Sky eye up the All Ireland championship matches?

Realt Dearg Sec

RoyalCelt wrote: »

They did it to expand the GAA and one aspect of that is increased revenue. None of the officials are getting a pay increase. All extra money is back into the association

They have a 15 million sterling bill for casement and will be paying some of the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh bill.

I've ended up in arguments with people on both sides of this debate, and I think the reason is because the deal is so confusing, no justification for the deal is entirely sensible, and no argument against it is entirely coherent either. It's just very confusing. How does the deal actually expand the GAA (beyond the increased revenue, which they have said is quite small and was not their motivating factor, even though every other motivating factor is equally unimpressive)? If emigrants still have to go to the pub to watch it, which I was under the impression was exactly the problem the Sky deal was meant to solve, and if the streaming service is unavailable in the UK (which DEFINITELY was meant to provide an alternative to the pub), then we're back to square one. What has actually improved for the emigrant looking to watch the match (at least in the UK, which is obviously the place we're talking about here, with the Sky deal)? I'm genuinely confused.

Not sure why you mentioned officials getting a pay increase. I never suggested they were.

The Cush

GAAGO™ is the new subscription-based online streaming service being launched by the GAA and RTÉ Digital is the new sponsor for the senior All-Ireland football championship to replace the Ulster Bank as one of the three official partners.

Meanwhile the GAA yesterday unveiled a new sponsor for the senior All-Ireland football championship to replace the Ulster Bank as one of the three official partners.

GAAGO™ is the new subscription-based online streaming service being launched by the GAA and RTÉ Digital and will join eircom and SuperValu as the third brand in the GAA’s multi-sponsor model. The deal is believed to be for just a year in order to raise awareness of the new service, which will be available outside of Ireland and will offer live and on-demand GAA games starting during the 2014 championship.

Subscribers will be able to view the games online on any internet-enabled device including mobile phones, tablet devices and laptops. Full details will be announced in early May. The hurling championship sponsors are unchanged: Etihad, Centra and Liberty Insurance.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/allianz-football-league-final-attendance-the-second-biggest-in-over-20-years-1.1776816

GAAGO - the new subscription-based online streaming service being launched by the GAA and RTÉ Digital – is to be a sponsor of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
...

The new service will be available outside of Ireland and will offer live and on-demand games online starting during the 2014 Championships.

Subscribers will be able to view the games on any internet-enabled device including mobile phones, tablet devices and laptops.

Full details will be announced in early May.

RTÉ Director General, Noel Curran, said: “We are delighted to be working with the GAA to bring such an innovative service to our supporters around the world.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2014/0428/612685-gaago/

RTE fences mended in green light for 'GAAGO' - Irish Independent

iDave

Has this been done because they cant find an Ulster Bank replacement or am I cynical?

Elmo

iDave wrote: »

Has this been done because they cant find an Ulster Bank replacement or am I cynical?

In a statement the GAA have stated that GAA GO is to replace Ulster Bank as one of the sponsors to GAA Championship Football. This fits with the over all move to promote the sport abroad, it means that the GAA are able to continue to provide quality coverage and sponsorship to all of the GAA games, and a clear effort into to providing such services to GAA communities around the world. The brand of the GAA fit perfectly with the brand of GAA GO.

RoyalCelt

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

I've ended up in arguments with people on both sides of this debate, and I think the reason is because the deal is so confusing, no justification for the deal is entirely sensible, and no argument against it is entirely coherent either. It's just very confusing. How does the deal actually expand the GAA (beyond the increased revenue, which they have said is quite small and was not their motivating factor, even though every other motivating factor is equally unimpressive)? If emigrants still have to go to the pub to watch it, which I was under the impression was exactly the problem the Sky deal was meant to solve, and if the streaming service is unavailable in the UK (which DEFINITELY was meant to provide an alternative to the pub), then we're back to square one. What has actually improved for the emigrant looking to watch the match (at least in the UK, which is obviously the place we're talking about here, with the Sky deal)? I'm genuinely confused.

Not sure why you mentioned officials getting a pay increase. I never suggested they were.

