV3 etc. To them its purely business and in my view the GAA are getting into bed with the devil. Look at what the battle for TV rights is threatening to do to the HC rugby. In a few years, will we see counties being forced to go on pre-season tours of China and the Middle East as part of their duty for the television company. Sky will want their pound of flesh and are not the type of company to settle for what they have. They are testing the water now but I would be afraid of what the future holds. If Sky smell money now, you can guarantee that when the current deal expires they will want a bigger slice of the pie and will stop at nothing to get it. RTE et al will just not be in a position to compete due to the financial mismatch.

My God, that post is the absolute definition of hyperbole!
I don't know where to start, I'm not sure are you even serious!!

You say our games don't need Sky's type of analysis...What our games don't need, and I am talking specifically about football here, is the constant overtly negative analysis that RTE constantly spout about even the best games.

And if it comes to the day that counties are being asked to do international tours of China I'll be both shocked and happy...hurling and gaelic football will be truly international sports then!
But unfortunately I can never see that happening.

Talk about scare mongering in one post, it's like something an auld lad would come out with in the corner of a pub after 10 too many pints!

Realt Dearg Sec

<quote snip>
FFS.

Hidalgo

nm wrote: »

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/columnists/daragh-keany/sky-tv-will-make-the-gaa-even-better

I stopped reading when he mentioned that Crystal Palace V West Brom can become must watch TV thanks to Sky hype.


The Sky hype machine is one of the most annoying things about their sports coverage imo. Fair enough, Utd V Liverpool will talk itself up, but some of the drivel they come out with.

I'm hoping they market it, but are have analysts that aren't afraid to be critical if needs be, no Jamie Redknapps please.
If they use their machinery and technology then great, one aspect I would love to see is speed tracking of the ball, particularly for penaltys in hurling, a la the speed camera used in baseball

wirehairmax

nm wrote: »

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/columnists/daragh-keany/sky-tv-will-make-the-gaa-even-better

Almost every argument he makes emphasizes why Sky just does not suit the GAA. He talks bout over the top hype, changing throw-in times to suit tv schedule, darts and golf being so hyped up its nonsensical, gimmicks, non-sky subscribers missing out.
I bet that gob****e has never been in a dressing room in his life and doesn't know what wintergreen smells like. He should stick to talking about Louis Walsh and 1D

curraghyid

There are pros and negatives to this,
Pro. more money into coffers
Probably more live games on TV
Shake up rte( they have to be innovative with coverage now)
New markets for gaa( think american football, Aussie)
Neg. move to professionalism
Possible pay per view.

It's up to the Gaa to make sure this move benefits the organisation from the grass routes up, the money must stay in the game.
Sky have a new sport to add to their quiet summer schedule which if we are honest is to fuel sky bet.

This is the world were in and if the Gaa doesn't move with it , it gets left behind.

WesternZulu

wirehairmax wrote: »

Almost every argument he makes emphasizes why Sky just does not suit the GAA. He talks bout over the top hype, changing throw-in times to suit tv schedule, darts and golf being so hyped up its nonsensical, gimmicks, non-sky subscribers missing out.
I bet that gob****e has never been in a dressing room in his life and doesn't know what wintergreen smells like. He should stick to talking about Louis Walsh and 1D

It's more pragmatic that the post you wrote above in fairness.

I'd lay off sniffing anymore of that wintergreen!

wirehairmax

Compared to some of the crap you are coming out with? The GAA is not like soccer. They are the greatest games in the world without the hype and nonsense and they're ours. And that's something we should be proud of and want to preserve.

hardybuck

Is anyone else even more disappointed following the GAA's comments that there wasn't a huge financial difference in the TV3 and Sky tender?

I would have taken some consolation from the fact that increased funds would make their way down to the clubs etc., but now this doesn't appear to be the case at all!?

rockonollie

<quote snip>

Strong contender for most racist comment in the history of boards.ie

tommy2bad

hardybuck wrote: »

Is anyone else even more disappointed following the GAA's comments that there wasn't a huge financial difference in the TV3 and Sky tender?

I would have taken some consolation from the fact that increased funds would make their way down to the clubs etc., but now this doesn't appear to be the case at all!?

