Sky eye up the All Ireland championship matches?

Frankie Lee

With the amount of television money that is floating around Rugby and it's subsequent growth makes dealing with Sky essential for the future of the GAA. English cricket are getting £260m over 4 years in their current deal with Sky, of course the GAA will never see more than a tiny fraction of that but it demonstrates the type of money Sky can spend. Growth of the game in the UK and Scotland (assuming independence) will be a major bonus too.

munchkin_utd

Last year there was 60 football and 30 hurling championship games.
That's 90 in total.
There was 40 games televised

So even last year with no sky there was 50 games not available free to air.

AngeGal

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Last year there was 60 football and 30 hurling championship games.
That's 90 in total.
There was 40 games televised

So even last year with no sky there was 50 games not available free to air.

No-one is saying every championship game should be televised, people are saying that televised games shouldn't only be available to those who can afford a sky subscription.

STB

nm wrote: »

They do pay tax here, and employ 800 - 1000 people in their Dublin office.

The customer care centre did take people on in 2012. Was it 800 ? Fair enough but its still shy of the 20,000+ in the UK.

Outside VAT, BSkyB have long since been accused of all kinds of tax avoidance but I note that they claim that the vast majority of their taxes are being paid and collected directly in the UK (£1bn).

nm wrote: »

They're bringing the GAA to much, much, wider audience. Great move, good stuff

How are they doing that ? not in Ireland they are not. International rights in various jurisdiction always existed.

Its a National game. The diaspora in the UK could also view it via Sky if they had an Irish viewing card.

AngeGal

Frankie Lee wrote: »

With the amount of television money that is floating around Rugby and it's subsequent growth makes dealing with Sky essential for the future of the GAA. English cricket are getting £260m over 4 years in their current deal with Sky, of course the GAA will never see more than a tiny fraction of that but it demonstrates the type of money Sky can spend. Growth of the game in the UK and Scotland (assuming independence) will be a major bonus too.

Sky have the option of buying exclusive international rights, they have no interest in the growth of GAA (naturally as it is not their concern). I would be very surprised if a GAA match ever appears on Sky in the Uk, they will be showing something else in that market.

STB

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Last year there was 60 football and 30 hurling championship games.
That's 90 in total.
There was 40 games televised

So even last year with no sky there was 50 games not available free to air.

Of those 50 which do you think Sky will have pitched for. Those that are in the so called 5 and 6 Bundle.

Frankie Lee

AngeGal wrote: »

Sky have the option of buying exclusive international rights, they have no interest in the growth of GAA (naturally as it is not their concern). I would be very surprised if a GAA match ever appears on Sky in the Uk, they will be showing something else in that market.

Games will definitely be shown live over there be it on Sky Sports 2,3 or 4. They generally have hardly anything but Cricket on during the summer as it is. Initially maintaining and growing Irish subscriptions during the summer is their aim but if the sport proves popular over there then it is in their interest for the game being promoted.

munchkin_utd

AngeGal wrote: »

No-one is saying every championship game should be televised, people are saying that televised games shouldn't only be available to those who can afford a sky subscription.

Well. Folks are saying that they potentially can't watch their team this year because of sky which is not the full reality.

last year there was no sky and the majority of games were not available to watch for free on tv in the first place.
Grand, there'll be marginally less games on free tv next year, but it's still a question of luck as to whether your teams game is televised in the first place (or is even in the championship)

And it should also be pointed out that 30 games free to air is still a much higher amount of games than was previously shown when games were all on a Sunday at 3.30pm (and there was accusions of selling out to tv when the 2pm 4pm throw ins were introduced, and the world hasn't ended)

AngeGal

Frankie Lee wrote: »

Games will definitely be shown live over there be it on Sky Sports 2,3 or 4. They generally have hardly anything but Cricket on during the summer as it is. Initially maintaining and growing Irish subscriptions during the summer is their aim but if the sport proves popular over there then it is in their interest for the game being promoted.

Maybe you're right but then why not just buy exclusive international rights?

In any case, I know of several older members in my local football club who don't have Sky. These are people who played GAA, coached GAA, volunteered on various committees,etc. These, and thousands of people like them across the country are a large part of why the GAA is where it is.
For them to now have to pay to watch provincial finals would be a disgrace.

