Sky eye up the All Ireland championship matches?

The Cush

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Does any fella know if this will be in the normal sky or a new pay for views channel like the boxing,

Mostly on Sky Sports 3.

icdg

Yup, it's not pay per view at all (a la boxing and WWE, where you must pay to view a specific event/card) despite what some people are incorrectly saying.

Worth nothing though, that Sky Sports 3 is outside the scope of Ofcom's "must offer" ruling which means Sky don't have to offer it to other platforms. On this side of the Irish Sea this mainly affects eVision though UPC don't have the HD versions of 3 & 4.

scruffy66

icdg wrote: »

Yup, it's not pay per view at all (a la boxing and WWE, where you must pay to view a specific event/card) despite what some people are incorrectly saying.

Worth nothing though, that Sky Sports 3 is outside the scope of Ofcom's "must offer" ruling which means Sky don't have to offer it to other platforms. On this side of the Irish Sea this mainly affects eVision though UPC don't have the HD versions of 3 & 4.

Surely ITV would have been the better option for the GAA to broadcast the games, they would have reached many more homes than with SkY. Surely
with UTV setting up in Ireland and being freetoair here and the UK they would
have been interested in buying the rights .The money might not have been as much as Sky can offer but you would reach more homes in the Uk and here.

Paying the kind of money SKY is paying is based on the fact that they can claw back the money from people who are happy with freetoair and on lower
packages to fork out the money for them to get a return so by the same token the GAA are asking the Irish people to do the same thing. The GAA asking people to pay 2,3,4 or in some cases 5 times the property TAX in order for SKY to get the return of what their giving the GAA.

Going with ITV/UTV would have been more honorable and ethical for an organisation like the GAA.

Elmo

scruffy66 wrote: »

Surely ITV would have been the better option for the GAA to broadcast the games, they would have reached many more homes than with SkY. Surely
with UTV setting up in Ireland and being freetoair here and the UK they would
have been interested in buying the rights .The money might not have been as much as Sky can offer but you would reach more homes in the Uk and here.

Paying the kind of money SKY is paying is based on the fact that they can claw back the money from people who are happy with freetoair and on lower
packages to fork out the money for them to get a return so by the same token the GAA are asking the Irish people to do the same thing. The GAA asking people to pay 2,3,4 or in some cases 5 times the property TAX in order for SKY to get the return of what their giving the GAA.

Going with ITV/UTV would have been more honorable and ethical for an organisation like the GAA.

ITV and UTV would have to be interested. I don't think UTV have any plans for Sports on UTV Ireland. UTV would only be providing GAA on UTV in NI, ITV and STV would not network those games on their channels, even if they were interested it might be available on ITV4, but UTV have no interest in ITV4.

GAA could have sold the FTA rights to TV3. TV3 could go on FreeView in NI along with RTÉ and TG4 on the "saorview" mux (though they would have to exclude all their ITV programmes). TV3 could provide a HD channel on Soarview. The GAA could have sold all 44 games to Sky for British coverage.

scruffy66

Elmo wrote: »

ITV and UTV would have to be interested. I don't think UTV have any plans for Sports on UTV Ireland. UTV would only be providing GAA on UTV in NI, ITV and STV would not network those games on their channels, even if they were interested it might be available on ITV4, but UTV have no interest in ITV4.

GAA could have sold the FTA rights to TV3. TV3 could go on FreeView in NI along with RTÉ and TG4 on the "saorview" mux (though they would have to exclude all their ITV programmes). TV3 could provide a HD channel on Soarview. The GAA could have sold all 44 games to Sky for British coverage.

So there was plenty of options out there without the need for GAA to ask hard pressed Irish people in the middle of the worst recession in our history
to fork out multiples of the property Tax in order for SKY to recoup its money

Elmo

scruffy66 wrote: »

So there was plenty of options out there without the need for GAA to ask hard pressed Irish people in the middle of the worst recession in our history
to fork out multiples of the property Tax in order for SKY to recoup its money

I think the option that they should have approached was Sky buying all 44 games for the British market with TV3 taking their 14 games for FTA.

UTV seem not to be interested in Sports. I think this is a very unwise move.

