GAA doing a deal with SkySports

[thewobbler]

Sky getting in on the act and illegal transfers to big clubs being let happen the GAA is starting to let things slip in my opinion.

Things have been slipping for a while. Slipping from the old style values some of us think are important.

I've come to realise that we are on an unavoidable path to a form of professional game. Cultivation of new markets has to be part of this for sustainability reasons. Getting involved with SKY TV was more of a "when" not "if" question. How many teams (franchises) will there be? Depends on how well this goes I'd reckon.

Some people think I'm crackers saying this but I reckon it's a nailed on certainty to happen. I'm a little saddened by it but a clean break between club and "county" might not be the worst thing if it's managed correctly.

Seanie I've no doubt that at sometime in the near future someone will try to make the game professional.

But I've said for years, and I'll say it again, even with the best will in the world, they will fail miserably.  You only have to look at how many people attend a Railway Cup match (or a Sigerson match), versus how many people attend Club Championship matches (or a McKenna Cup match), to understand that the overwhelming majority of GAA people go to watch their team, and not the players within that team.

The teams you follow are those you are born into, and as such are deep-rooted into your psyche.

And as a result, any attempts to go professional will need to take those teams with them. Which isn't going to happen as a) county boards will never surrender their control, b) there's at least 20 too many counties to make professional sport a viable option, c) spectators don't want it.

[orangeman]

Sky getting in on the act and illegal transfers to big clubs being let happen the GAA is starting to let things slip in my opinion.

Things have been slipping for a while. Slipping from the old style values some of us think are important.

I've come to realise that we are on an unavoidable path to a form of professional game. Cultivation of new markets has to be part of this for sustainability reasons. Getting involved with SKY TV was more of a "when" not "if" question. How many teams (franchises) will there be? Depends on how well this goes I'd reckon.

Some people think I'm crackers saying this but I reckon it's a nailed on certainty to happen. I'm a little saddened by it but a clean break between club and "county" might not be the worst thing if it's managed correctly.

Seanie I've no doubt that at sometime in the near future someone will try to make the game professional.

But I've said for years, and I'll say it again, even with the best will in the world, they will fail miserably.  You only have to look at how many people attend a Railway Cup match (or a Sigerson match), versus how many people attend Club Championship matches (or a McKenna Cup match), to understand that the overwhelming majority of GAA people go to watch their team, and not the players within that team.

The teams you follow are those you are born into, and as such are deep-rooted into your psyche.

And as a result, any attempts to go professional will need to take those teams with them. Which isn't going to happen as a) county boards will never surrender their control, b) there's at least 20 too many counties to make professional sport a viable option, c) spectators don't want it.

Whilst I agree that spectators want to watch their own team, amateur rugby clubs had a massive following back in the day whilst club rugby has almost died and spectators have gone to watch The. If games. This is very, very unlikely to happen in GAA but it wouldn't be impossible for super clubs to evolve. The "smart fellas" in Croke Park who seemingly are constantly looking at improving the game and increasing revenue might decide that a super 16 of the top clubs in Ireland ( with most based in Dublin ) might make for an attractive advertising and spectating "product".

The GAA are by nature conservative but I wouldn't totally dismiss some form of professionalism ( virtually impossible ) or semi professionalism ( slightly more likely - let's face it we're not far off that in some places at the minute ).

[lenny]

Sky getting in on the act and illegal transfers to big clubs being let happen the GAA is starting to let things slip in my opinion.

Things have been slipping for a while. Slipping from the old style values some of us think are important.

I've come to realise that we are on an unavoidable path to a form of professional game. Cultivation of new markets has to be part of this for sustainability reasons. Getting involved with SKY TV was more of a "when" not "if" question. How many teams (franchises) will there be? Depends on how well this goes I'd reckon.

Some people think I'm crackers saying this but I reckon it's a nailed on certainty to happen. I'm a little saddened by it but a clean break between club and "county" might not be the worst thing if it's managed correctly.

+1

So SKY get to show FOURTEEN games of the 50,000 or 100,000 (or whatever the number is) Gaelic games played in Ireland in a year and " it's the end of the GAA as we know it" .
Jasus lads would ye pair ever go to a doctor and get something to lighten ye up a biteen.

Seriously though - is this in fact happening or is it a tale to make RTE/TV3/BBC/UTV put up a few more €?

Sky will want to show the big games like all Ireland qfs and sfs. If these aren't available free to view then its disgraceful.

[smort]

They will still be available on terrestrial television. I think its great that Sky are getting involved, spread awareness of our great games. I'm sure all these arguments were bandied about when soccer and rugby turned professional.