STB

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Well. Folks are saying that they potentially can't watch their team this year because of sky which is not the full reality.

last year there was no sky and the majority of games were not available to watch for free on tv in the first place.
Grand, there'll be marginally less games on free tv next year, but it's still a question of luck as to whether your teams game is televised in the first place (or is even in the championship)

And it should also be pointed out that 30 games free to air is still a much higher amount of games than was previously shown when games were all on a Sunday at 3.30pm (and there was accusions of selling out to tv when the 2pm 4pm throw ins were introduced, and the world hasn't ended)

What is the full reality is that a pay only subscription company has their hands on the GAA chamionship rights. And forget these non-exclusive quotes I have seen in the paper. That is confusion. Sky will have rights to 14 games that will not be shown as they traditionally were on Free to Air Teleivision in Ireland. That is exclusive for those games. Next round of rights negotiations, how many more games will be only available on pay only TV, if Sky is the highest bidder? Remeber only the Finals are protected.

That means that there are less games available to those that do not subscribe to Sky and indeed Sky Sports.

AngeGal

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Well. Folks are saying that they potentially can't watch their team this year because of sky which is not the full reality.

last year there was no sky and the majority of games were not available to watch for free on tv in the first place.
Grand, there'll be marginally less games on free tv next year, but it's still a question of luck as to whether your teams game is televised in the first place (or is even in the championship)

And it should also be pointed out that 30 games free to air is still a much higher amount of games than was previously shown when games were all on a Sunday at 3.30pm (and there was accusions of selling out to tv when the 2pm 4pm throw ins were introduced, and the world hasn't ended)

It's a slippery slope though, this would represent the first step, Sky aren't going to be content with just a slice of the pie, that's not their nature. Provincial finals have always been free to air. If the GAA was in dire straits financially I could maybe stomach it but that isn't the case at all.

nxbyveromdwjpg

STB wrote: »

The customer care centre did take people on in 2012. Was it 800 ? Fair enough but its still shy of the 20,000+ in the UK.

How is that relevant? RTE only employ 2000 here, and blow huge sums of tax payers money on their own top tier salaries (we're getting off the point a bit here now though)

STB wrote: »

How are they doing that ? not in Ireland they are not. International rights in various jurisdiction always existed.

Its a National game. The diaspora in the UK could also view it via Sky if they had an Irish viewing card.

Yes not more viewers in Ireland, they'll be the same, and outside of Ireland and in total they absolutely will give many more the opportunity to watch now, tune in casually, and become fans if they like what they see.

Have you issues with the game growing? Or growing outside of Ireland?
More fans is a good thing.

AngeGal

nm wrote: »

Yes not more viewers in Ireland, they'll be the same, and outside of Ireland and in total they absolutely will give many more the opportunity to watch now, tune in casually, and become fans if they like what they see.

Have you issues with the game growing? Or growing outside of Ireland?
More fans is a good thing.

No they won't, not everyone who watches games on RTE can afford Sky, especially these days.

I have no issue with Sky showing games in the Uk, I'd love to see GAA on it there and on Fox in America and Al Jazeera in the Middle East while we're at it. I have a serious problem if the deal provides Sky with exclusive rights in Ireland however, it goes totally against what the GAA is supposed to stand for.

irishfeen

AngeGal wrote: »

No they won't, not everyone who watches games on RTE can afford Sky, especially these days.

I have no issue with Sky showing games in the Uk, I'd love to see GAA on it there and on Fox in America and Al Jazeera in the Middle East while we're at it. I have a serious problem if the deal provides Sky with exclusive rights in Ireland however, it goes totally against what the GAA is supposed to stand for.

This is exactly my thoughts on the issue too, I have no problem with sky having every match live once its non exclusive... The GAA should always be available FTA, it shouldn't matter if you are rich or poor or have a sky box or not... the GAA was always special because it was different.