TV3 seem not to be interested in providing TV3 HD. This is a very unwise move.

keane2097

Isn't the recession statistically over for the last good while? I can see Irish people still complaining about the recession anytime they're asked to put their hands in their pockets in 2050.

Elmo

keane2097 wrote: »

Isn't the recession statistically over for the last good while? I can see Irish people still complaining about the recession anytime they're asked to put their hands in their pockets in 2050.

So we should continue to be ripped off?

keane2097

Elmo wrote: »

So we should continue to be ripped off?

My question was "aren't we out of recession rather than in the middle of one".

Johnboy1951

keane2097 wrote: »

My question was "aren't we out of recession rather than in the middle of one".

I guess that depends on who you mean by "we" ......most of those hit hardest by the recession are still hurting badly, regardless what we might be told by spin-doctors.

Syferus

Huge amount of populist journo-scutter appearing in the rags with regards this deal.

Liam Fay in the Indo yesterday championing GAA fans 'who regularly pay big-money ticket prices' despite the fact there are hardly any major sporting organisations in the developed world with better pricing than the GAA.

You can tell the bluffers a mile away, at least these talking heads have almost no influence on public opinion anymore.

kksaints

keane2097 wrote: »

My question was "aren't we out of recession rather than in the middle of one".

Technically but the growth rate is still fairly low.

keane2097

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I guess that depends on who you mean by "we" ......most of those hit hardest by the recession are still hurting badly, regardless what we might be told by spin-doctors.

I mean the country, the people of Ireland. There is actually a definition of what a recession actually is like. Some people are always going to be having a better year or a worse year, are we going to declare mini-recessions on a house by house basis from now on and allow the entire population to point to that and say "you can't do this to us and we smack bang in the middle of the worst recession in history" when in reality the middle of the recession was about four years ago.

There's clearly an argument to be had on the whole Sky deal thing, but us being in the middle of a recession is not something that has any place it.

keane2097

kksaints wrote: »

Technically but the growth rate is still fairly low.

As though there was only a trivial distinction to be made between "technically out of recession" and "in the middle of the biggest recession in our history"!

Elmo

keane2097 wrote: »

As though there was only a trivial distinction to be made between "technically out of recession" and "in the middle of the biggest recession in our history"!

Even if we are in a recession, going into a recession, coming out of a recession or in the middle of a boom doesn't mean we should pay over the odds.

Boom__Boom

Really excellent article by Donal Og Cusack in d'Examiner yesterday.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/this-is-gaa-country-come-on-in-sky-264449.html

scruffy66

keane2097 wrote: »

Isn't the recession statistically over for the last good while? I can see Irish people still complaining about the recession anytime they're asked to put their hands in their pockets in 2050.

Surely the point is not whether the recession is over or not but the fact that
there where plenty of other options open to the GAA as mentioned.

ITV 4 showing the matches along with TV3 and RTE or SKY having exclusive
rights to show all the matches in the UK but not here.

iT was said by the GAA that it wasn't about the money it was about getting the game to a wider audience but the options above and im sure there are even more options given a bit of an imagination ,show that it was about the money and to say otherwise is just a down right lie

Elmo

While I am against this move, it is unlikely that ITV are interested in GAA, ITV would need to be interested.

But Sky could take all 44 games to a wider audience in Britain. Instead the diaspora will be paying Sky and GAA Go for that. (Unless they have an Irish Sky Card).

Onthe3rdDay

scruffy66 wrote: »

iT was said by the GAA that it wasn't about the money it was about getting the game to a wider audience but the options above and im sure there are even more options given a bit of an imagination ,show that it was about the money and to say otherwise is just a down right lie

It was about the money in the sense that they are under the impression that TV3 might not be around in a year or two and decided to Sell the rights to someone who will be around.

keane2097

scruffy66 wrote: »

Surely the point is not whether the recession is over or not but the fact that
there where plenty of other options open to the GAA as mentioned.

Just to clarify, I presume this is an agreement that the non-extant recession is a completely pointless thing to bring up?

keane2097

Elmo wrote: »

Even if we are in a recession, going into a recession, coming out of a recession or in the middle of a boom doesn't mean we should pay over the odds.

i.e. the recession is irrelevant.

2moreMinutes

keane2097 wrote: »

Just to clarify, I presume this is an agreement that the non-extant recession is a completely pointless thing to bring up?