I think anyone with a bit of sense knows they did it for 3 reasons. Increased revenue, increased exposure and to cover the GAA family abroad. The problem is Irish people love to go down the money is evil route especially when it comes to things they feel they have the right to see for free. I don't blame the GAA for leaving out that reason.

Prop Joe

Sky are very professional in fairness,Look at the research that goes into covering the GAA

iDave

Few teething problems as expected. Nice to see someone bothered to show footage of that match.

Elmo

GAAGO lauching summer 2014 http://gaago.rte.ie/

munchkin_utd

Prop Joe wrote: »

Sky are very professional in fairness,Look at the research that goes into covering the GAA

GAA now has its own section on sky sports news
http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/gaa

Dr.Tank Adams

Con-not, sillian :L

davegrohl48

Dr.Tank Adams wrote: »

Con-not, sillian :L

I'd tune in especially for all of those mispronounciations. That was a good laugh. Also you could pickup how desperately he was trying to not make a major blunder. Seemed to reference Mayo as Title Holders or maybe it was Connaught Title Holders.

LeinsterDub

Ok the pronunciation wasn't but here is RTÉ news' coverage


http://postimg.org/image/gwu7uygmj/

Literally that graphic

Dyr

davegrohl48 wrote: »

I'd tune in especially for all of those mispronounciations. That was a good laugh. Also you could pickup how desperately he was trying to not make a major blunder. Seemed to reference Mayo as Title Holders or maybe it was Connaught Title Holders.

If Mayo win the Connot title theyll be guaranteed championship football in laynester

Elmo

Bambi wrote: »

If Mayo win the Connot title theyll be guaranteed championship football in laynester

You would think that they'd know how to pronounce Connaught and Leinster from Rugby. Why don't they have a 10 min bulletin from Ireland, Scotland and Wales?

Frankie Lee

Apart from the mispronunciation it cannot be considered a bad thing that GAA matches are getting decent reports on a channel that would likely have a few hundred thousand sports fans watching.

ArmaniJeanss

Elmo wrote: »

Why don't they have a 10 min bulletin from Ireland, Scotland and Wales?

If theres something deserving of a 10 minute bulletin (or a 20 or 30 minute bulletin for that matter) then I'm sure they'll do so.
But I'd hate it if they committed themselves to 10 minute bulletins that ended up as filler a lot of the time.

(An an aside I gave up buying the likes of The Sunday Times for that reason, as they appeared committed to 14/16 pages of Irish News and 8 pages of Irish sport, and stuck with this even when the bottom of the barrel of non-stories had to be scraped to fulfil the quota)

Elmo

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

If theres something deserving of a 10 minute bulletin (or a 20 or 30 minute bulletin for that matter) then I'm sure they'll do so.
But I'd hate it if they committed themselves to 10 minute bulletins that ended up as filler a lot of the time.

(An an aside I gave up buying the likes of The Sunday Times for that reason, as they appeared committed to 14/16 pages of Irish News and 8 pages of Irish sport, and stuck with this even when the bottom of the barrel of non-stories had to be scraped to fulfil the quota)

Isn't a news channel largely a time filler. Also Sky Sport News gets about 1.6% the audience in Ireland, never understood why Setanta Ireland didn't just go with a Sport News Service. I am suggesting that the Irish, Scots and Welsh news is part of the channel as a whole, not local opt-outs, like Sky News Ireland. Remember Sky News Ireland?

Mr Simpson

iirc, Setanta did do a sports news service, didn't last long though

Edit: Yep, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setanta_Sports_News

ProudDUB

Odd that they made a haims of Con-ot. You'd think that they would know how to pronounce it from giving scores in rugger games.

fta93

Lot of talk that Niall Quinn is going to be involved in their set up.

Mr Simpson

fta93 wrote: »

Lot of talk that Niall Quinn is going to be involved in their set up.

No, just no

Frankie Lee

fta93 wrote: »

Lot of talk that Niall Quinn is going to be involved in their set up.

He is on the front of the Examiner tomorrow, it is a pity but it was predictable given his profile and the fact he already works for them. If he is presenting rather than analysing it might not be too bad but if he is co-commentating then it will be a disaster of epic proportions.