STB

nm wrote: »

How is that relevant? RTE only employ 2000 here, and blow huge sums of tax payers money on their own top tier salaries (we're getting off the point a bit here now though)

One is an Irish public service broadcaster providing the content free to air, the other is a foreign pay delivery TV company, taking money off people to watch TV stations (the majority of which actually watch are already free anyway!). x number of jobs in customer call centres can move overnight like they were created overnight in 2012 - Sky has been on air since 1998!

nm wrote: »

Yes not more viewers in Ireland, they'll be the same, and outside of Ireland and in total they absolutely will give many more the opportunity to watch now, tune in casually, and become fans if they like what they see.

Have you issues with the game growing? Or growing outside of Ireland?
More fans is a good thing.

Rubbish. No it wont be the same viewing numbers. You assume everyone subscribes to Sky. A further assumption is that of those that subscribe to Sky, that they also have the Sky Sports package.

The game growing ? Its a National Sport. What part of national do you not get ? People can casually tune in when its free to air as it is right now, without attending Croke Park and without paying a third party subscription company.

There have always been international rights for the UK - Premier and Setanta. I am more concerned with the GAA selling out its primary audience, the Irish people right here on this Island to make a fast buck. In the works of Callinan, its disgusting.

stretchdoe

A dumb decision on the GAA's part, in my opinion.

From the point of view of optics, if nothing else.

Is whatever money they'll gain for this really worth the trade?

A lot of staunch GAA fans are going to be very pissed off by this decision and it'll also diminish the 'brand' in the eyes of many more of the seemingly 'fairweather' sports fans they are angling to appeal to than i think the GAA realise.

tomwaterford

AngeGal wrote: »

Sky have the option of buying exclusive international rights, they have no interest in the growth of GAA (naturally as it is not their concern). I would be very surprised if a GAA match ever appears on Sky in the Uk, they will be showing something else in that market.

actually this could be a market for them with all the recent emigrants to the uk in the last 3-4 years..

Fr Tod Umptious

tomwaterford wrote: »

actually this could be a market for them with all the recent emigrants to the uk in the last 3-4 years..

Not to mention the millions who have gone before them.

One upside to Sky showing games in the UK is that there will be more "unauthorized" streams available to those of us not willing to pay.

Hulk Hands

Last year there was 40 games shown. This year there's 45, with RTE taking 31. If the GAA announced that it was reverting back to 30 or so games being shown (as it used to be), there wouldn't be anywhere near as much uproar. The GAA haven't been getting a fair deal from RTE for years, so this is a chance to level that playing field.

GAA fans, especially hurling, have been arguing for years that their game is the fastest, most skillful and generally best sport(s) in the world. Now is the chance to showcase that, yet there is outrage. The funniest part about the last few days is the frequency of the old phrases 'grab all association' and 'lining their pockets' about an organisation that's non profit making. Hilarious.

Cosmo Kramer

Overall I think this is a good move for the GAA. What they could do to limit the 'outrage' is increase the total number of televised games by 14, if that's the number SKY are getting exclusively. That way there would still be as many games free to air as there was before, although the quality of some free to air games might drop a little. Having said that, there are some cracking football and hurling qualifier games every year that don't get televised, so the scope is there. Provincial minor finals in both codes could be shown by RTE as well to make up the difference.

As I live in the UK I will be interested to see what is made available here to viewers - will they just show their 14 games plus semi finals and finals or will they take Premier Sports' exclusive UK rights, which wouldn't cost them too much. That would give them a real platform to promote the game in the UK via Sky Sports News and their live sports channels if they wanted to but I suspect they are less interested in that than they are in simply increasing Irish subscriptions in the summer time. It would be annoying having to keep up two subscriptions to watch all the games in the UK but it may be what needs to be done.

The Cush

From today's Irish Indo
Sky's Rachel hot favourite for GAA role
Hogan - No need for GAA fans to panic about Sky talks

joebloggs32

If they move some of the games to sky I can see the GPA agitating for a piece of the action. Any step that brings the association closer to professionalism is a bad one. The vast majority of counties could not sustain it, and the top players in the weaker counties would start moving to the stronger/wealthy ones

hardybuck

Fianna Fowl wrote: »

Incorrect. Taxpayer paid €19m to Croke Park, national lottery €91m. The main difference is that it came in bits and pieces. With every €20m allocation paid a hospital consultant was on to Joe Duffy wondering why the GAA were getting this and what about the sick patients (of course what they really were saying was pay us more....)