Even if the recession isn't brought up, theres still the poor old people and the future alcoholic ten year olds to consider.

keane2097

2moreMinutes wrote: »

Even if the recession isn't brought up, theres still the poor old people and the future alcoholic ten year olds to consider.

lol, I know. It's the real who's who of dodgy Irish reasons to complain about everything - what about old people on top of mountains, think of the children and the recession.

windy shepard henderson

2moreMinutes wrote: »

Even if the recession isn't brought up, theres still the poor old people and the future alcoholic ten year olds to consider.

i think its perfect for the future alcoholic 10 year old ,........it will get him/her used to the pub surroundings at an earlier age , thus better stories to be burning the ear of lads 30 years down the line

scruffy66

keane2097 wrote: »

Just to clarify, I presume this is an agreement that the non-extant recession is a completely pointless thing to bring up?

Look , my main point is that the spin doctors in the GAA are hard at work telling everybody that it has nothing to do with the money and more to do with getting the game out to the diaspora and as was said early they could have sold all the rights to SKY for games in UK or got ITV on board or another Freetoair/Freeview UK channel on board.

But the GAA went for more money from SKY and SKY paid it with the thinking that people on a basic package will up their package to SKY sports and that people who are freetoair will switch to SKY.

I find that people who think 750 euro a month is a pittance are usually in a well paid Job or their mortgage is almost paid and kids are raised or their
on social welfare and working on the side or living at home watching their parents SKY . Which one are you ? . Im self employed with 2 young kids
and a mortgage and think 750 euro and 150 for the licence for a bit of TV
is a bit rich.

jack o shea

the gaa cant have it every way, we stay free to air or if sky are in then we play the players, im against paying the players but its ridiculous to think they can play for nothing with the gaa and sky making millions off them, its actually pathetic when you think about it, i hope the players go on strike to be honest.

The Lost Sheep

scruffy66 wrote: »

Look , my main point is that the spin doctors in the GAA are hard at work telling everybody that it has nothing to do with the money and more to do with getting the game out to the diaspora and as was said early they could have sold all the rights to SKY for games in UK or got ITV on board or another Freetoair/Freeview UK channel on board.

But the GAA went for more money from SKY and SKY paid it with the thinking that people on a basic package will up their package to SKY sports and that people who are freetoair will switch to SKY.

I find that people who think 750 euro a month is a pittance are usually in a well paid Job or their mortgage is almost paid and kids are raised or their
on social welfare and working on the side or living at home watching their parents SKY . Which one are you ? . Im self employed with 2 young kids
and a mortgage and think 750 euro and 150 for the licence for a bit of TV
is a bit rich.

750 a month??? Drop the zero. What you on about 750??
They presumably got better deal, not just monetary, to go with Sky. Is it known that ITV/Freetoair UK channels were interested or was it just Sky?

RoyalCelt

jack o shea wrote: »

the gaa cant have it every way, we stay free to air or if sky are in then we play the players, im against paying the players but its ridiculous to think they can play for nothing with the gaa and sky making millions off them, its actually pathetic when you think about it, i hope the players go on strike to be honest.

they gaa's tv deal per annum was just over 10million. With this it will go to 1 million max. How can you pay players with an increase like that?

How do you suggest they stop players from freely transferring under EU law?

The administrators are not getting a pay increase. They re invest most of their revenue and that will include 15 million sterling into the new casement and a lot into corks new stadium.

In case you don't know most players are in favour of this and don't expect to be paid. What most of them are actually looking for is an increase in the GPA grant from the government which I agree with but I also think the GAA should increase it with their own funds as well if they can afford.

Dirty Dingus McGee

jack o shea wrote: »

the gaa cant have it every way, we stay free to air or if sky are in then we play the players, im against paying the players but its ridiculous to think they can play for nothing with the gaa and sky making millions off them, its actually pathetic when you think about it, i hope the players go on strike to be honest.