Just shows that it's not all about money tbh. I genuinely think the GAA were thinking of the promotional aspect more than the money. Their are advantages for the GAA if this works out right but the chance of it blowing up in their faces are greater. The GAA don't have the power to dictate to Sky and Sky will end up dictating terms to the Gaa, it's happened with most sports Sky buy rights to.

I see a lot of good in the thinking behind this, I also see a lot of blind faith in the goodness of Sky and the GAAs own ability to control it.

A_Sober_Paddy

So what does this mean for games on rte is that over with? Do sky have exclusive rights or what?

Prop Joe

So effectively the Gaa just wanted SKY to do a few big promo's with epic music and ultra analysis every game?

A bullsh1t move by the GAA...I have yet to see one positive of the deal

hardybuck

tommy2bad wrote: »

Just shows that it's not all about money tbh. I genuinely think the GAA were thinking of the promotional aspect more than the money. Their are advantages for the GAA if this works out right but the chance of it blowing up in their faces are greater. The GAA don't have the power to dictate to Sky and Sky will end up dictating terms to the Gaa, it's happened with most sports Sky buy rights to.

I see a lot of good in the thinking behind this, I also see a lot of blind faith in the goodness of Sky and the GAAs own ability to control it.

Yes, but I expect some sort of return for this promotion. Maybe you could call it an investment that will pay off in time, but at the moment it looks like we're giving it away for nothing.

TouchingVirus

hardybuck wrote: »

Is anyone else even more disappointed following the GAA's comments that there wasn't a huge financial difference in the TV3 and Sky tender?

I would have taken some consolation from the fact that increased funds would make their way down to the clubs etc., but now this doesn't appear to be the case at all!?

Yes, me. If you were going to reduce the number of free-to-air games available in Ireland then you should at least have squeezed Sky for as much money as possible to further benefit the grassroots. Sure, it would have lead to accusations about the "Grab All Association" and how Irish broadcasters can't compete but instead now we hear there wasn't that much money in the difference and we've still lost FTA games, it's a very hard sell. Showcasing the matches to 10 million Britons won't magically increase the reach of the GAA; American football isn't huge over here despite Sky's coverage of it. What channel with the games be covered on; Sky Sports 1 or Sky Sports 2/3?

If I happen to have moved off to Australia though there's good news - no subscription charges for me. Channel 7 are showing all live games from the Championship, including the Sky ones.

Don't live in Ireland & the UK and don't live in Australia? The GAA has you covered with a subscription service for the 31 RTÉ matches on RTÉ Player.

glineli

Setanta already have league games and theres not much said about that. They have their pick of Saturday evening games, exclusive!!

Mal-Adjusted

Like most things, there are good points and bad points. Sky will bring a lot of positivity to these games which is welcome after all the negative *things were better in my day...puke football* $h!t£ that RTE can come out with for everything (excluding Marty, of course!). The all-Ireland finals have always been huge occasions, it'd be interesting to see how Sky hype them up.

The notion of bringing our games to a mainstream audience outside Ireland is one i'm in favor of, but just how successful will that be? The diaspora will be happy of course (assuming they have Sky Sports) but will there really be much interest among the wider British public? It's hard to tell. It's not as if they never heard about the GAA but now at least it's easily accessible. Hurling might look pretty exotic to them so who knows? I doubt english kids are going to take up the sport in droves any time soon though.

I thought the extra money would do some good spread throughout clubs but when it came out on Primetime that there wasn't much financial difference from the TV3 deal, one has to imagine that the GAA are underselling our games
.
Anything that restricts how many people can watch a game is bad but the thing that has me really worried is the Sky mentality. If this doesn't generate/retain as many subscribers as they hoped, they won't hesitate to walk away. If it does, then they won't settle for 14 games. They'll want more and more and higher profile matches exclusively, or they threaten to walk away knowing the GAA has gotten used to the extra money, however much that may be.

The online streaming service is a great announcement, as are all the games going FTA in Australia. If matches could be made easily available to people in North America as well would be fantastic.

