GAA TV discussions 2017-19

An Ciarraioch

Once the Championship season concludes, thoughts will turn to the new GAA three -year television contract that kicks in from 2017. Presumably, RTE will retain the lion's share of rights, but what of its rivals? Will TV3 and TG4 put all their eggs in securing a slice of Championship football? Presumably Sky will be keen to maintain their existing deal. The ones to watch however, may be Setanta/BT - you could certainly visualise a scenario whereby League and Championship games would be shown on Setanta Ireland in the Republic, and BT in the UK, including the North.

icdg

I suspect the main change may be to the Sky deal. There's been a lot of internal pressure within the GAA to abandon the deal. Setanta is perhaps a more palatable pay-TV partner given its basic cable status. I wouldn't rule out TV3 recovering the rights either.

I'd be absolutely shocked if RTE lost its rights. It would be an even bigger shock than Sky's pick up last time round, and that was big.

I'd imagine that the GAA will continue to partner with Setanta's former sister company Premier Sports in the UK, the often forgotten third wheel of the Setanta Sports Pack.

Elmo

I think both sky and the GAA aren't all that happy with the deal, TBH I can see sky dropping it.

Eir have suggested they will consider FTA rights by launching a new free service as part of Setanta (which is re-branding this autumn).

TV3's new owners have said that they'd like to see more hurling on the channel (this is from John Malone). Que a bad pun ... for the most part TV3 is vomit inducing I suspect much of the hurling will be on gogglebox! :cool:

IMO

RTE - retains lions share of championship and league sunday highlights (though with the loss of 6 nations they may consider Live League)
TV3 - will possibly get back their original championship rights (and will use Virgin Media to distribute to NI and GB ala GE coverage, I am surprised they haven't launched something for NI viewers)
TG4 - will retain women's football and League (though league maybe reduce to a highlights programme)
ITV - ho hum, I really can't see them going after GAA coverage even though it would suit their 2 Irish channels and perhaps ITV4 as coverage for GB.
Sky - Either sky will drop out or GAA will go decide it was a bad idea, after all the arguments here on boards
Eir - it will be interesting to see if they do provide a free sports channel and gain access to GAA games, certainly full coverage of GAA league spread across a free service (taking TG4 games) and retaining the current setanta rights could work for them.
BBC - will row in with RTE for Ulster coverage.
Network 7 - gone
GAA GO - will continue to grow but I think they might want to start going after other sports.

STB.

It will be the GAA dropping Sky when it comes around to considerations.

They know they made a mistake with the grassroots.

Johnboy1951

If any of the games are behind a pay-wall in Ireland I will maintain my extremely negative attitude to the GAA (as I am sure will many others).

If they want community support then let the community view the results.
Else take the whole shebang into a professional set up, and pay the players at all levels, as well as the support people, and sign contracts and development contracts etc etc.

They want their cake and eat it too!

After many decades of support for the organisation, I have refused to take any hand act or part in any event, or fundraising for the GAA as long as they have part of the output behind a pay-wall.
That attitude is also being spread as far and wide as I can manage.

I am absolutely disgusted with what they have done.

FRIENDO

Johnboy1951 wrote:

I am absolutely disgusted with what they have done.

So am I.

GAA have lost touch with the grass roots and hopefully soon they will discover this.

They seem to get away with pay per view on Setanta with league games, as I believe alot of Dublin viewers are paying Virgin formerly (Cable Link).
Setanta is part of the basic package I think.

With many parts of the Country being deprived of GAA games on an FTA basis.

A couple of years ago they even screened the 125 year anniversary match in Croke Park, first under floodlights behind a paywall of Setanta.

Next person who knocks on my door selling raffle tickets for the GAA can shag off.

An Ciarraioch

FRIENDO wrote: »

So am I.

GAA have lost touch with the grass roots and hopefully soon they will discover this.

They seem to get away with pay per view on Setanta with league games, as I believe alot of Dublin viewers are paying Virgin formerly (Cable Link).
Setanta is part of the basic package I think.

With many parts of the Country being deprived of GAA games on an FTA basis.

A couple of years ago they even screened the 125 year anniversary match in Croke Park, first under floodlights behind a paywall of Setanta.

Next person who knocks on my door selling raffle tickets for the GAA can shag off.

Yes, Setanta Ireland comes included with Eir and Virgin (not sure about Sky), so presumably the reason that has drawn less heat is that a broader percentage of the population can see those games than the Sky deal.

icdg

Not Sky, unfortunately. It is basic service from nearly other provider but on Sky is only available as part of the Setanta Sports Pack. Some programmes are provided free to view to those with a Sky viewing card.

Elmo

I am not sure but I believe that the setanta deal pre-dates the vast number of League games being broadcast. TG4 started airing the games but I am not sure how many, no other broadcaster came on board.