The GAA aren't making millions off the players a huge amount of county boards and clubs are in deficit each year.The players/coaches have demanded higher standards which has resulted in greater expenses in preparing teams which means the GAA and county boards need to find extra ways of generating revenue.The GAA would need to be able to generate at least another 50-60 million euro if they were to start paying the players, in truth they would probably need to generate closer to 80 million per year in order to have a reasonable buffer.I cannot see how the GAA could generate even close to enough money to be able to pay the players.

prospect

ProudDUB wrote: »

That is nonsense. You don't have to sign up for a whole years just to get Sky Sports. Why on earth would someone pay for a years service, when Sky are only broadcasting GAA games in the summer?

Minimum 12 month contract sign up.

prospect

RoyalCelt wrote: »

as prouddub said that's just so unnecessary . why not get sky for june, july and august as they are the only months the exclusive GAA matches will be shown. and if you really like their coverage sure why not throw september in too for the finals.

Because you are assuming that everyone has a paid subscription to a premium TV service like UPC or SKY.

You cannot sign up to the basic service for 2 months and then cancel, you have to sign on for 12 months, and then add the sports to that.

munchkin_utd

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

The GAA aren't making millions off the players a huge amount of county boards and clubs are in deficit each year.The players/coaches have demanded higher standards which has resulted in greater expenses in preparing teams which means the GAA and county boards need to find extra ways of generating revenue.The GAA would need to be able to generate at least another 50-60 million euro if they were to start paying the players, in truth they would probably need to generate closer to 80 million per year in order to have a reasonable buffer.I cannot see how the GAA could generate even close to enough money to be able to pay the players.

+1
on another thread I did the sums roughly and you are coming out at around 80million per year (on top of the existing training expenses) needed to pay full time players earning a little over the average industrial wage.
Edit, the issue is the sheer number of teams which in football is 32 and hurling in or around 16 - and practically speaking you arent going to reduce those numbers unless you kick out half the football teams from the championship!

You could trick with the sums, but no matter what way you work it the bill will be collossal. And whether its 30million or 50 or 80 its kindof irrelevant in the discussion about sky provoking a professional game, as an increase in TV money will never pay for it seeing as all media rights (tv/radio on all channels combined) only comes in at 10million combined currently.
Theres a "minimal" increase this year to be expected, so say 10% or 1million - which is far from the 10s of millions needed

maestroamado

RoyalCelt wrote: »

they gaa's tv deal per annum was just over 10million. With this it will go to 1 million max. How can you pay players with an increase like that?

How do you suggest they stop players from freely transferring under EU law?

The administrators are not getting a pay increase. They re invest most of their revenue and that will include 15 million sterling into the new casement and a lot into corks new stadium.

In case you don't know most players are in favour of this and don't expect to be paid. What most of them are actually looking for is an increase in the GPA grant from the government which I agree with but I also think the GAA should increase it with their own funds as well if they can afford.

the gaa seem to be on the same system as rehab as it too is a charity which gives it favourable tax status.... government grants for infrastructure player grants.... the heads on the top are on big salaries.... delegates for county boards and provincial councils are rewarded by means of what is called expenses... there is money for everyone but the most important people who play and make the game what it is.... the good thing about this move is that they have moved in with the big boys and will have to act like grown ups...

WesternZulu

maestroamado wrote: »

the gaa seem to be on the same system as rehab as it too is a charity which gives it favourable tax status.... government grants for infrastructure player grants.... the heads on the top are on big salaries.... delegates for county boards and provincial councils are rewarded by means of what is called expenses... there is money for everyone but the most important people who play and make the game what it is.... the good thing about this move is that they have moved in with the big boys and will have to act like grown ups...

This is like a rant you'd hear on Joe Duffy about 'the Gah' from someone who knows little about how the organisation works and relies on hearsay to form their opinion.

-If the GAA seems to be run in the same manner as rehab, would you not apply the same argument to Irish Olympians?
-Who are these heads at the top on big salaries?
-As already mentioned it would cost in the region of 80 million to pay the players so it's pretty clear the money isn't there, or do you know something we all don't?
-How haven't they been acting like 'grown ups' before now? The GAA are one of the best run organisations in the country.

As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

keane2097

scruffy66 wrote: »

Look , my main point is that the spin doctors in the GAA are hard at work telling everybody that it has nothing to do with the money and more to do with getting the game out to the diaspora and as was said early they could have sold all the rights to SKY for games in UK or got ITV on board or another Freetoair/Freeview UK channel on board.