<quote snip>

I do. So do many others. Although what i'd like to see is them wearing their own club/county jerseys. promoting GAA abroad has always been about getting people playing, not just selling a product ala american football. Milwaukee hurling club has over 300 members, the vast majority non-irish. Is the game not as much theirs as ours?

tommy2bad

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

So what does this mean for games on rte is that over with? Do sky have exclusive rights or what?

Sky have exclusive rights to 14 games, I think their showing more but the semis and final are free to air by law in Ireland like the grand national and Wimbledon tennis in the UK.
RTE have the same package they had last year, sky only bought the package that TV3 had last year.

Lapin

wirehairmax wrote: »

Sad day for the GAA. I had hoped it was an April 1st joke but woke up this morning to sickening headlines. I for one don't have Sky Sports as the extra €36 odd to have it is too much. I hate Sky coverage anyway. Its so OTT and tabloid style and most of it is just pure overblown spin and nonsense. Its painful to watch the HC rugby and that crap that is the most over-rated league in the work ie: the Premiership on Sky.
I actually quite like the RTE coverage of sport. Aside from a few buffoons, (Hook, Brolly, Spillanne, Dunphy) the commentary is not bad. Our games don't need the type of nonsense that Sky produce. Championship weekends are already special and there is nothing to compare to Marty Morrissey describing the athmosphere from the sideline in Semple, Croker, Pairc ui Choimh, Clones, etc. Imagine what Sky would do to destroy that? True TV3 was quite bland and tried too hard to be all professional and ended up being somewhat detached from the athmosphere and the commentators were awful.
As for the argument that GAA is being shown to a wider audience, well that is pure rubbish. I totally agree that ex-pats deserve to be able to view the games, but an internet based service is going to take care of this aspect I believe? After all most ex-pats are still members of the GAA no matter where they go, as GAA membership is for life and the GAA have a duty to their members to enable them to support and follow their home counties through the year. Who cares whether or not its being watched in Africa or Birmingham or China by people other than ex-pats? The GAA and its games are uniquely Irish and why do we need to ''market'' our sports to foreign lands? GAA is almost the last thing we have to ourselves that is not being regulated and dictated by Europe. <snip>
''Marketing'' is a fashionable word in the GAA right now, but what good will it do for a club in rural Wexford, Kerry or Roscommon if the games are slowly filtered off terrestrial television and piped to Asia, Africa and god knows where else. Does anybody honestly think for one moment the GAA will make even 50% of this revenue acsessible to clubs or create additional coaching positions in the weaker counties?
Sky are a different animal to RTE/TG4/TV3 etc. To them its purely business and in my view the GAA are getting into bed with the devil. Look at what the battle for TV rights is threatening to do to the HC rugby. In a few years, will we see counties being forced to go on pre-season tours of China and the Middle East as part of their duty for the television company. Sky will want their pound of flesh and are not the type of company to settle for what they have. They are testing the water now but I would be afraid of what the future holds. If Sky smell money now, you can guarantee that when the current deal expires they will want a bigger slice of the pie and will stop at nothing to get it. RTE et al will just not be in a position to compete due to the financial mismatch.

Have you just woken up from a coma you've been in since 1970?

iDave

Shame some of the county and match threads here aren't as active as this thread.

wirehairmax

Why? There is nothing wrong with what we have, so why change? Its like the hurling review committee that's being formed. Change for change sake.

TouchingVirus

tommy2bad wrote: »

Sky have exclusive rights to 14 games, I think their showing more but the semis and final are free to air by law in Ireland like the grand national and Wimbledon tennis in the UK.

Could you point me to the relevant legislature?

Nevermind, I found it here with a report from 2009 here. Only the All-Ireland Finals are covered, so in 3 years you might be heading to the pub for the semi-finals too.

robbiezero

namloc1980 wrote: »

Like what? 25 years ago people said allowing Jersey sponsor would be the end of the GAA. 20 years ago people said allowing more games on TV would be the end of the GAA. 17 years ago people said allowing qualifiers would be the end of the GAA. 15 years ago people said getting rid of Rule 21 would be the end of the GAA. 7 years ago people said allowing rugby and soccer in croke park would be the end of the GAA. And yet the world hasn't ended.