FRIENDO

Elmo wrote:

I am not sure but I believe that the setanta deal pre-dates the vast number of League games being broadcast. TG4 started airing the games but I am not sure how many, no other broadcaster came on board.

It seems Setanta show alot of Dublin football matches, however mabey I only thing this as I'm a Dubs supporter.

They show Saturday evening league games I think.

galtee boy

icdg wrote: »

Not Sky, unfortunately. It is basic service from nearly other provider but on Sky is only available as part of the Setanta Sports Pack. Some programmes are provided free to view to those with a Sky viewing card.

Setanta Ireland is part of basic pack on Vodafone too and its in HD, thankfully.

dublinman1990

Eir to think of setting up a new FTA service for sports sounds very promising. Will it cater for both Saorview & Saorsat viewers & maybe on Sky Ireland EPG?

It might be a service that is a similar setup to BT Sport Showcase on Freeview in the UK. Who knows will happen in the long run.

munchkin_utd

I think the anti sky folks will get their way, and those 12 games will be axed.
And I mean axed COMPLETELY, gone altogether and not shown at all, meaning there'll be no complaints of games not being accessible on sky. Essentially there'll be 12 less championship games televised over the summer.

Since before sky came on board it was said in GAA circles that there was too much GAA on TV affecting attendances, especially on Saturday evenings which is when club games often get played during the summer.
I cannot imagine a circumstance that the GAA would allow those televised games back onto being prime time Saturday evening viewing, meaning they get the chop and thats that.

The alternative would be to move the Saturday evening games to a more palatable pay tv channel like Setanta (/ Aer sports or whatever it'll be called), but theres enough folks out there (and on this thread) with venom in their mouths or fingertips that maybe its just simpler to cut the number of games on TV by a quarter and leave it at that.

Perverse that having 30 FTA games is preferable to having 42 FTA+Sky combined, but if thats what the anti pay TV camp want, then it seems likely to me that they'll get it.

Elmo

munchkin_utd wrote: »

I think the anti sky folks will get their way, and those 12 games will be axed.
And I mean axed COMPLETELY meaning there'll be no complaints of games not being accessible on sky, but there'll be 12 less championship games televised over the summer.

Since before sky came on board it was said in GAA circles that there was too much GAA on TV affecting attendances, especially on Saturday evenings which is when club games often get played during the summer.
I cannot imagine a circumstance that the GAA would allow those games to go back to being prime time Saturday evening viewing, meaning they get the chop and thats that.

The alternative would be to move it to a more palatable pay tv channel like Setanta (/ Aer sports or whatever it'll be called), but theres enough folks out there (and on this thread) with venom in their mouths or fingertips that maybe its just simpler to cut the number of games on TV by a quarter and leave it at that.

Perverse that having 30 FTA games is preferable to having 42 FTA+Sky combined, but if thats what the anti pay TV camp want, then it seems likely to me that they'll get it.

strange argument. too much televised games, passed to pay tv operator, increase numbers at games. Which is a differing argument to the initial arguments provided when it was sold to Sky.

GAA could have just have easily put those games on GAA GO if the desired effect was to increase ticket sales at games.

IMO those games will be returned to TV3. AerSport is nowhere near the point of getting those games, if it still exists?

No TV3 and ITV can now provide HD and those games to a British audience, the main arguments for selling to sky.

munchkin_utd

Elmo wrote: »

strange argument. too much televised games, passed to pay tv operator, increase numbers at games. Which is a differing argument to the initial arguments provided when it was sold to Sky.

dont start.

Im happy with the current arrangements. I think it should continue as it is, but the question is whether a broad coverage in the UK is more important than balancing the interests of the GAA in Ireland, including keeping some very humpy people happy, including not interfering in club games with too many games on Saturday but having enough games on Sundays to keep the games in the forefront of peoples minds.

If anyone listens closely to statements made every year about november from provincial chairmen and the likes, its a constant question as to whether theres too much available on TV.
The sky deal was great in that it left the same number of games televised overall, but indeed restricted to an extent that 12 were only on pay tv (but still available if you go to the pub or someones house or whatever). The question is whether those 12 restricted games could be just pulled completely to make matters more simple and straight forward, and I can easily see it happen.

Elmo

munchkin_utd wrote: »

dont start.

Im happy with the current arrangements. I think it should continue as it is, but the question is whether a broad coverage in the UK is more important than balancing the interests of the GAA in Ireland, including keeping some very humpy people happy, including not interfering in club games with too many games on Saturday but having enough games on Sundays to keep the games in the forefront of peoples minds.