But the GAA went for more money from SKY and SKY paid it with the thinking that people on a basic package will up their package to SKY sports and that people who are freetoair will switch to SKY.

I find that people who think 750 euro a month is a pittance are usually in a well paid Job or their mortgage is almost paid and kids are raised or their
on social welfare and working on the side or living at home watching their parents SKY . Which one are you ? . Im self employed with 2 young kids
and a mortgage and think 750 euro and 150 for the licence for a bit of TV
is a bit rich.

Obviously €750 a month would be a little outlandish, but it does prompt another question, namely what price would you think is reasonable to pay for the 90 odd GAA matches that are on TV every year?

maestroamado

WesternZulu wrote: »

This is like a rant you'd hear on Joe Duffy about 'the Gah' from someone who knows little about how the organisation works and relies on hearsay to form their opinion.

-If the GAA seems to be run in the same manner as rehab, would you not apply the same argument to Irish Olympians?
-Who are these heads at the top on big salaries?
-As already mentioned it would cost in the region of 80 million to pay the players so it's pretty clear the money isn't there, or do you know something we all don't?
-How haven't they been acting like 'grown ups' before now? The GAA are one of the best run organisations in the country.

As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

I cannot confirm the salaries as it is nowhere on any financial report available to me... the only information I could find was 3 or 4 pages on the annual report... it may be that a knowledgeable person like yourself can direct me to where these not so large salaries can be confirmed.... there was nothing made clear as to what it would cost to pay players that is just one opinion which is valid as is your opinion but you do not see mine you think it is a rant....
I will avoid your mention of the Olympics as this thread is about gaa and anyway I know nothing of their organization... I must add I have considerable knowledge of the gaa but it seems not as much as your goodself...I am very interested in any info you have in regard to this
I do agree that it is well run to be able to get thousands and thousands of people (me included) give of their time to bring the game to the people at great cost of time and money....

iDave

Honestly the hysteria on this, both here, other forums and on the national airwaves has been pathetic. A very Irish reaction though unfortunately.
Poor Jimmy living in the middle of nowhere who doesn't drink, have a car, too frail to go to games, earn anything and no neighbours being talked about in the hundreds of thousands while all our 10 years olds will be alcoholics in no time because they'll watch their county in a provincial quarter final in a pub. Jesus I went to pubs loads of times as a kid to watch Premiership and I've been drunk once since Xmas.
My main criticism of the GAA throughout this is they didn't present it very well. Duffy and O'Neill should of been armed with statistics as to where the TV money would go. Make it as clear as possible who and how the grassroots will benefit. Perhaps an additional 5 or so games should of gone to RTE to soften the blow also.
McKenna I think would of been better suited to the Prime Time debate but its all moot now.

maestroamado

iDave wrote: »

Honestly the hysteria on this, both here, other forums and on the national airwaves has been pathetic. A very Irish reaction though unfortunately.
Poor Jimmy living in the middle of nowhere who doesn't drink, have a car, too frail to go to games, earn anything and no neighbours being talked about in the hundreds of thousands while all our 10 years olds will be alcoholics in no time because they'll watch their county in a provincial quarter final in a pub. Jesus I went to pubs loads of times as a kid to watch Premiership and I've been drunk once since Xmas.
My main criticism of the GAA throughout this is they didn't present it very well. Duffy and O'Neill should of been armed with statistics as to where the TV money would go. Make it as clear as possible who and how the grassroots will benefit. Perhaps an additional 5 or so games should of gone to RTE to soften the blow also.
McKenna I think would of been better suited to the Prime Time debate but its all moot now.

me thinks this debate is the best thing happened in the gaa for years and get the organization sorted out and ran professionally??
recently I saw a photo in the local rag of the county delegates... one of my neighbours who is 60+ was in it and there was only one other who looked younger than him....
also I am kindof in agreement with sky but agree the financial benefits should go to the players.

Danno

@ PROSPECT:

Sky will allow you to cancel Sky Sports with a 30-day notice.

I rang Sky on Saturday to enquire about getting sports. An extra €36 per month, but are offering €18 per month for six months and you can cancel at any time - no minimum contract.

A new Sky customer will be obliged to take a contract for 12 months, but can downgrade to the cheapest pack €28 per month.