Taxpayer paid €191m to build a piss poor stadium in Ballsbridge that must have used gold bullion for its foundations because the total cost was somehow €410m (or €470m according to the Dail record).

I'm correct. If you look at my wording I used the word funded - I didn't specify the taxpayer element. Lottery funding is public funding. The Dept. of Tourism & Sport gave direction to it at the time - the public are very much stakeholders in the stadium.

Also, only stage four of Croke Park cost €260m. Does anyone else have figures for the other three phases?

irishfeen

I think some here might be underestimating the backlash which could come the GAA's way when/if these games are announced by the grassroot of the organisation... if Sky win (which is reported) the same rights as TV3 held then you would be talking about 2 All-Ireland Quarter Finals & 3 Provincial finals going behind the paywall. Now they might not seem like massive games altogether but when the grassroots come to learn that they will have to pay skysports a subscription to watch their county in a Munster, Leinster, Ulster or Connacht final there could be a ferocious backlash.

I was chatting about it to a few different people (including local GAA members) yesterday who were taken aback when I informed them that this was a possibility from media reports, most had thought it was Setanta's league rights that sky were reportedly taking on an exclusive basis. We will have to wait until a deal is announced but there is real anger bubbling among the grassroots - this could be a PR disaster of an epic proportion if it turns out to be true.

hardybuck

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

I'll be honest and say I don't remember the prices going up by almost 58% between those years and according to the CPI inflation between 2004 and 2010 adds up to 12.08%.

http://www.inflation.eu/inflation-rates/ireland/historic-inflation/cpi-inflation-ireland.aspx

Those rates cover inflation across the economy. Some industries, such as the construction sector, would have risen at a higher rate.

Regardless, if you added on the 12% odd you're up to €300m approx. Then if could identify the cost for the first three stages of the Croke Park project, I think you might be looking at a lot closer to even spends between the two stadia.

nxbyveromdwjpg

STB wrote: »

The game growing ? Its a National Sport. What part of national do you not get?

Where did I indicate that I didn't get that? I indicated your point of view is restrictive on the game growing internationally. Do you really think it will cease to be our national sport when 14 games are shown on Sky?
Bit melodramatic to say the least.

STB wrote: »

People can casually tune in when its free to air as it is right now, without attending Croke Park and without paying a third party subscription company.

No they can't, only people in Ireland can, which is a pretty limited audience in the big picture of TV world. Hopefully they will get it out there to the world with only a fair (if any - yet to be clarified) trade off to the 40 games shown FTA.

This is not a bad trade at all in the long run, and all the harking on about 'the foreign company stealing our national games' won't change that. They WILL have a much wider potential audience for most of the games Sky show.

STB wrote: »

There have always been international rights for the UK - Premier and Setanta.

Yes, but Sky Sports subscriber audience is what, 5 - 8 million or something. The advertising alone of the games on Sky makes it a good thing.

Hulk Hands wrote: »

GAA fans, especially hurling, have been arguing for years that their game is the fastest, most skillful and generally best sport(s) in the world. Now is the chance to showcase that, yet there is outrage.

EXACTLY.

kub

So Sky TV come along to GAA and offer them a big case of cash.

Of course GAA will gladly take it. God knows they are gifted at receiving things.

irishfeen

kub wrote: »

So Sky TV come along to GAA and offer them a big case of cash.

Of course GAA will gladly take it. God knows they are gifted at receiving things.

Have no doubt that the GAA's hierarchy would be delighted with a big injection of cash into the organisation coppers but the problem is with the Grassroot members in every single townland, village, town and city in the country ... they don't get paid and do everything voluntary, raise funds, organise buses, pay for kits, cut the grass, paint the clubhouse - the list is endless..

..for the GAA to turn around and ask these members to pay a subscription to a British subscription giant to watch their counties provincial final is an absolute smack in their face.

Dirty Dingus McGee

hardybuck wrote: »

I'm correct. If you look at my wording I used the word funded - I didn't specify the taxpayer element. Lottery funding is public funding. The Dept. of Tourism & Sport gave direction to it at the time - the public are very much stakeholders in the stadium.

