GAA Go

Ah you'll never keep everyone happy all of the time.

There are more GAA games than ever available on free to air.

Despite the GAA being made up of a tonne of volunteers there are significant bills to pay. It costs money to broadcast a match, some more than others depending on any number of variable.

The solution to the problem is for the state to throw another, let's say ten million a year , into the GAA for them over the lost rights packages and throw another 8 or 10 million between RTE/TV3/TG4 in grant funding to support broadcasting fees. The money can come from the redistribution of the gambling tax income which currently only goes to HRI and greyhound racing.

Job done, every match free to air, all parties happy.

What's false about it?

Aren't there more GAA matches free to air than ever? Aren't all of the "business end" of the season games FTA?

I personally don't want to watch any games that don't involve my county and for a significant proportion of the GAA watching audience that's the same barring an AI final or similiar. Indeed, there's only certain sports that I watch in any event - should the broadcaster cater to my own personal requirements?

But is that fair either on the "smaller counties"? Or shouldn't we try to grow the game but making the less attractive game FTA?

The whole thing will be sorted either way with the solution I've described above anyway.

Firstly, there is no Free To Air TV in Ireland, any TV viewing is subject to a TV license, of is it 165 E a year (edit) or something.

The 5 year deal - I'd say whoever RTE /GAA are getting the money from to invest in the streaming service would need some certainty that it wasn't going to be thrown up after one year

Virgin are full of sh1te IMHO. If they are so worried and interested in providing free access to sport, they have rights to Champions League and Europa League and international games, most Iof which is behind a pay wall. That's fine, that's their model, but when stay out of this argument it's nothing to do with you, you have shown zero interest in showing any gaa. Regarding the above idea of the government buying and distributing the rights (if they are so worried about Timmy in Borris being able to see that first round Leinster game), I can guarantee Virgin will look for more money to produce the shows as they are making a loss on it or something.

Leo and Micheal are so worried about people not having access to streaming, who is responsible for putting in decent infrastructure around the country like broadband if not these clowns 🤡

People say Hurling is our national sport, I disagree.... Giving RTE a kicking when you get the chance is the national sport in many quarters. What next, free admission into every game in the country because people think the tickets are too expensive? Will we lay on free busses and taxis to bring ye too?

I don't agree with that.

The intercounty season is now 3 months long. Looking at last year, I paid €10 per month for Sky sports pass on NOW TV. Got all the other sports they show too, including Irelands rugby games in New Zealand etc.

Most people in Ireland are general sports fans, we watch everything.

Sky deal was way better value for money and was easier access.

There's a strong case to just have RTE cover the semifinals and final in both GAA codes free to air. Let everything else go behind a paywall and then there can be no confusion. As for auld ones down the sticks, let their local clubs sort them out. Trip to the pub or community hall.

All the matches cannot be on free-to-air, unless they set up a new channel(s). Clearly something needs to happen with streaming, that's just the reality, and I guess GAAGO or similar cannot exist for free if they need presenters, cameramen, equipment and so on.

I think Donal Og's point was why do so many of the big Munster hurling games seem to be behind a paywall. Hurling has relatively few games so you shouldn't need to put so many behind a paywall. How can 3 of Clare's 4 championship games be on GAAGO, seems a bit off to me?

Perhaps the top games should all be free-to-air and GAAGO is used to stream the other "leftover" games which cannot be on regular TV. I know that would mean GAAGO get less subscribers but maybe it needs to be just a service created to break even rather than make money. GAA needs income but they also need to promote the games.

Gaago should offer a monthly package.People are saying the Christmas offer was good value but who wants to pay 5 or 6 months in advance when the fixtures have not fully been determined.

As a 50% stakeholder, in essence, is the GAA paying itself for the rights to show games? How would that pass an investigation from the competition authority?

Yeah, and charities pass on 100% of the money they get. Nobody ever skims off the top.

Fair enough, but even at €20 it's way better value than GAA Go. The local pub here has Sky and BT, costs them an arm and a leg. Owner was saying yet another bill for GAA Go for the pubs, said he couldn't justify it.

Correct, the new spilt season is so compacted. Something had to give - and because the games turned out to be crackers, the country is up in arms.

What annoys me is many saying why aren't games played in Aug & Sep and spread out the games so more TV slots available..... At this point you got to just laugh, you know these people don't follow a local club. The spilt season is the best thing to happen to club players in recent years, they can plan their lives for a change and know the master club fixture plan early in the year. The club game has never been as strong!

Didn't the old Sky package have two of the provincial football finals? (or definitely at least one). Will be interesting at the end of the season to see what games were FTA and what games were GAAGo exclusive. Fair point on the marginal games but aren't RTE sending a camera or two there anyway for Sunday Game highlights for most of the medium to larger games - how much extra production and cost goes into a low scale live online broadcast with no punditry?

When it comes down it, RTE arent showing the business end of the championship for the good of their health either - the two finals in '22 were in the top 5 most watched programmes in the country, the Kerry Dub SF was 16th, Limerick semi 34th, Galway Derry Semi 44th and the Munster final 49th. Audience for all these was greater than 400k. This was also in a world cup year which occupied 13 of the slots. So it's fair to say that the business end of the championship has the audience and it would be quite the take that Virgin would have no interest in any of these games.

It's a given that RTE will have the "incumbent" advantage and will get the big games but maybe Virgin have no interest because the package on offer for them to bid on wouldn't generate the audience to justify the spend - ie the GAA can devise the packages and can control the outcome it wants. If RTE have used taxpayers money to hoover up rights and then helped to put them behind a paywall then I'd expect this ruckus to cause some further scrutiny from "on high". If some peripheral TDs in marginal seats (cough Alan Dillon cough) can make noise and being seen to fight the "Dublin media" then they'll take it.

It's false because it assumes the quality of the service is measurable by the number of games and not what games they are. Nobody is going to have the time or desire to watch a huge number of games. It was Declan McBennett's argument the other day on the news but it was irrelevant then too.