So, the real cost of anyone getting in Sky for the GAA months will be... €28 X 12 months = €336 plus €18 X 3 months = €54... Total = €390 for the year, not the €750~€1000 annual figure floating around the media and comments forums this past week.

munchkin_utd

iDave wrote: »

<snip>
My main criticism of the GAA throughout this is they didn't present it very well. Duffy and O'Neill should of been armed with statistics as to where the TV money would go. Make it as clear as possible who and how the grassroots will benefit. Perhaps an additional 5 or so games should of gone to RTE to soften the blow also.
McKenna I think would of been better suited to the Prime Time debate but its all moot now.

have to agree with you somewhat that a little more clarity would have been no harm although to be honest the repeated statement that 80% of all income goes back to games development, counties and clubs does not seem to be grasped by many.

I thought the 20% on admin was a little high, but if you look in the accounts there's a chunk of that spent on advertising/ promotion, a chunk on IT support (so the mail/ registration system etc) and the likes - so not even half of it on wages.

Danno

munchkin_utd wrote: »

have to agree with you somewhat that a little more clarity would have been no harm although to be honest the repeated statement that 80% of all income goes back to games development, counties and clubs does not seem to be grasped by many.

I thought the 20% on admin was a little high, but if you look in the accounts there's a chunk of that spent on advertising/ promotion, a chunk on IT support (so the mail/ registration system etc) and the likes - so not even half of it on wages.

It's 86% goes back in with 14% going on the admin/advertising/IT/wages.

nice_guy80

Or just stream them for free

prospect

Danno wrote: »

So, the real cost of anyone getting in Sky for the GAA months will be... €28 X 12 months = €336 plus €18 X 3 months = €54... Total = €390 for the year, not the €750~€1000 annual figure floating around the media and comments forums this past week.

Ah sure that makes it grand so.
(also a lot more than the €50 someone else alluded to).

keane2097

prospect wrote: »

Ah sure that makes it grand so.
(also a lot more than the €50 someone else alluded to).

If you had to put a value you believe the 90 odd games a year shown on TV are worth to you what would you guess at that value being?

munchkin_utd

prospect wrote: »

Ah sure that makes it grand so.
(also a lot more than the €50 someone else alluded to).

well, it can be done for 60stg, or 66Euro a year.

Sky Sports TV
Everyone can get Sky Sports on iPhone or iPod touch with the Sky Sports TV app.Watch up to seven live channels including Sky Sports 1-4, Sky Sports Formula 1, Sky Sports News and Sky News on wherever you are in the UK and Ireland. Subscribe for £4.99/€5.49 per month and enjoy the best sporting action from Sky on the move.

http://www1.skysports.com/mobile/watch-live

iDave

Don't usually like him but this is a very sensible article by Donal Og

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/this-is-gaa-country-come-on-in-sky-264449.html

By Donal Óg Cusack



For a while there I was worried about those IRFU ads telling me that I lived in ‘rugby country.’ All those good looking people with faraway looks on their faces, standing around in pubs and on trawlers? No cauliflower ears or concussion? Were these my fellow citizens?

I even raised concern within Croke Park about the huge rugby ad that sits on the bridge outside the stadium. Rugby country was getting too close for comfort.

I now know that ‘rugby country’ just was wishful thinking by the chaps. The trawler men and the drinkers were taking a break from watching the Heineken Cup on pay-per-view and getting back to arguing about the GAA.

Love it or hate it, this is GAA country. No sporting body comes close to creating such pride or such fury. The banks ruined the country and we took it all calmly. A relatively straightforward business decision by the GAA this week? Pandemonium. It made me wonder again if the GAA world is divided in two – those who give so much and then those who bellyache about someone getting rich through the GAA and want to know ‘where’s mine’? This was a big week for the bellyache brigade and the vested interests crying crocodile tears for the old people, the children, the community and the poor dead patriots.

Many good people in the middle got caught or confused in the gun smoke – from bar stool to ‘Liveline’ they were egged on.

For me that’s all that the Sky furore is. A straight-forward decision. Global professional sports make these decisions every day. This is GAA Country though.

Every citizen feels they have an ownership stake. That’s what makes our association unique.

