TV3 granted rights to live matches

Zaphod

TV3 granted rights to live matches

Seán Moran

GAELIC GAMES: TV3 have become the first independent broadcaster to be granted rights to live GAA championship matches.

The news emerged yesterday that the channel has secured a package that will entitle it to show provincial finals, semi-finals and three football championship qualifiers.

Asked about the agreement, GAA commercial manager Dermot Power said that despite the announcement, the broadcast rights for the next three years were still under negotiation.

"The TV3 deal is one of eight packages that we have finalised out of the 25 put out to tender. Given that the tender process is still ongoing and about to enter round two, we'd prefer not to say anything further at this stage."

It is, however, believed that the TV3 package is number three on the list of those available. Number one entails the All-Ireland finals, semi-finals and first-choice on a number of quarter-finals. Number two the remaining quarter-finals, first-choice on the provincial finals, the balance of the quarter-finals and some All-Ireland qualifiers.

Of the eight packages confirmed only TV3's and a club championship package, believed to have gone to TG4, concerned broadcast rights.

The staggering of the tenders is believed to be tactical, as it allows for the improvement of proposals in the later rounds and news of TV3's success will intensify traditional rights holder RTÉ's anxiety to secure the top two packages. Since regular live broadcasts of championship matches began 12 years ago, RTÉ have had the overall rights.

The success of TV3 is further evidence of the independent broadcaster's interest in sport.

During the recent Rugby World Cup, TV3 had the terrestrial rights to Ireland's matches, having successfully negotiated with the overall rights holder Setanta, which will itself be in the reckoning for a rights package after winning the deal to broadcast floodlit National League matches on subscription television. The final details of the remaining packages are not expected until early in the New Year.

Meanwhile, Dublin County Board chief executive John Costello has expressed mystification at reports that Parnell Park was about to be the subject of a bid from an unnamed property developer.

"It's news to me," he said yesterday. "There have been a couple of isolated approaches in the past but we have turned them down. We're not interested. The ground is too useful for us. We need it for local games as well as intercounty and capacity isn't a problem, as there are only a few league games that the capacity can't cater for."

The report linked the potential redevelopment of the ground with the proposed acquisition for similar purposes of Clontarf Golf Club, beside Parnell Park. A meeting of the golf club tonight will discuss the matter.

There are serious development issues with the properties given the lack of access roads with the golf club entrance on the Malahide Road having only been recently augmented by a new one on Collins Avenue and Parnell Park with only access and egress point.

Irish Times

kaimera

Boo. I dislike TV3s sport coverage

prendy

me too they are crap!
RTE all the way for the GAA.

JeanClaude

I think it'll be TV3 with the sound muted, while listening to Michael o Murahurtaigh on radio 1 for me.:)

popebenny16

Given the TV3 hoodoo on Soccer and Rugby Coverage (it seems like Ireland always lose when they play on TV3) will there be many supporters earnestly hoping their teams never ends up on TV3?

I will anyway.

Tomthepost

A bad bad day really. :mad:
TV3 have done nothing for the GAA to deserve this.
RTE have done this for years and very well it must be said.
TG4 have helped expand GAA coverage in recent years and have been particularly good with its coverage of the league, ladies gaa and the club championship.
Setanta have also done much to promote the game particularly at underage level with its coverage of the Feile Na Peil, Feile Na Nog and Cumann Na mBunscoil. They dont make money on these as outside the people directly and indirectly involved the games dont have mass appeal for the viewing audience but its great for kids to get to play in front of the cameras.
Seems like a spit in the face from HQ to me and you would have to be concerned about presenters, pundits and commentators.

DMC

Just to be clear, this is only 10 matches a championship season that has been decided. TV3 could get the other packages available, RTÉ could get nowt yet.

Very tactical by the GAA.

pd101

Noooooooooo:eek:

The championship just wont be the same without RTEs coverage

Beached

TV3 coverage has generally been crap, but there could be one advantage.
Anyone remember last summer when i believe RTE decided to show a Cork Tipp qualifier match that generally did not matter, at the expense of countless football qualifiers (All of which were do or die). I actually think RTE have been pretty poor at showing qualifier matches in the last few years. So it could be good if there is an alternative on TV3 of setanta. It will be interesting who they have commentating!!