If anyone listens closely to statements made every year about november from provincial chairmen and the likes, its a constant question as to whether theres too much available on TV.
The sky deal was great in that it left the same number of games televised overall, but indeed restricted to an extent that 12 were only on pay tv (but still available if you go to the pub or someones house or whatever). The question is whether those 12 restricted games could be just pulled completely to make matters more simple and straight forward, and I can easily see it happen.

If ITV and TV3 can provide the same coverage as Sky Sports to Britain then there is no reason for it to be on Sky Sports. Indeed if GAA think that those games are better served on GAA GO for British audience then they can put them their, while providing GAA GO to Irish audience for those games on a pay basis.

I can see Sky dropping the games could be wrong but I don't think they are as interested 3 years on.

BTW TV3, Eir and ITV won't go after any other packages for the championship.

icdg

I think they'll still keep two rights holders for the Championship btw, if only because not to do so would send a message to RTE that it need only name its price and it will keep the rights (because let's face it, if you think the membership is up in arms over Sky, watch them give the exclusive live championship rights to someone other than RTE and sparks will fly).

Elmo

icdg wrote: »

I think they'll still keep two rights holders for the Championship btw, if only because not to do so would send a message to RTE that it need only name its price and it will keep the rights (because let's face it, if you think the membership is up in arms over Sky, watch them give the exclusive live championship rights to someone other than RTE and sparks will fly).

I just don't see any commercial operator taking any other rights other than those rights set aside for TV3 when the first took an interest in GAA.

STB.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

dont start.

Im happy with the current arrangements. I think it should continue as it is, but the question is whether a broad coverage in the UK is more important than balancing the interests of the GAA in Ireland, including keeping some very humpy people happy, including not interfering in club games with too many games on Saturday but having enough games on Sundays to keep the games in the forefront of peoples minds.

If anyone listens closely to statements made every year about november from provincial chairmen and the likes, its a constant question as to whether theres too much available on TV.
The sky deal was great in that it left the same number of games televised overall, but indeed restricted to an extent that 12 were only on pay tv (but still available if you go to the pub or someones house or whatever). The question is whether those 12 restricted games could be just pulled completely to make matters more simple and straight forward, and I can easily see it happen.

No GAA fan would spout such nonsense. I do not know how the terrestrial rights effect you in Munich but anyhow.

First off. "whether a broad coverage in the UK is more important than balancing the interests of the GAA in Ireland, including keeping some very humpy people happy"

Where did you get this notion in your head ? The coverage that you perceive is broad is in YOUR head.

High-quality live hurling championship matches shown on Sky Sports in Ireland and in England draw fewer viewers than repeats of Judge Judy and the post-midnight ‘highlights’ of Dáil Debates in the middle of summer. In some cases the UK viewing figures where not much higher than those who attended the games.

Comparatively when Tv3 had the same game rights the viewing figures where 10 times the average 37,000 who watched the game on Sky in the UK and Ireland COMBINED. RTE commands viewing figures in Ireland for GAA of 400,000 plus. In some cases Sky's viewing figures were as low as 11,000!

The GAA put forward that the reasoning for putting these games behind a paywall when the money difference to the GAA was less than €0.5m per year was that it was Providing coverage to Irish emigrants and raising awareness of the game internationally.

This of course was rubbish. It was already available in the UK through an affordable service (£10 per month) provided by Premier Sports. It was sold to Channel 7 in Australia who provided all 45 games on a free to air basis. They dropped it within a year.

The 12 games could have been shown on TV3 (the previous alternative to giving the rights to RTE), but they were excluded as the deal given to Sky.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

The sky deal was great in that it left the same number of games televised overall, but indeed restricted to an extent that 12 were only on pay tv (but still available if you go to the pub or someones house or whatever)

The GAA has a stance on alcohol and its abuse. This goes against it.

And finally the whole ethos of the GAA the national amateur sport goes against depriving anyone from watching the game. Its primary role is too encourage the viewing, playing and promotion of the sport on the Island of Ireland. Sky a pay only operator wasn't the place to put a third of the games then, especially during a recession.

No GAA spin doctor or pay TV apologist will attempt to tell me otherwise.

For interested people who want to know exactly how farcical the arrangements have worked out should read Paul Rouses extensive work on it. The top boys in the GAA should have lost their jobs on this issue.

http://historyhub.ie/sports-rights-commercialization-revisited-sky-and-the-gaa

Elmo wrote: »

I can see Sky dropping the games could be wrong but I don't think they are as interested 3 years on.

Sky were only ever interested in it to bump their Sky Sports subscriptions. They have no commitment to the sport. They have killed off many niche sports before. Its the GAA that will drop them. There has been too much feedback and the marketing boys in the GAA were all caught out, like they were told they would be.