Unique and probably indestructible. The Ban didn’t kill the GAA. Neither did lifting the ban. Nothing can. Colour television. The broadcast of soccer games on colour television. Ireland at three World Cups. The sudden outbreak of provincial rugby mania. Soccer in Croke Park. Sponsors names on jerseys. Prawn sandwich brigadiers in corporate boxes. Nothing left so much as a scratch.

The GPA didn’t kill us. The Cork hurlers didn’t kill us. Even Frank Murphy and Bob Ryan can’t kill us. Rupert Murdoch certainly won’t.

The marriage of the GAA to Sky Sports just pushes too many easy buttons for some people. If the 14 games concerned weren’t being broadcast at all, there wouldn’t have been a murmur of complaint last week.

Instead a lot of people lost the run of themselves. It was ugly. I think somebody, somewhere is getting rich. What about me?

We have to be fair here to Jerry Kiernan. He plainly expresses his dislike of the GAA. Others speak out of both sides of their mouths. All week flames were stoked by people with veiled agendas, people who would prefer if the GAA argued its way back to the Stone Age. Extra sparks came from our hardcore ‘never darken their door again members.’ Both groups genuinely overestimated the impact the Sky deal will have.

It’s time to calm down again. GAA life will go on as normal. Old people won’t die because a qualifier is on pay per view somewhere, while they watch a game on RTÉ. Children won’t become alcoholics because there is a big screen on down in the pub. Nothing has changed yet all week the GAA’s commitment to its community has been used as a stick to batter and belittle the association.

I watched a recording of Tuesday night’s Prime Time and saw the easy and unoriginal mocking of the GAA as the Grab All Association. Yawn. The same mouldy abuse gets hurled whenever the GAA protects its own future.

Our association’s insistence on amateurism is a blunt weapon for the usual suspects. Amateurism doesn’t mean everything comes free. And if it isn’t free, it doesn’t mean somebody somewhere must be making out like a bandit.

Who will get rich from lying down with the Sky Sports? Nobody. Absolutely nobody. Not Paraic Duffy or Liam O’Neill.

Who got rich when sponsors names went on jerseys, when the naming rights to competitions were sold, when Croke Park was built with a layer of premium seats and executive boxes? Nobody.

The money spread pays for progress. In the austerity years, many clubs got assistance with building ball alleys, laying new surfaces, erecting floodlights, creating new dressing rooms, installing gyms etc. Some county boards have begun creating centres of excellence. The work on updating grounds is endless. The numbers of full time games development officers continues to grow in the more thoughtful counties, I hear.

Murdoch money won’t put an end to the cycle of debt and fundraising most clubs endure. There are too many clubs and not enough money for that. But the money helps.

Will the players get rich? No. The GAA has always been pragmatic and innovative in these matters. Michael Cusack pointed out that it was better for a ‘poor Irish youth to accept his travelling expenses and a sovereign or two to get the fish and butter’ than for the association to hang itself clinging to Victorian notions of amateurism among the social elite.

Presently, there is no workable, sustainable model of pay for play. It is not on the agenda. Trust me I’ve been down that road and looked around – it wouldn’t work.

Let’s be clear. In the divide between those who give and those who take, our players are among those who give far more to the association than they take. And when we retire most of us continue giving. It is merely sensible in this competitive sporting environment that the GAA ensures its top players are happy and well treated and can put fish and butter on the table. Again the money helps and will help the GPA through its excellent player welfare programme.

If the Sky deal means players are better looked after that is a good thing but Sky and media in general would do well to remember that exploitation of GAA players’ image rights, and assumptions of the sort made about professional athletes won’t suit the GAA model. Players are amateurs with working and home lives within their own community. That connection is important to the players and the GAA. It must be respected.

Is there a risk in joining hands with Sky Sports? There is but it is a small one. The risk is smaller than the gamble we took in buying Croke Park over 100 years ago, the outrage this week not much worse than the outrage back then when it was proposed that somebody be paid £100 a year to look after the place.

We have always come through. Generally we have seen the benefits in hindsight. If, as a sporting community, the GAA is unhappy with Sky in 2017 the money isn’t so great that it will have made us dependent. We can go another way.