KerranJast

The Rugby WC coverage on TV3 was fairly good. Much better than their soccer coverage. It *may* be alright. I wouldn't hold my breath though. The one negative thing about the RWC on TV3 was the insane amounts of ads, 10 mins of ads for every 2-3 mins of analysis.

JMULL

Ye could see Michael Lyster working in tesco yet.

gucci

aaahhh jesus no.....the only people this is good news for is local radio commentators who might get a gig or two out of it.

Tomthepost

KerranJast wrote: »

The Rugby WC coverage on TV3 was fairly good. Much better than their soccer coverage. It *may* be alright. I wouldn't hold my breath though. The one negative thing about the RWC on TV3 was the insane amounts of ads, 10 mins of ads for every 2-3 mins of analysis.

RWC coverage on TV3 was poor in comparison to Setanta.Considering TV3 have been operating for a full 10 years now you would have expected them to perform better then the new kid on the block.
As far as I can remember TV3 had 2 half-time ad breaks during RWC games each 4 mins in duration.
Setanta get alot of abuse as money grabbers but they had 2 x 3 minute breaks at half-time which seems to make a huge difference in the analysis.

Tomthepost

gucci wrote: »

aaahhh jesus no.....the only people this is good news for is local radio commentators who might get a gig or two out of it.

I think you are spot on with that!!!

Erin Go Brath

JeanClaude wrote: »

I think it'll be TV3 with the sound muted, while listening to Michael o Murahurtaigh on radio 1 for me.:)

I do that anyway with RTE, so i seriously doubt i'll be changing the habits of a lifetime for TV3.

Elmo

A bad bad day really.
TV3 have done nothing for the GAA to deserve this.
RTE have done this for years and very well it must be said.
TG4 have helped expand GAA coverage in recent years and have been particularly good with its coverage of the league, ladies gaa and the club championship.
Setanta have also done much to promote the game particularly at underage level with its coverage of the Feile Na Peil, Feile Na Nog and Cumann Na mBunscoil. They dont make money on these as outside the people directly and indirectly involved the games dont have mass appeal for the viewing audience but its great for kids to get to play in front of the cameras.
Seems like a spit in the face from HQ to me and you would have to be concerned about presenters, pundits and commentators.

Totally agree with this statement. As one of Ireland's biggest cultural organisations the GAA should not have issued rights to TV3.

TV3 have shown no interest in anything remotely Irish (By that I mean anything of cultural significants that happens in Ireland, or even making a worth while TV show) in the last 10 years.

Have TV3 ever taken an interest in the GAA before this, it is not like they could not show GAA previously, it is more like they would not.

johnnyrotten123

this is not good, I have visions of fat Trevor whatsit sitting in a way-too-bright blue, red and gold studio asking new shiny star panelist Jayo inane questions with Effin Eddie commentating and Packie Bonner as touchline reporter...


...but that's just me

Nalced_irl

This is a shame but again it comes back to how HQ have to think as a business i suppose and give it to the highest bidder. Hopefully TV3 wont get any other packages but something tells me they will.

aidan24326

johnnyrotten123 wrote: »

this is not good, I have visions of fat Trevor whatsit sitting in a way-too-bright blue, red and gold studio asking new shiny star panelist Jayo inane questions with Effin Eddie commentating and Packie Bonner as touchline reporter...


...but that's just me

Sounds about right Johnny. That's just what I was thinking. They have been hopeless at soccer and rugby coverage (Packie Bonner anyone?) and I'm not expecting much better from their GAA coverage. They're a tabloid TV station and should stick to doing what they do, crap reality shows and cheapo reruns of sh1te American sitcoms. I was dreading the day they'd be let near the GAA coverage.

ircoha

A Bad day indeed: time for an email campaign, or even a DOS!.

what's their overseas coverage like?

from http://www.gaa.ie/page/contact_us.html

pressoffice@gaa.ie

marketing@gaa.ie

tickets@gaa.ie

fixtures@gaa.ie

queries@gaa.ie

Mossy Monk

ircoha wrote: »

A Bad day indeed: time for an email campaign, or even a DOS!.

what's their overseas coverage like?