Mal-Adjusted

Elmo wrote: »

You would think that they'd know how to pronounce Connaught and Leinster from Rugby

ProudDUB wrote: »

Odd that they made a haims of Con-ot. You'd think that they would know how to pronounce it from giving scores in rugger games.

don't worry. Sky have a long history of making a hames of trying and failing to pronounce Connacht.

AugustusMinimus

Would it be that hard to get all the presenters together and to get any Irish employee to show them how to pronounce a number of difficult (to them) Irish words.

The BBC do my head in with their pronunciation of Ken Doherty. They pronounce it as if his name is Tommy Docherty.

iDave

fta93 wrote: »

Lot of talk that Niall Quinn is going to be involved in their set up.

channelsurfer2

so lets see now so much for innovation.... Er Naill hows it going ya fancy some extra work for the summer doing that Oirish Sport stuff we got. Sure Vic I'm your man. Grand so Niall sorted then...

Duckworth_Luas

fta93 wrote: »

Lot of talk that Niall Quinn is going to be involved in their set up.

No Craig Doyle?

aidan24326

Mr Simpson wrote: »

No, just no

Why?

Niall Quinn has the right credentials to be involved.

If you're hoping to pull in a wider audience, as no doubt Sky and the GAA both are, then there isn't much point in just putting Marty Morrissey and Micheal Duignan on there, or any other name/face unrecognisable to anyone who isn't already a GAA follower.

Niall has a strong GAA background and he works for Sky already so he's an obvious choice, someone who is a well-known face to viewers in the UK and of course here aswell.

Mr Simpson

aidan24326 wrote: »

Why?

Niall Quinn has the right credentials to be involved.

If you're hoping to pull in a wider audience, as no doubt Sky and the GAA both are, then there isn't much point putting Marty Morrissey and Micheal Duignan on there, or any other name/face unrecognisable to anyone who isn't already a GAA follower.

Niall has a strong GAA background and he works for Sky already so he's an obvious choice, someone who is a well-known face to viewers in the UK and of course here aswell.

I can't stand him on soccer panels, don't see why GAA would be any different. A good player does not neccesarily make a good pundit/commentator

aidan24326

Mr Simpson wrote: »

I can't stand him on soccer panels, don't see why GAA would be any different. A good player does not neccesarily make a good pundit/commentator

Fair enough, you're entitled to your opinion. I always found him ok, not the worst of them.

And I'm not suggesting that he is the perfect choice to front Sky GAA, just that I don't get why people here are so against it. Who do posters here think would be better? (without just poaching Michael Lyster from RTE, or some similiarly easy answer)

Prop Joe

I assume Sky will go with Quinn as presenter then one anchor analyst for example Paul Galvin for football & Sean óg for hurling.Then they will be joined in studio by a guest such as Shane Long,David Meyler,Paul McShane,Denis Irwin,Packie Bonner,Seamus Coleman,Kevin Moran

Then there will be that English sounding fella from Setanta on commentary with a GAA legend from which ever county is playing on co-commentary.

Won't expect much more from them on that.If Quinn is the route they are going down it will be aimed directly at the UK market.

Can't have anyone with too strong an accent or will start talking about this fella's club going well in the Intermediate club championship or that he hails from the same parish as some fella who won an All Ireland in the 40's

Frankie Lee

Mr Simpson wrote: »

I can't stand him on soccer panels, don't see why GAA would be any different. A good player does not neccesarily make a good pundit/commentator

He'd be a terrible pundit but would make a little bit more sense than Rachel Wyse as a presenter.

Mr Simpson

Frankie Lee wrote: »

He'd be a terrible pundit but would make a little bit more sense than Rachel Wyse as a presenter.

I think I'd watch matches on Sky just for Rachel Wyse

munchkin_utd

aidan24326 wrote: »

Fair enough, you're entitled to your opinion. I always found him ok, not the worst of them.