Also, only stage four of Croke Park cost €260m. Does anyone else have figures for the other three phases?

Stage 4 of the Croke Park Developement was redeveloping the Hill and the Nally stand.If that cost €260 million then the GAA were screwed big time by the builders.

shockframe

Sky showed GAA highlights around 1997 to 1999 that had people thinking it would lead to growing international interest in the games but it never happened.

As much as Ireland is taken up with hurling and/or gaelic football the rest of the world will only ever have a limited interest in it. There are sports since the 80s that have had short lived growth or a rise in popularity in the UK - American Football, Aussie Rules,Darts NBA.The GAA would most likely be the next addition to that list.

When England won the 2003 Rugby World cup some Rugby fans called it the new football and barely lasted a month or two in fashion. Someone made the same point to me when England won the Ashes in 2005 that it was seen as Cricket's time to shine but Soccer is still way ahead of everything.

The UK is not likely to get the pride of the parish element to the sports either so that could go over peoples heads. Like the GAA to Ireland the premiership is the national obsession across the water and that will always be the case.

If Sky got the rights it would more than likely last a few years but then they would fight tooth and nail to get champions league rights back so the GAA could be dropped again.

Either way I'd be fascinated as to what sky could bring to the table if they started showing GAA.

Syferus

shockframe wrote: »

Sky showed GAA highlights around 1997 to 1999 that had people thinking it would lead to growing international interest in the games but it never happened.

As much as Ireland is taken up with hurling and/or gaelic football the rest of the world will only ever have a limited interest in it. There are sports since the 80s that have had short lived growth or a rise in popularity in the UK - American Football, Aussie Rules,Darts NBA.The GAA would most likely be the next addition to that list.

When England won the 2003 Rugby World cup some Rugby fans called it the new football and barely lasted a month or two in fashion. Someone made the same point to me when England won the Ashes in 2005 that it was seen as Cricket's time to shine but Soccer is still way ahead of everything.

The UK is not likely to get the pride of the parish element to the sports either so that could go over peoples heads. Like the GAA to Ireland the premiership is the national obsession across the water and that will always be the case.

If Sky got the rights it would more than likely last a few years but then they would fight tooth and nail to get champions league rights back so the GAA could be dropped again.

Either way I'd be fascinated as to what sky could bring to the table if they started showing GAA.

I highly doubt the thing Sky would drop for the Champion's League would be a a product that is a summer filler in the UK and meant to attract or hold on to subscriptions in Ireland.

An awful lot of tripe being spewed about this deal. I want to see it in action.

theoneeyedman

A few thoughts....
1. The argument that the GAA need to sell to sky to grow the game in the UK in particular is bogus. We see the nfl using the showpiece superbowl as a fta event. The AI final used to be shown on Channel 4 back in the 90s. If the gaa wanted to gain exposure for their showpiece events they could build around this model. Big games are played at about 10 am East coast time in the USA, which is hardly a peak time for live sports. I'm sure some of the big networks coukd be persuaded tocarry it live at this dead time.
2. The idea sky will be happy to carry less important games is equally bogus. They are not buying in to show Carlow v Wickow. .They will want their share of provincial finals and AI games before long.
3. GAA have been able to control throw in times pretty well up to now. If they are getting into bed with Sky, it is TV that will dictate throw in times which is the experience in other sports.
4. what will this mean to the players professional Status? I've posted before about TV dictating in other sports ( rugby league and union, cricket and soccer, darts and snooker) the structure and make up of competitions. They won't pay for the likes of Leitrim, car low, longford to be involved in these competitions long term. I've said before the elite competition will consist of about 10 or 12 teams playing on a pro or semi pro basis. A deal with the likes of sky only hastens this Imo
5. These TV and big money deals imo illustrate a widening chasm between ordinary 'GAA people ' and the top brass in Croke park. A waft of rules, regulations and dictats in particular during Mr cooneys reign have left a lot of people disillusioned with the direction of the organisation. The civil service mentality of putting obstacles in the way of people wanting to do things now prevails at a lot of levels, and people seeing their team playing on subscription TV won't sit well

WesternZulu

kub wrote: »

So Sky TV come along to GAA and offer them a big case of cash.