By then it is likely that television will have gone another direction anyway. The GAA needs to be well positioned for the communications revolution ahead. Technology and the ‘internet of things’ will radically change the experience for the audience, be they at the game or watching. As an industry, television is moving away from the idea of viewers sitting down at an appointed time to watch programming on a box in the corner. By 2017 the challenge will be getting the games to viewers worldwide through a range of mobile devices and tablets. The traditional ads we see on the side of pitches will be presented through these devices in different ways, depending on your interests and where you watch the game from. Twenty years ago we never envisaged the discussions we’re having this week. In five year’s time, this week’s row will seem quaint.

In the meantime we will pull through and pull together. This is GAA country. When the GAA is irrelevant and ignored, that’s when the damage is irreparable. Let’s get back to worrying about what we can put into the GAA, not what we can take out, let’s continue being the most conservative revolutionary body the sporting world has known.

If you don’t like it, call Joe…

keeponhurling

I thought after Donal Óg called it a "straight forward business decision" he would go on to explain why it makes sense or is straight forward.

Nobody's doubting the money goes to fund clubhouses etc., or that the GAA will continue to survive.

I think I'm the exact opposite to you iDave, I usually do like Dónal Óg, but it is a nothing article.

brianxc

Hey,

are you sure the Sky sports mobile tv app is available in the republic? I searched the sky Ireland website pretty extensively - no mention of this. Only option is to sign up to Sky Go.

Sky go is free currently to SKY subscribers, but if you are not one, it costs a whopping €50 a month (Sky go package that includes pay sports channels - basic package at €18 pm does not include sports.)

Also the sky sports mobile tv app, according to website, is only available for iphone and androids smartphones, tablet support? Can't imagine that looking at hurling champ on a 3.5 in screen would be anything other than underwhelming! No mention of support for ipad or android tablet support.

Perhaps someone could confirm this is available in republic, but its suspiciously missing from Sky Ireland webpage (www.sky.ie).

In any case for non-subscribers of Sky, which would be the majority of the population of this island, we can expect to pay sums in the hundreds to access the qualifier/AI matches planned to be behind the paywall.

This assumes that the broadband speed is acceptable to stream HD content - which wouldn't be the case for a large percentage of this country outside the main population centres...

Feel free to poke holes in my argument above -

Johnboy1951

If they had come out and simply said 'we did it for the money', in relation to the Sky deal, then it would have been, at least, understandable ... even if they might have had to explain why they needed the relatively small amount of gain in fees received versus the games lost to FTA in Ireland.

To say it was done to promote the games in the UK and to convenience the Irish living there, is just not believable ....... particularly in light of the deal they have done in Aus where all games are FTA.

keane2097 wrote:

If you had to put a value you believe the 90 odd games a year shown on TV are worth to you what would you guess at that value being?

I don't watch ALL games shown on TV ....... not even ALL games shown FTA.
Yet if everybody chose only 6 games they wanted to definitely view, ALL would be in the list.

Your comment makes me wonder if there are many who would watch ALL games broadcast .....

I often start to watch a game, in whose outcome I have no particular interest, only to abandon it if it does not live up to expectations 'as a game'.
If the game keeps my interest then I will watch it all.

Given the viewer stats quoted earlier in this thread, it would appear there are quite a number of people who do something similar.

keane2097

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

If they had come out and simply said 'we did it for the money', in relation to the Sky deal, then it would have been, at least, understandable ... even if they might have had to explain why they needed the relatively small amount of gain in fees received versus the games lost to FTA in Ireland.

To say it was done to promote the games in the UK and to convenience the Irish living there, is just not believable ....... particularly in light of the deal they have done in Aus where all games are FTA.



I don't watch ALL games shown on TV ....... not even ALL games shown FTA.
Yet if everybody chose only 6 games they wanted to definitely view, ALL would be in the list.

Your comment makes me wonder if there are many who would watch ALL games broadcast .....

I often start to watch a game, in whose outcome I have no particular interest, only to abandon it if it does not live up to expectations 'as a game'.
If the game keeps my interest then I will watch it all.

Given the viewer stats quoted earlier in this thread, it would appear there are quite a number of people who do something similar.

I'm not sure I'm following you, I suppose I'm just trying to ascertain whether people think all these games on TV have no value at all or that it's just that they're not actually willing to pay.