And I'm not suggesting that he is the perfect choice to front Sky GAA, just that I don't get why people here are so against it. Who do posters here think would be better? (without just poaching Michael Lyster from RTE, or some similiarly easy answer)

thats a pertinent point aidan,
its fine to be against someone but really, if you dont want Quinn then who do you want - bearing in mind he/ she has to make sence to an irish and UK audience.

ProudDUB

Thinks he could be ok if he is doing a Michael Lyster/Des Cahill role. He ticks all the boxes for Sky. He is youngish, presentable, well spoken, he played the game at a respectable level so he knows what he is talking about. Maybe most importantly for Sky, he would be a familiar face for the UK people tuning in.

He is not a part of the GAA world as such, so would not be overly bothered about sucking up to the powers that be, other than the powers that sign his pay check. He is not not embedded in any particular camp. So he (presumably) would not be one of those commentators who make you roll your eyes when the inevitable discussions come up about dem durty nordrinners, or the glorious Kerry traditions. He is also not just killing time in between inter county managerial gigs, so presumably, he wouldn't be trying to serve two masters at the same time. All these are good things imo.

Then again on the negative side, if he is not a part of the GAA world, would he watch or go to enough games to be able to chair or participate in discussions such as the Anthony Nash penalty situ, or whether or not the black card is working? He has a lot of other outside business interests. Will they allow him enough free time to get to know the GAA world inside and out.Time will tell I suppose.

As for whoever else they get, I just hope it is people who have played the games fairly recently, especially when it comes to hurling. Donal Og Cusack would be perfect. RTE have far too many aul dinosaurs who spend all their time spouting cliches and aul guff about the manliness going out of the game, and eff all actually breaking down the specifics of what happened in a game.

iDave

Twitter account set up

@SkySportsGAA

aidan24326

Prop Joe wrote: »

I assume Sky will go with Quinn as presenter then one anchor analyst for example Paul Galvin for football & Sean óg for hurling.Then they will be joined in studio by a guest such as Shane Long,David Meyler,Paul McShane,Denis Irwin,Packie Bonner,Seamus Coleman,Kevin Moran

No harm at all if they brought some of those guys in. That would have a certain crossover appeal, and would introduce GAA to a UK audience in a more familiar kind of way, many of the viewership not being aware that people like Niall Quinn, Shay Given, Martin O'Neill, Shane Long, Kevin Moran etc all have strong GAA backgrounds and that many of them played the game to a pretty high level before embarking on their soccer careers.

ProudDUB wrote: »

Then again on the negative side, if he is not a part of the GAA world, would he watch or go to enough games to be able to chair or participate in discussions such as the Anthony Nash penalty situ, or whether or not the black card is working? He has a lot of other outside business interests. Will they allow him enough free time to get to know the GAA world inside and out.Time will tell I suppose.

Niall Quinn is still an avid GAA follower, hurling in particular, so I don't think that's really an issue. And as for outside business interests that isn't really an issue either, if he signed up to a contract with Sky he'd know what's expected and the sort of time it would require. They're only showing games on Saturday evenings so he would still have ample time for his other interests.

And still no-one has suggested who'd be a better option!

Look at this way lads, at least Niall is a man with a GAA background, who played to a good level and knows the game. Imagine they just threw another dollybird presenter at it?

keane2097

iDave wrote: »

Twitter account set up

@SkySportsGAA

And it's genuine this time!

Onthe3rdDay

Prop Joe wrote: »

Can't have anyone with too strong an accent or will start talking about this fella's club going well in the Intermediate club championship or that he hails from the same parish as some fella who won an All Ireland in the 40's

Agreed. Sky are obviously Dipping their toe in to see if the games can pull an audience during the summer. It's the strength and entertainment value of the games that will matter, not so much tradition or the old days. Irish people that are interested in GAA in the UK are going to watch anyway, it's everyone else in the UK that SKY would like to tempt.

citykat

Prop Joe wrote: »

I assume Sky will go with Quinn as presenter then one anchor analyst for example Paul Galvin for football & Sean óg for hurling.Then they will be joined in studio by a guest such as Shane Long,David Meyler,Paul McShane,Denis Irwin,Packie Bonner,Seamus Coleman,Kevin Moran

Then there will be that English sounding fella from Setanta on commentary with a GAA legend from which ever county is playing on co-commentary.