Of course GAA will gladly take it. God knows they are gifted at receiving things.

And what sporting body would act any differently?

I hate this attitude that some people have to the GAA, calling them the 'Grab All Association' etc without knowing hardly anything about gaelic games...when in fact they are no better or worse than any of the other sporting organisations.

lertsnim

People are going on about this big case of cash. How much is in the case of cash?

copacetic

nm wrote: »

Where did I indicate that I didn't get that? I indicated your point of view is restrictive on the game growing internationally. Do you really think it will cease to be our national sport when 14 games are shown on Sky?
Bit melodramatic to say the least.



No they can't, only people in Ireland can, which is a pretty limited audience in the big picture of TV world. Hopefully they will get it out there to the world with only a fair (if any - yet to be clarified) trade off to the 40 games shown FTA.

This is not a bad trade at all in the long run, and all the harking on about 'the foreign company stealing our national games' won't change that. They WILL have a much wider potential audience for most of the games Sky show.



Yes, but Sky Sports subscriber audience is what, 5 - 8 million or something. The advertising alone of the games on Sky makes it a good thing.



EXACTLY.

All the discussion in the articles is about the Irish rights, not about international or UK rights. They aren't included in the same discussion.

Sky get tiny viewerships for even their biggest sports in Ireland, a massive top of the table premiership clash on Sky will get maybe 100k viewers in Ireland.
They make their money on subscriptions.

So an all Ireland 1/4 final exclusive on Sky sports will get at best 50k viewers. (Assuming it is on sky sports 1 or 2 Whereas the same game on RTE or TV3 would get up to 10 times as many.

This will be a money spinner for the GAA at the cost of many many less people, especially kids getting to see the game, unless the go to the pub for them (of course in August and September they may clash with a big premiership game also, so many pubs would leave that on instead if only one sky sub)

Fr Tod Umptious

lertsnim wrote: »

People are going on about this big case of cash. How much is in the case of cash?

I don't think its as big a some think.

Its 14 games remember, games that TV3 had.

And its not going to be the road to professionalism either.

Its 14 games remember, games that TV3 had.

Diabhal Beag

Could only imagine how good Rachel Wyse will make Michael Lester look if she was presenting. Her articles are not very interesting.

copacetic

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I don't think its as big a some think.

Its 14 games remember, games that TV3 had.

And its not going to be the road to professionalism either.

Its 14 games remember, games that TV3 had.

People all along western seaboard were disgusted when TV3 had a game involving their county as large sections didn't have TV3 coverage and they had 95% of homes covered with free to air TV.

Sky sports have 0% of people covered with FTA TV and are in less that 10% of homes.

Taking them from TV3 and giving them to Sky basically takes away the chance of seeing the GAA from 80% of population. Cut it up whatever way you want there is no reason to do it except for the money.

munchkin_utd

copacetic wrote: »

<snip>Cut it up whatever way you want there is no reason to do it except for the money.

Arguably true for a different reason than you think.

Many counties have been unhappy with the coverage so far claiming it was too extensive as it stood, which is why the number of games being shown was reduced over the past couple of years.
By limiting the number of games on(free to air) tv, there's the possibility of higher gates therefore more cash in the pockets of the various counties directly.

And it's not necessarily people going to a specific game thats on sky who may have stayed at home and watched it on tv3. It's the folks in say Carlow or wherever who decide to stay at home to watch a Dublin Kildare match (with their game on the radio )

But the direct cash aspect will not be as big as many are making out as it's simply replacing an existing broadcaster for a sport with very little competition for rights.
The uk rights will no doubt will somehow be in the mix, but they are next to worthless as the it's a sport that is next to unknown amongst the normal punter (seeing as it was always hidden on pub only broadcasts or more recently on a fringe subscription channel)

And the random comments about it meaning massive international coverage are so off the mark it's laughable. Sky operates in the uk and ireland. That's it. There's still 5billion or whatever of the worlds population which have never heard of Gaelic football or hurling let alone are a potential tv market and it's a long road before even a dint is made in this statistic.