An email campaign will make no difference. The overseas coverage is Setanta relaying what RTÉ does.

ircoha

Mossy Monk wrote: »

An email campaign will make no difference.... .

Why not?

May be the Gov needs to give RTE a digout:)

gucci

dont forget at half time trevor will hand over to lorraine keane to give viewers a preview of whats coming up in the showbiz show afterwards :mad::mad:

raven136

Am i missing something?why does rte deserve the rights to the gaa?of course tv3 havent had any gaa in the past,what with it costing a ton of money and rte having a license fee to pay for it.

Tv 3 will definitely have someone better than pat spillane as a host and have pundits who dont like the sound of their own voice.tV 3 fights a constant struggle to battle rte's license fee so hence all decent irish programmes end up on rte.
Its about time that someone else got a crack at the gaa.Lets not forget that Setanta could end up paying more than rte for the main rights.

Rte has lots of money to spend so someone needs to answer why they lost Formula One,Rugby,Soccer on saturdays and now Gaa when its what mine and many other license fee payers wanted more than fair city or bought in eastenders and ugly betty.

kevmy

This is a kick up the hole to RTÉ. Which is about the third one in a row to their sports department. We've seen the HC in rugby and the RWC both get lost by RTÉ and now this.

Whatever about the rugby this is purely down to complacency. I don't blame the GAA at all. They announced that they were splitting the packages well in advance and anyone could bid. If RTÉ were on the ball they would have got what they wanted. Hopefully this will encourage them to shake up their coverage and keep an eye on TV3.

Although I don't hold out any hopes on TV3 level of quality you can't blame them for trying.

Benedict XVI

ircoha wrote: »

A Bad day indeed: time for an email campaign, or even a DOS!.

what's their overseas coverage like?

from http://www.gaa.ie/page/contact_us.html

pressoffice@gaa.ie

marketing@gaa.ie

tickets@gaa.ie

fixtures@gaa.ie

queries@gaa.ie

What’s the use in ‘protesting’ about this?

I hate TV3, I hate their ‘entertainment/celebrity’ focus.
I hate their constant reliance on ITV reality S**t. and British soaps

But at the end of day it is a commercial decision that has got them the rights and that is the way it should be, not any competition about which station is more ‘Irish’.

It’s only 10 games a year which involves two provincial finals (I think I read that in the Indo)

Hopefully it will be the Munster and Connaught finals, both of which I will be at. !!!!

Tomthepost

raven136 wrote: »

Am i missing something?why does rte deserve the rights to the gaa?of course tv3 havent had any gaa in the past,what with it costing a ton of money and rte having a license fee to pay for it.

Tv 3 will definitely have someone better than pat spillane as a host and have pundits who dont like the sound of their own voice.tV 3 fights a constant struggle to battle rte's license fee so hence all decent irish programmes end up on rte.
Its about time that someone else got a crack at the gaa.Lets not forget that Setanta could end up paying more than rte for the main rights.

Rte has lots of money to spend so someone needs to answer why they lost Formula One,Rugby,Soccer on saturdays and now Gaa when its what mine and many other license fee payers wanted more than fair city or bought in eastenders and ugly betty.

I think you are missing something!
I doubt that there was too much of a difference in the amount of money being offered for the packages by any of the TV channels involved and that should not be the only deciding factor anyway.
Personally I think the GAA should have asked TV3 to prove themselves. Maybe give them a few league games or club championship games and see what they do with them before giving them Championship rights.
Setanta will not get the main rights by the way as the All-Ireland Finals are listed events that have to be broadcasted on terrestrial channels.But of course TV3 could get them :eek:
By the way I doubt too many people are too bothered that RTE lost the rights to Formula One!

Mossy Monk

raven136 wrote: »

Tv 3 will definitely have someone better than pat spillane as a host

You can predict the future. Impressive.

raven136 wrote: »

tV 3 fights a constant struggle to battle rte's license fee so hence all decent irish programmes end up on rte.

Give me a break. Why can't TV3 commission their own Irish programming? They never gave a damn about Irish programming.

raven136 wrote: »

Its about time that someone else got a crack at the gaa.

Indeed, but why not a channel that has shown interest in the GAA before.

raven136 wrote: »

Lets not forget that Setanta could end up paying more than rte for the main rights.