Elmo

STB. wrote: »

http://historyhub.ie/sports-rights-commercialization-revisited-sky-and-the-gaa

One issue the failed to point out was the decision made by Eamon Ryan was taken after public consultations, and those consultations were open to the IRFU and Rugby fans. Few seemed to take an interest. The PR and Spin from the IRFU was outrageous and utimately used Eamon Ryan's place in an disliked government and a party disliked by in many rural areas of the country.

icdg

STB please don't accuse people of being a shill without hard evidence. Thanks.

munchkin_utd

with the players now getting a cut of the media money, I had a look to see if there was more on the upcoming deal but came up with very little.

The one interesting quote I found from a couple of weeks ago was :

“The GAA was not founded to encourage people to stay indoors – quite the opposite,” McGill continued. “It is to get people up and out, be that at club level or having to get up and go to games.
“It’s not necessarily in our best interest to show every game, to show every replay. Our primary consideration are the players, the fans and, thirdly, people who sit at home and watch games.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/gaa-defends-tv-deal-after-decision-not-to-televise-connacht-final-replay-1.2718383

Here in the broadcasting forum and across on the GAA fourm (and in Mayo/ Donegal) theres a feeling that theres a god given right to have all games on TV, and free. The quote above is be more along the lines of how its viewed in GAA circles - which seems to be ignored consistently.

later in the article:

Formal discussions to agree a new broadcast deal are imminent but RTÉ and Sky Sports are keen to at least continue the current arrangement.

so the disaster of an arrangement doesn't seem to be viewed as such by the 2 parties involved.

STB.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

with the players now getting a cut of the media money, I had a look to see if there was more on the upcoming deal but came up with very little.

The one interesting quote I found from a couple of weeks ago was :

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/gaa-defends-tv-deal-after-decision-not-to-televise-connacht-final-replay-1.2718383

Here in the broadcasting forum and across on the GAA fourm (and in Mayo/ Donegal) theres a feeling that theres a god given right to have all games on TV, and free. The quote above is be more along the lines of how its viewed in GAA circles - which seems to be ignored consistently.

later in the article:

so the disaster of an arrangement doesn't seem to be viewed as such by the 2 parties involved.

That article is specifically in relation to the uproar caused that the Connacht final was not televised whatsoever hence its headline.
GAA defends TV deal after decision not to televise Connacht final replay

The god given right to free to air viewing of our native games is as a result of its previous FTA status and the previous commitments given by consecutive GAA presidents that they would not get into bed with subscription TV companies. Yet they did. The reasoning was lauaghable and has been proved to be both shambolic, shameful and a failure in terms of garnering outside interest. It was also total disaster in public relations with this sold at a loss to the grassroots and even most casual viewer. Yet the GAA PR and Marketing boys are no doubt still slapping each other on the back.

You can tell that to the boys in HQ through your official gaa email address.

marno21

People may say GAA only went behind a pay wall in 2014 with Sky. There were games televised on TV3 when they first won the rights that many people could not get for free because TV3 refused to broadcast on over 100 transmitters in Ireland. If TV3 broadcast a Kerry game the majority of the county wouldn't get to see it. Large parts of Tralee, Dingle, Cahirciveen, Listowel, and many villages would have either very poor or no TV3 coverage.

icdg

The Allianz Leagues have been on pay TV long before 2014. It's just that the basic cable status of Eir Sport 1 (Setanta Ireland) sort of hid that fact for many people. It'll be interesting to see if the disappearance of Eir Sport from Virgin Media on Monday makes it more difficult for them to retain those rights.

Elmo

icdg wrote: »

The Allianz Leagues have been on pay TV long before 2014. It's just that the basic cable status of Eir Sport 1 (Setanta Ireland) sort of hid that fact for many people. It'll be interesting to see if the disappearance of Eir Sport from Virgin Media on Monday makes it more difficult for them to retain those rights.

I think it certain rules out the idea of an FTA channel from Eir and with that no chance of getting the All Ireland's.

icdg

There is an unconfirmed report in this mornings Sunday Business Post that RTE and Sky Sports have retained championship rights for a five year period.

iseegirls

icdg wrote: »

There is an unconfirmed report in this mornings Sunday Business Post that RTE and Sky Sports have retained championship rights for a five year period.

Very disappointing if true (in terms of Sky Sports retaining the rights)

iprinter

Great promotional move again by Sky as it will keep most of the sky sports subscribers when the football season ends.

lertsnim

iprinter wrote: »

Great promotional move again by Sky as it will keep most of the sky sports subscribers when the football season ends.

Really? I though viewing figures were very low on Sky.

iseegirls

Can't see anyone signing up for Sky Sports with just the intention to watch their 11 or so games of GAA.

There's way too many games on TV as it is - and the games on RTE are usually the most important ones - Hurling Munster Finals, Leinster Football Final, Semi Finals and Final.