Can people not be annoyed about the GAA going PPV without thinking that it will finish the GAA or that the world will end?

robbiezero

glineli wrote: »

Setanta already have league games and theres not much said about that. They have their pick of Saturday evening games, exclusive!!

I'm not overly bothered about the Saturday night games. If my own county is in one, I'll go to the match, if not I can watch one of the other ones on FTA.

The two All-Ireland quarter finals are the ones that annoy me.
Every GAA fan in the country wants to see these.
It will be interesting to see the reaction when they come around especially as Sky will almost certainly have the Dublin quarter-final.

rockonollie

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

I do. So do many others. Although what i'd like to see is them wearing their own team/county jerseys. sepromoting GAA abroad has always been about getting people playing, not just selling a product ala american football. Milwaukee hurling club has over 300 members, the vast majority non-irish. Is the game not as much theirs as ours?

Ditto the club in Indianapolis.....200 members, 6 Irish....... its the same in Denver, St Louis, Atlanta, Akron, Minneapolis........ the old preconception of hurling abroad just being played by Irish lads on J1 is long dead...... did you know that there's a national university hurling championship in the US, and a national youth championship for ages 8 and up. The game has grown far beyond the native Irish, and it's long overdue for that to be accepted.

ThirdMan

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

Anything that restricts how many people can watch a game is bad but the thing that has me really worried is the Sky mentality. If this doesn't generate/retain as many subscribers as they hoped, they won't hesitate to walk away. If it does, then they won't settle for 14 games. They'll want more and more and higher profile matches exclusively, or they threaten to walk away knowing the GAA has gotten used to the extra money, however much that may be.

You're not giving the GAA enough credit. If it doesn't generate interest (and money) then they'll know it's a dead end and can revert back to normal. But if it is successful then they'll know what they have on their hands. If Sky are willing to walk away from a successful 'product' because they can't have it all to themselves, I see no reason why BT wouldn't step in. Remember, the GAA might argue that this is all about growing the game, but from the broadcaster's point of view it's all about making money. Simple as that. If this experiment generates enough money then it'll be here to stay, in one format or another. Of course we're both just speculating, so who knows. But I honestly feel like the GAA are going into this with their eyes open. Sky are bullies, but the GAA are stubborn enough to tell them to fcuk off if it doesn't suit them.

Mal-Adjusted

ThirdMan wrote: »

Sky are bullies, but the GAA are stubborn enough to tell them to fcuk off if it doesn't suit them.

I hope so. There's also the thought that the GAA, being ammeter, don't necessarily *need* the sky money as much as the likes of the premiership/Heineken cup and thus may not be as susceptible to bullying. Interesting times ahead.

keane2097

<quote snip>
TBH I'd happily pay to watch every game rather than give a racist malcontent his way.

By the by, GAA membership is for the year, not for life. Doesn't surprise me to hear there's no room for the idea of fees in your head with that sense of entitlement taking up all the space.

hardybuck

ThirdMan wrote: »

You're not giving the GAA enough credit. If it doesn't generate interest (and money) then they'll know it's a dead end and can revert back to normal. But if it is successful then they'll know what they have on their hands. If Sky are willing to walk away from a successful 'product' because they can't have it all to themselves, I see no reason why BT wouldn't step in. Remember, the GAA might argue that this is all about growing the game, but from the broadcaster's point of view it's all about making money. Simple as that. If this experiment generates enough money then it'll be here to stay, in one format or another. Of course we're both just speculating, so who knows. But I honestly feel like the GAA are going into this with their eyes open. Sky are bullies, but the GAA are stubborn enough to tell them to fcuk off if it doesn't suit them.

But we all know what's going to happen. Sky, or BT, will inevitably ask about screening games on Friday nights. They might say that they don't want games clashing with the big soccer games they screen on Sunday afternoons. They basically created the product of 'Monday Night Football' during the Premiership era.

In rugby, Heineken Cup games start on a Friday night, continue from lunchtime on Saturday and finish up on Sunday evening. All for commercial reasons, none of them sporting.

Anyone who thinks that these large professional organisations could allow themselves to be bullied into such practises, and the GAA will be too stubborn and will not, is mad or naive or both. It may not happen in this deal, but it will in time.