Rte has lots of money to spend so someone needs to answer why they lost Formula One,Rugby,Soccer on saturdays and now Gaa when its what mine and many other license fee payers wanted more than fair city or bought in eastenders and ugly betty.

You just answered yourself there. Do you seriously want RTÉ to go head to head with a pay tv broadcaster for sporting rights?

Tomthepost wrote: »

Setanta will not get the main rights by the way as the All-Ireland Finals are listed events that have to be broadcasted on terrestrial channels.

It is only the All Ireland final for hurling and football that has to be shown terrestrially. There is nothing to say that Setanta could show the championship while RTÉ/TV3 or TG4 show the final of each code.

blackbelt

Maybe if the GAA offered more packages,it would be more beneficial to the fans.If RTE can get other qualifiers diferent to TV3 match rights and the Leinster and Ulster Finals on RTE,I'll be happy.

I don't for one second think TV3 can even nearly match RTE presentation and coverage but it still remains to be seen.I'd be a traditionalist in preferring O Rourke,Brolly and Lyster as I think their opinions bring a lot to the live shows.

I feel that the genuine GAA fan is being screwed here somewhat in terms of quality.Thank God Setanta haven't got anything yet if they propose to PPV matches.

I'm also p1ssed that jokers like Pat Kenny and Gerry Ryan get big fat pay-checks especially when the latter is useless and Pat Kenny has enough money to use for toilet paper.

I think its best if RTE review their finances in order to improve their ability to bid and improve their current products.

However for me,I don't usually listen to Michael O Muircheartaigh but I too will probably watch the TV3 matches while listening to Michael on the radio if the commentating on TV3 is not up to the usual standard.

Tomthepost

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You can predict the future. Impressive.

Martin King Maybe???





It is only the All Ireland final for hurling and football that has to be shown terrestrially. There is nothing to say that Setanta could show the championship while RTÉ/TV3 or TG4 show the final of each code.

As far as I know the four semi-finals and 2 finals are all part of the same GAA package but yes Setanta could secure alot of the other major games. Given there coverage of the league the last couple of years I would be confident they will do a good job too.

Tomthepost

blackbelt wrote: »

Maybe if the GAA offered more packages,it would be more beneficial to the fans.

I feel that the genuine GAA fan is being screwed here somewhat in terms of quality.Thank God Setanta haven't got anything yet if they propose to PPV matches.
However for me,I don't usually listen to Michael O Muircheartaigh but I too will probably watch the TV3 matches while listening to Michael on the radio if the commentating on TV3 is not up to the usual standard.

Correct me if I am wrong Blackbelt but I havn't seen anywhere or heard anything about Setanta doing PPV GAA matches.
I am of the understanding that if Setanta secures any of the packages available the games will be shown on Setanta Ireland which is part of the NTL/Chorus basic package.
I guess you could still claim that to be pay per view but your post suggests each game would need to be subscribed for individually.
Have you seen this somewhere

raven136

jaysus silly me,i forgot that the only people in the country who knew anything about the gaa were rte.

Definitley not the guys on newstalk,or one of the rte lads wouldnt be tempted to jump ship or the bbc northern ireland fellas.Pat Spillane is possibly the worst host of a show in sports in ireland and englansd,he doesnt know how to talk without staring into the camera,he looks like one of those nfl guys in the states,he constantly stops the flow of conversation.Its not my special skills of future reading that tell me tv3 will have someone better,its that there is no one worse around.

Tv3 did a great job on the rugby and the country thought we wouldnt survive without messrs hook and pope but setanta and tv3 were as good possibly better.

Some people like mossy monk may not miss the f1 but others who pay their license and see just one motor racing series a year are justified in complaining.

blackbelt

Ridiculous,

If Setanta were not mainly a PPV station,not many people (including myself) would take a huge exception to it but I think RTE is always going to be head and shoulders above the rest.They have been covering the GAA Championship since the year dot and especially from the early nineties on when the coverage of games increased.