[orangeman]

Here's what Eugene Mc Gee had to say on the subject yesterday. It's not one of Eugene's real forceful pieces. It's a. It's a bit lukewarm but then again his hands are maybe a wee bit tied now after his success with the FRC committee but maybe I'm doing him a disservice by saying that. And while we're at it, what is the definition of a "true GAA fan"?

Giving away TV rights to Sky would be a betrayal of true GAA fans.


EUGENE MCGEE –

I have had several people on to me last week about the suggestion that the GAA is going to give one of the television championship packages, possibly 10 games, to Sky for the next few years.

The people who have contacted me are generally older people who live in rural Ireland and do not have Sky on their television simply because they cannot afford it and, indeed, most don't want it.

Young people who do not have Sky, regularly watch soccer games in local pubs, but the people I refer to won't do that because of the drink-driving laws.

These people have spent a lifetime following GAA games, very often as players, club officers or general volunteers. They will feel let down by the GAA if this proposal goes ahead and they are unable to watch big games in the summer.

Those men, and women, deserve better because when the GAA was in a far poorer state many years ago it was people like them who provided the structures on and off the field that contributed greatly to the strong Associastion of today.

Nobody doubts that, in several ways, Sky having a package of live games would be very attractive to a lot of people and those who constantly criticise RTE would be included in that.

But while there are flaws in 'The Sunday Game,' it is better than the vast majority of similar sports programmes that I have watched in many countries, so Sky fans might end up disappointed.

But the main point I want to make here is that thousands of older people will feel the GAA has let them down in their desire to rake in more money from television rights.

That is something the GAA should not treat lightly, no matter what Sky may bring to the table.

If Sky could be used to bring live games to America it would be much more important for the Irish diaspora and then the GAA could go out and challenge Irish stations to do a lot better.

[armaghniac]

They will still be available on terrestrial television. I think its great that Sky are getting involved, spread awareness of our great games. I'm sure all these arguments were bandied about when soccer and rugby turned professional.

Exactly what the concern is!

If these games will still be available on  terrestrial television then great, it will jizz up the offering. But Sky will not pay a significant amount for games also being shown elsewhere.
The GAA needs some mechanism where members get a code to watch these things, without a separate subscription if they are not interested in the other Sky stuff.

[thewobbler]

Sky getting in on the act and illegal transfers to big clubs being let happen the GAA is starting to let things slip in my opinion.

Things have been slipping for a while. Slipping from the old style values some of us think are important.

I've come to realise that we are on an unavoidable path to a form of professional game. Cultivation of new markets has to be part of this for sustainability reasons. Getting involved with SKY TV was more of a "when" not "if" question. How many teams (franchises) will there be? Depends on how well this goes I'd reckon.

Some people think I'm crackers saying this but I reckon it's a nailed on certainty to happen. I'm a little saddened by it but a clean break between club and "county" might not be the worst thing if it's managed correctly.

Seanie I've no doubt that at sometime in the near future someone will try to make the game professional.

But I've said for years, and I'll say it again, even with the best will in the world, they will fail miserably.  You only have to look at how many people attend a Railway Cup match (or a Sigerson match), versus how many people attend Club Championship matches (or a McKenna Cup match), to understand that the overwhelming majority of GAA people go to watch their team, and not the players within that team.

The teams you follow are those you are born into, and as such are deep-rooted into your psyche.

And as a result, any attempts to go professional will need to take those teams with them. Which isn't going to happen as a) county boards will never surrender their control, b) there's at least 20 too many counties to make professional sport a viable option, c) spectators don't want it.

Whilst I agree that spectators want to watch their own team, amateur rugby clubs had a massive following back in the day whilst club rugby has almost died and spectators have gone to watch The. If games. This is very, very unlikely to happen in GAA but it wouldn't be impossible for super clubs to evolve. The "smart fellas" in Croke Park who seemingly are constantly looking at improving the game and increasing revenue might decide that a super 16 of the top clubs in Ireland ( with most based in Dublin ) might make for an attractive advertising and spectating "product".

The GAA are by nature conservative but I wouldn't totally dismiss some form of professionalism ( virtually impossible ) or semi professionalism ( slightly more likely - let's face it we're not far off that in some places at the minute ).

I'd suggest the key difference is that rugby has always been a provincial game in Ireland. While the club game was undoubtedly a bigger deal pre-professionalism, the natural order was club -> province -> country. Even the club leagues are run on a provincial basis.

So when that sport went professional, they'd an easy and clear path to getting there: 4 super clubs based on existing regional boundaries, support, and feeder clubs.