Won't expect much more from them on that.If Quinn is the route they are going down it will be aimed directly at the UK market.

Can't have anyone with too strong an accent or will start talking about this fella's club going well in the Intermediate club championship or that he hails from the same parish as some fella who won an All Ireland in the 40's

Bar Shane Long, don't think any of the rest of those names know much about hurling!

Cosmo Kramer

citykat wrote: »

Bar Shane Long, don't think any of the rest of those names know much about hurling!

Meyler should know a thing or two given his background.

I can see the logic of the Quinn move - provided he is presenting, not analysing. I'm looking forward to Sky's coverage anyway just to see what kind of job they do on it. I think the main thing I'm looking for is a bit more positive analysis on the football front - especially with the black card meaning it should be more open this year. If Sky do it right it will show up the unnecessarily negative approach to analysis from the RTE pundits for what it is very quickly.

iDave

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

I'm looking for is a bit more positive analysis on the football front - especially with the black card meaning it should be more open this year. If Sky do it right it will show up the unnecessarily negative approach to analysis from the RTE pundits for what it is very quickly.

This.

Football is nowhere near as bad as some have made it out to be over the last decade.

harpsman

If I was a manager the black card would encourage me to have extra numbers in defence to stop my defenders being left one on one and having a choice of conceding a goal or getting sent off.

keane2097

harpsman wrote: »

If I was a manager the black card would encourage me to have extra numbers in defence to stop my defenders being left one on one and having a choice of conceding a goal or getting sent off.

That's an attitude thing - another manager might take the exact same circumstances and say it encourages him to play a far more attacking brand of football as the chances for your forwards and attacking defenders to do damage have been increased.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Teams will play with more men in defence in the championship compared to the league (although this has been the case for the last 10 years) however it won't have the same impact as in the past as any cynical stuff will be punished this year.

I'd expect a large amount of black cards to be handed out in the first month or so of the championship as I am sure refs will be on the look out for a return to old habits from teams and the GAA will want it nipped in the bud fairly quickly.

RoyalCelt

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Teams will play with more men in defence in the championship compared to the league (although this has been the case for the last 10 years) however it won't have the same impact as in the past as any cynical stuff will be punished this year.

I'd expect a large amount of black cards to be handed out in the first month or so of the championship as I am sure refs will be on the look out for a return to old habits from teams and the GAA will want it nipped in the bud fairly quickly.

The black card needs to be changed so that if you drag a man back by his jersey but he stays on his feet it's still a black card. At present a forward would need to dive for most black cards to be given.

Anyway I think Paul Galvin would be a good bet for Sky. Along with Niall Quinn and possibly Shane Long.

harpsman

RoyalCelt wrote: »

The black card needs to be changed so that if you drag a man back by his jersey but he stays on his feet it's still a black card. At present a forward would need to dive for most black cards to be given.

Anyway I think Paul Galvin would be a good bet for Sky. Along with Niall Quinn and possibly Shane Long.

I ll find it hard to watch if its Paul Galvin. Unless hes a very good analyst which would surprise me.

ProudDUB

I'm surprised at Paul Galvin getting the nod. I know he is a big name and has a reputation for being controversial and what not. Maybe Sky think that will be good for ratings. But doesn't he have practically zero track record at this kind of thing? You'd think that the powers that be at Sky would want someone who they already know is comfortable and capable at doing this kind of thing.

During last years league, I saw him do analysis for a game on Setanta. (It's the only one I have ever seen him do.) He didn't have all that much to say for himself. It was like watching paint dry.

Hibbeler

I'm sure this has already been done on this thread but does anyone know if there is a list out there of the games SKY will be showing? I'm particularly interested in the 20 or so games shown in the UK.

munchkin_utd

Hibbeler wrote: »

I'm sure this has already been done on this thread but does anyone know if there is a list out there of the games SKY will be showing? I'm particularly interested in the 20 or so games shown in the UK.

Here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89876439&postcount=3
Plus all ireland semi finals and finals in hurling and football. (Plus the other two quarter finals would make 20 games)