People like myself don't like the idea of change when it comes to this aspect of GAA.TV3 never expressed an interest in the GAA before whereas Setanta did.On the flipside of the coin though,TV3 getting coverage is a much better prospect than Setanta due to the PPV stigma attached to Setanta.Setanta could not possibly do live coverage of two matches without customers having to pay for one.So unless Setanta reach a deal with NTL/SKY,where Setanta 1 becomes free for the public,I'd imagine they'd be stuck.

Honestly,who would pay for these matches?....I'd rather go down to a half full Croke Park and watch Meath v Wexford than pay a tv station for it.Nothing beats watching matches live in the stadiums.

I'm slightly disappointed that TV3 got some packages.I think RTE is the no.1 when it comes to the Championship.

PS. What about the Sideline DVD production?Will Sideline have to broker a deal with Setanta for highlights of those matches Setanta are covering?This years DVD has an extra for the Womens All Ireland Final which was covered by TG4 but aren't they a seperate entity to RTE now?

blackbelt

Tomthepost wrote: »

Correct me if I am wrong Blackbelt but I havn't seen anywhere or heard anything about Setanta doing PPV GAA matches.
I am of the understanding that if Setanta secures any of the packages available the games will be shown on Setanta Ireland which is part of the NTL/Chorus basic package.
I guess you could still claim that to be pay per view but your post suggests each game would need to be subscribed for individually.
Have you seen this somewhere

My previous post was not in response to the above quote.

Tom,I haven't heard exactly what Setantas plans are but lets think of it this way.If Setanta get one of the packages and two of those matches are on the same day at the same time,what would they do?You are in the know more than me so maybe you can shed some light.

Maybe it is highly unlikely that this is to occur but there is a lot of concern from GAA fans that Setanta,with PPV stations at its disposal can use them.Certainly when news of this first broke out during the summer,I was shocked and concerned that Setanta would/could go down this route.

Tomthepost

blackbelt wrote: »

Ridiculous,

If Setanta were not mainly a PPV station,not many people (including myself) would take a huge exception to it but I think RTE is always going to be head and shoulders above the rest.They have been covering the GAA Championship since the year dot and especially from the early nineties on when the coverage of games increased.

People like myself don't like the idea of change when it comes to this aspect of GAA.TV3 never expressed an interest in the GAA before whereas Setanta did.On the flipside of the coin though,TV3 getting coverage is a much better prospect than Setanta due to the PPV stigma attached to Setanta.Setanta could not possibly do live coverage of two matches without customers having to pay for one.So unless Setanta reach a deal with NTL/SKY,where Setanta 1 becomes free for the public,I'd imagine they'd be stuck.

There are plenty of hours in the day Blackbelt! Im sure Setanta could show 4 or indeed 5 games Live in a day if required all on the one station.
I wouldn't worry greatly on it as they will probably get the league and nothing else.


I'm slightly disappointed that TV3 got some packages.I think RTE is the no.1 when it comes to the Championship.

As are most of us

blackbelt

Usually matches start at 2.00 and 4.00 on Championship days and some at 3.00 or 3.30.If Setanta have two matches on their package and they overlap,how would they manage?

They have one station thats free to air on basic NTL.Lets say they have a match on at 2:30 and another of their matches is on at 3.30,they couldn't fit that into one program.Not many people will buy into paying to watch matches on tv.

This is an issue which faces Setanta in regard to the other packages which are up for auction soon.The fixtures of the matches on the packages are crucial and this is where RTE has the advantage with two free to air channels.Unless TV3 and TG4 do a joint bid for the remaining packages,RTE will have that advantage.

Mossy Monk

raven136 wrote: »

Some people like mossy monk may not miss the f1 but others who pay their license and see just one motor racing series a year are justified in complaining.

I never mentioned F1 so don't put words in my mouth.

Tomthepost

I can't see TG4 getting into bed with TV3.
Also I can't understand what why we don't have more Saturday afternoon and evening games. Indeed maybe we could have Sunday games at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm.
Whoever gets what it would be great to have 5 or 6 Live games on TV every weekend.

Tomthepost

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I never mentioned F1 so don't put words in my mouth.

Sorry that was me
Personally I would prefer to look at a wall even before the paint is put on it.

blackbelt

Tomthepost wrote: »

I can't see TG4 getting into bed with TV3.
Also I can't understand what why we don't have more Saturday afternoon and evening games. Indeed maybe we could have Sunday games at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm.
Whoever gets what it would be great to have 5 or 6 Live games on TV every weekend.