The GAA is becoming increasingly fixated with expansion into new markets and generating more commercial revenue. The Garth Brooks concerts are a perfect example. Croke Park will have three days to recover from 5 days of concerts before the All Ireland Quarter Finals will be staged. That's pretty cynical, and an indication of the current management's vision.

Hidalgo

glineli wrote: »

Setanta already have league games and theres not much said about that. They have their pick of Saturday evening games, exclusive!!

The reason that a fuss isn't kicked up over Setanta is bcause its league, not championship.
Rightly or wrongly the league isn't as popular a draw as championship. The fans aren't as excited about it, the media both print and tv/radio don't pay as much attention to it. Even the counties themselves don't place as much emphasis on the league.

Beefy78

Hidalgo wrote: »

I'm hoping they market it, but are have analysts that aren't afraid to be critical if needs be, no Jamie Redknapps please.
If they use their machinery and technology then great, one aspect I would love to see is speed tracking of the ball, particularly for penaltys in hurling, a la the speed camera used in baseball

The style of punditary depends on the sport. Soccer, for some reason, has always accepted very low level of 'expert' analysis before, during and after games. But there are a lot of sports which Sky show for which they provide excellent expert opinion and critical analysis of the games on display. Cricket and American Football being two off the top of my head.

Hidalgo

Beefy78 wrote: »

The style of punditary depends on the sport. Soccer, for some reason, has always accepted very low level of 'expert' analysis before, during and after games. But there are a lot of sports which Sky show for which they provide excellent expert opinion and critical analysis of the games on display. Cricket and American Football being two off the top of my head.

I've always enjoyed their NFL analysis.
It will be interesting to see just how much of the technology at Sky's disposal is actually employed. Hopefully it makes it a better spectacle for those watching on TV.

ThirdMan

hardybuck wrote: »

Anyone who thinks that these large professional organisations could allow themselves to be bullied into such practises, and the GAA will be too stubborn and will not, is mad or naive or both. It may not happen in this deal, but it will in time.

What makes you think the PL or the ERC were bullied into those practices? The fact that the reasons behind them are commercial and not sporting does not mean that the governing body is not agreeable to them. Do you think the PL would go back to 3pm kick offs if it could? Would the ERC? Of course they wouldn't. Anyone that thinks otherwise is mad, naive, or both.

And you say the GAA are interested in increasing their commercial revenue. So why would they need to be bullied into it? If what you say is true then they'd jump at the opportunity. Either the GAA will be bullied into making money, or they're out to make money. Which is it?

Squareball

On a selfish note I am getting everything I wanted in this agreement. A high quality HD signal into my house (in Pennsylvania) at a cost, I am just over the moon with that. I think the notion that the SKY part of the package is part of my deal is not accurate. The Sky package will give some access to the British market that TV3 could not offer, that is why the GAA went with them and that’s where I think they made a bad decision. I think GAA President Liam O’Neill was way out of line when he said folks who could (would) not access SKY “could go to the games or to somebody with Sky access”. A “let them eat cake” kind of statement and not in touch with reality. The GAA should not have an attitude like that.

robbiezero

From an article linked in an earlier post.
Leinster away quarter final in 2006 had 255,000 people watch it on RTE.
the 2007 Leinster away q/f was watched by 47,000 people on Sky.

If a similar fall-off happens for the All-Ireland football q/f's, this venture in my view will have been a mistake.

Hidalgo

robbiezero wrote: »

From an article linked in an earlier post.
Leinster away quarter final in 2006 had 255,000 people watch it on RTE.
the 2007 Leinster away q/f was watched by 47,000 people on Sky.

If a similar fall-off happens for the All-Ireland football q/f's, this venture in my view will have been a mistake.

That and the other figures from that Paul Rouse article highlight an alarming drop off. One far higher than I would have imagined tbh. If someone said the drop off would be that high, they would be laughed out the gate.

It also raises questions of raising the brand globally The figures in that article show a drop off when sports go PPV. If the GAA wanted more people watching games, then FTA would be their best option.

lertsnim

Boom__Boom wrote: »

Ulster SFC will be on BBC NI anyway

Only the Ulster games shown on RTE will be shown on the BBC