There's 32 such boundaries in the GAA.

[johnneycool]

Sky getting in on the act and illegal transfers to big clubs being let happen the GAA is starting to let things slip in my opinion.

Things have been slipping for a while. Slipping from the old style values some of us think are important.

I've come to realise that we are on an unavoidable path to a form of professional game. Cultivation of new markets has to be part of this for sustainability reasons. Getting involved with SKY TV was more of a "when" not "if" question. How many teams (franchises) will there be? Depends on how well this goes I'd reckon.

Some people think I'm crackers saying this but I reckon it's a nailed on certainty to happen. I'm a little saddened by it but a clean break between club and "county" might not be the worst thing if it's managed correctly.

Seanie I've no doubt that at sometime in the near future someone will try to make the game professional.

But I've said for years, and I'll say it again, even with the best will in the world, they will fail miserably.  You only have to look at how many people attend a Railway Cup match (or a Sigerson match), versus how many people attend Club Championship matches (or a McKenna Cup match), to understand that the overwhelming majority of GAA people go to watch their team, and not the players within that team.

The teams you follow are those you are born into, and as such are deep-rooted into your psyche.

And as a result, any attempts to go professional will need to take those teams with them. Which isn't going to happen as a) county boards will never surrender their control, b) there's at least 20 too many counties to make professional sport a viable option, c) spectators don't want it.

Whilst I agree that spectators want to watch their own team, amateur rugby clubs had a massive following back in the day whilst club rugby has almost died and spectators have gone to watch The. If games. This is very, very unlikely to happen in GAA but it wouldn't be impossible for super clubs to evolve. The "smart fellas" in Croke Park who seemingly are constantly looking at improving the game and increasing revenue might decide that a super 16 of the top clubs in Ireland ( with most based in Dublin ) might make for an attractive advertising and spectating "product".

The GAA are by nature conservative but I wouldn't totally dismiss some form of professionalism ( virtually impossible ) or semi professionalism ( slightly more likely - let's face it we're not far off that in some places at the minute ).

The only ones likely to be interested in super clubs mostly based in Dublin will be Dubs and even then the parochial nature of GAA followers would be of the opinion that if its not my club I'm not interested.

As someone has already said, people don't necessarily turn up to see the top players, they turn up to see their teams, hence the reason the provincial finals smattered with top footballers and hurlers from the provinces fail to get much of a crowd.

[Keyser soze]

You can be sure that if there is any significant significant viewing figres for the Sky GAA package and they see a bit of growth potential in it the next step will be Sky getting the GPA to set up a professional game in Ireland. It might initially hafta be a hybrid to suit soccer or rugby grounds but you can be sure the GAA will not be included in any way shape of form. This is turkeys voting for christmas.

[J OGorman]

quick summary of the thread thus far:

* sky will be broadcasting 14 matches
* sky will be broadcasting 10 games (TV3 current matches)
* sky matches will be available on terrestrial tv
* sky matches will not be available of terrestrial
* sky matches will be available on terrestrial but blocked in certain jurisdictions
* drink driving is down in rural areas

if the big Sky deal does go through, Joe Brolly's parting soundbite will be "Rte who?"

[Rossfan]

quick summary of the thread thus far:

* sky will be broadcasting 14 matches
* sky will be broadcasting 10 games (TV3 current matches)
* sky matches will be available on terrestrial tv
* sky matches will not be available of terrestrial
* sky matches will be available on terrestrial but blocked in certain jurisdictions
* drink driving is down in rural areas

if the big Sky deal does go through, Joe Brolly's parting soundbite will be "Rte who?"

You left out
* the GAA/GPA will bring in professionalism

[Zulu]

You can be sure that if there is any significant significant viewing figres for the Sky GAA package and they see a bit of growth potential in it the next step will be Sky getting the GPA to set up a professional game in Ireland. It might initially hafta be a hybrid to suit soccer or rugby grounds but you can be sure the GAA will not be included in any way shape of form. This is turkeys voting for christmas.

Sorry but that's paranoid nonsense.

But the main point I want to make here is that thousands of older people will feel the GAA has let them down in their desire to rake in more money from television rights.

Did Eugene make that point when the GAA themselves, supported by many 'true' GAA fans, reduced the number of games they televised a few years ago?

[AZOffaly]

Is TV3 available in the north?

[johnneycool]

Is TV3 available in the north?

reception can be ropey enough where I'm at, the north coast would have a few problems i'd say.

[orangeman]

Is TV3 available in the north?

Not everywhere.