I think there is enough TV stations interested to cover all of the championship.All 150 games.

Kerry On Tour

:rolleyes:Well lads all I'll say is remember TV3's coverage of Ireland internationals and Champions League. . . . .we were crying back for Dunphy and co. . . Can you imagine all the North campaigning to bring back Spillane

Mossy Monk

The funny thing is. TV3 is not available in the north on Sky or cable so maybe BBC NI will get those games aswell.

Kerry On Tour

that actually would NOT be funny. :eek:

klong

I agree the general sentiment of this thread that TV3 will probably be useless at the coverage- they have previous offences against the viewing public.
But remember when Dunphy went head-to-head against Kenny, RTE raised their game. Hopefully the same will happen as regards GAA coverage.

scaramanga

whats with all this Spillane bashing:(
the mans a legend.
anyway tv3 no thanks

Elmo

Personally I think the GAA should have asked TV3 to prove themselves. Maybe give them a few league games or club championship games and see what they do with them before giving them Championship rights.

And the rights for these games wouldn't be as expensive for poor old TV3 who don't get the TV Licence.

Perhaps if they had started showing a interest in GAA games outside of the Championship first, then perhaps TV3 deserve these rights.

TV3 earn 50,000,000 in advertising revenue each year, they could produce more Irish Programming if they wanted.

TV3 will not be in the running for the other games IMO. 2m is half of TG4 budget for all of their sporting events over the year. Unless they strike a deal with Setanta.

aidan24326

You wonder why RTE are losing out on so much of sports coverage? As someone else mentioned they might be able to afford better sports coverage if they weren't so busy turning the likes of Kenny and co into multi-millionaires.

It might give them a kick up the arse alright. Take it off them altogether for a year or two. It will be interesting to see what kind of coverage TV3 come up with although their past record on sports is not encouraging. This is the TV station that gives us Packie Bonner flanked by Noel King. It's almost a crime against humanity to have to listen to that pair.

Elmo

You wonder why RTE are losing out on so much of sports coverage? As someone else mentioned they might be able to afford better sports coverage if they weren't so busy turning the likes of Kenny and co into multi-millionaires.

Ten years too late!

blackbelt

aidan24326 wrote: »

You wonder why RTE are losing out on so much of sports coverage? As someone else mentioned they might be able to afford better sports coverage if they weren't so busy turning the likes of Kenny and co into multi-millionaires.

It might give them a kick up the arse alright. Take it off them altogether for a year or two. It will be interesting to see what kind of coverage TV3 come up with although their past record on sports is not encouraging. This is the TV station that gives us Packie Bonner flanked by Noel King. It's almost a crime against humanity to have to listen to that pair.[/QUOTE]

Packie is grand and a good acquaintence of mine.I talk to him quite a bit,a real gentleman.His presentation skills are great.Its Noel King that is a joke.As a "Magherafelt" I think they do Packie an injustice by putting Noel on the same payroll as him.:)

blackbelt

The following is from Hoganstand.com.Hopefully it passes.

Derry opposition to pay-per-view
05 December 2007


The GAA could be blocked from agreeing pay-per-view TV deals if two motions to next Sunday’s Derry county convention in Owenbeg are successful.

The motions call for all GAA games to be on free-to-air television. If the motion is passed, it will then go before Congress next April in Sligo, and if it gets the green light again, it would go into rule.

The motions come at a time when GAA bosses are negotiating the rights to broadcast their games for the next three years. It has already been confirmed that independent station TV3 have secured the rights to show 10 championship matches over that period.

pd101

aidan24326 wrote: »

You wonder why RTE are losing out on so much of sports coverage? As someone else mentioned they might be able to afford better sports coverage if they weren't so busy turning the likes of Kenny and co into multi-millionaires.

It might give them a kick up the arse alright. Take it off them altogether for a year or two. It will be interesting to see what kind of coverage TV3 come up with although their past record on sports is not encouraging. This is the TV station that gives us Packie Bonner flanked by Noel King. It's almost a crime against humanity to have to listen to that pair.

Thats what happened with the Champs League and when they got it back they were a lot better than they were before.