Frankie Lee

munchkin_utd wrote: »

And the random comments about it meaning massive international coverage are so off the mark it's laughable. Sky operates in the uk and ireland. That's it. There's still 5billion or whatever of the worlds population which have never heard of Gaelic football or hurling let alone are a potential tv market and it's a long road before even a dint is made in this statistic.

It is the first big step towards having decent international coverage. There is massive potential there.

Fr Tod Umptious

copacetic wrote: »

People all along western seaboard were disgusted when TV3 had a game involving their county as large sections didn't have TV3 coverage and they had 95% of homes covered with free to air TV.

Sky sports have 0% of people covered with FTA TV and are in less that 10% of homes.

Taking them from TV3 and giving them to Sky basically takes away the chance of seeing the GAA from 80% of population. Cut it up whatever way you want there is no reason to do it except for the money.

I was not talking about that.
I was talking about the mild hysteria that is going on here implying that just because Sky have 14 games the whole armature structure of the GAA will fall apart.

But while you mention the topic of a broadcasters footprint, where do you get the notion that Sky are in less than 10% of homes ?
If I recall during the digital switchover there were stats going around saying that Sky or cable was in 80% of homes, I'll dig the source out againagain.

STB

nm wrote: »

Where did I indicate that I didn't get that? I indicated your point of view is restrictive on the game growing internationally. Do you really think it will cease to be our national sport when 14 games are shown on Sky?
Bit melodramatic to say the least.

I have had to explain to you that GAA is the national sport, for viewing by the Nation. Just in case you dont get it, heres a picture.



Melodramatic ? The GAA have sold the Irish Viewing Rights to a British PAY only subscription TV company. That means Irish people on the Island of Ireland cannot receive it unless you pay said company. You may feel comfotable with that, I'm not. You are either a Sky apologist or have buckets of money for pay TV.

nm wrote: »

No they can't, only people in Ireland can, which is a pretty limited audience in the big picture of TV world. Hopefully they will get it out there to the world with only a fair (if any - yet to be clarified) trade off to the 40 games shown FTA.

This is not a bad trade at all in the long run, and all the harking on about 'the foreign company stealing our national games' won't change that. They WILL have a much wider potential audience for most of the games Sky show.

A pretty limited audience ? Your having a laugh. You need to look at the viewing figures for televised games (especially those being sold to go behind a pay wall).

The GAA's job is not to get the word out to the world. Their job is to promote the sport from grassroots level in every County in Ireland. It certainly isnt going to do this by prohibiting Irish people in Ireland from viewing it.

Their job is as set down in their charter

It is an amateur sport, NOT a professional sport.

nm wrote: »

Yes, but Sky Sports subscriber audience is what, 5 - 8 million or something. The advertising alone of the games on Sky makes it a good thing.

or Something. You havent a clue what you are talking about.

Sky Sports channel share in Ireland is not even on the radar in Ireland, its LESS than 1%. In the UK the total channel share for all Sky Sports Channels combined is 2%. Infact Sky Sports 3 & 4 have a combined channel share of 0.3%, invariably where the games will end up.

International rights already existed. I have tried to explain this to you already as has Copacetic above.

This is not the a debating society where theres a debate for the sake of debate. There is fundamental principle here that goes against the whole GAA eothos. They have sold out. Sky are not interested in promoting ANY sport. Sky are only interested in increasing their subscriber base and maximising their profits. The ultimate goal is to get as many people unnecesarily wound up in pay tv contracts. They whip up as many unprotected sports as they can to do this. Unfortunetly for the GAA (or rather their commercial director did) thought this would wash with the Irish people.

copacetic wrote: »

This will be a money spinner for the GAA at the cost of many many less people, especially kids getting to see the game, unless the go to the pub for them (of course in August and September they may clash with a big premiership game also, so many pubs would leave that on instead if only one sky sub)

For sure. They sold it for up front cash. If Irish people want it they now have to pay Sky. Everyday Irish families lose.

Frankie Lee

I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that all games that Sky are showing will be free to air on TG4. If that is the case I'd be in favour of Sky replacing RTE altogether.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Does anyone know who in the GAA hierarchy has the power to make this decision.Is it Padraic Duffy ,O'Neill or The commercial director Peter McKenna or do all three have to agree to it.

I have no problem with Sky Broadcasting matches as long as the same games are available on Irish TV free to air but if they are getting exclusive rights then it doesn't sound like the deal is being pushed by O'Neill and Duffy who have long term involvement with the GAA from grassroots level up and you would think had more of an idea how the average GAA fan thinks.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Frankie Lee wrote: »

I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that all games that Sky are showing will be free to air on TG4. If that is the case I'd be in favour of Sky replacing RTE altogether.

Sounds like a great idea.

Frankie Lee

Frankie Lee wrote: »

I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that all games that Sky are showing will be free to air on TG4. If that is the case I'd be in favour of Sky replacing RTE altogether.

Mentioned here http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/sport/gaelic-games/read-the-reid-with-sky-interested-serious-issues-ahead-for-gaa-on-broadcasting-packages-1-5960120

There is also the possibility of TG4 and Sky broadcasting championship games simultaneously, as Sky look to gain a foothold in the GAA market.

No GAA member could possibly have any issue with that.

Ahoy Ahoy

STB wrote: »

I have had to explain to you that GAA is the national sport, for viewing by the Nation. Just in case you dont get it, heres a picture.



Melodramatic ? The GAA have sold the Irish Viewing Rights to a British PAY only subscription TV company. That means Irish people on the Island of Ireland cannot receive it unless you pay said company. You may feel comfotable with that, I'm not. You are either a Sky apologist or have buckets of money for pay TV.



A pretty limited audience ? Your having a laugh. You need to look at the viewing figures for televised games (especially those being sold to go behind a pay wall).

The GAA's job is not to get the word out to the world. Their job is to promote the sport from grassroots level in every County in Ireland. It certainly isnt going to do this by prohibiting Irish people in Ireland from viewing it.

Their job is as set down in their charter

It is an amateur sport, NOT a professional sport.



or Something. You havent a clue what you are talking about.

Sky Sports channel share in Ireland is not even on the radar in Ireland, its LESS than 1%. In the UK the total channel share for all Sky Sports Channels combined is 2%. Infact Sky Sports 3 & 4 have a combined channel share of 0.3%, invariably where the games will end up.

International rights already existed. I have tried to explain this to you already as has Copacetic above.

This is not the a debating society where theres a debate for the sake of debate. There is fundamental principle here that goes against the whole GAA eothos. They have sold out. Sky are not interested in promoting ANY sport. Sky are only interested in increasing their subscriber base and maximising their profits. The ultimate goal is to get as many people unnecesarily wound up in pay tv contracts. They whip up as many unprotected sports as they can to do this. Unfortunetly for the GAA (or rather their commercial director did) thought this would wash with the Irish people.



For sure. They sold it for up front cash. If Irish people want it they now have to pay Sky. Everyday Irish families lose.

Couldn't agree more with above statements. Bottom line is the gaa have sold out.

Hulk Hands

munchkin_utd wrote: »

And the random comments about it meaning massive international coverage are so off the mark it's laughable. Sky operates in the uk and ireland. That's it. There's still 5billion or whatever of the worlds population which have never heard of Gaelic football or hurling let alone are a potential tv market and it's a long road before even a dint is made in this statistic.

People are excited chance to showcase the games to a base that is 10 times greater than the base that the games are currently shown. I'd say the GAA can make do with being ignored in the eyes of 5 billion if it can make even a tiny impression in a population of 60 million plus.

Treble20

It's a sad day for all GAA followers that our association have sold TV rights out to Sky Sports. It makes a mockery of the amateur ethos that the Gaa are harping on about all the time,grab the money off Sky but the supporter has to horse out 34 euros extra a month to get sky sports or worse again have to get Sky installed at a hefty price just to watch gaa,a sad day for the association IMO.

Johnboy1951

Ahoy Ahoy wrote: »

Couldn't agree more with above statements. Bottom line is the gaa have sold out.

Could someone link me to something definitive about this 'agreement'?

I have found nothing which makes all the posts here seem like conjecture.