RTE

[Hardy]

RTE is the national broadcaster and has a responsibility to those who do watch GAA games or sport in general. There are other licence payers who aren't into GAA

In the immortal words of Christy Browne ...

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Id like to see the hurling being played on Saturday night. To much sport on TV on a Sunday can put people off attending club matches or the actually county games on Sunday. I think if there hadnt been so much sport on tv on Sunday that there's have been another 5,000 at the Tyrone Donegal game. Definately need to be careful not to show to many games as tempting as it can be. Saturday night would surely also suit RTE especailly after the viewing figures last Saturday night - think Bernard Dunne might be on live to so it would be a great night of support. I dont think we can critice RTE to much for the number of championship games - over isnt bad. Come July there'll alos be 1 or 2 qualifiers on live on a Saturday as well as the Sunday games. Should be good.

[darbyo]

I've no real problem with the amount of games that are shown by RTE, but I can't understand why there isn't a mid-week preview/review show. Discussing the events of the previous week and the games coming at the weekend. rugby had two mid-week shows dedicated to the sport, yet the GAA has none.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Good point Darybo. I thought it announced at the start of the year that there'd be a midweek show but it hasnt happened so far. There definately should be a 45min or an hour show with panelists looking back at the previous weekend and previewing the next one. Far to much of the Sunday Game on a Sunday night is based on talking. A bit more coverage would be better with the talking taking place during the week.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Borrowed a tape yesterday with clips from the Sunday Game in 1986. Couldnt believe my ears after Tyrone beat Galway in 1986 all ireland semi. We'd qualified for our first final and they started complaining about quality of football, fair enough but it was the points made that I couldnt believe. Michael Lyster was presenting with another fellow from Galway doing the talking. He said that the quality of kicking from free's and play had went badly down hill during that years championship. The reason offered was that teams were using increased tactics and concentrating on physical fitness in training at the expense of the key skills. Is this a standard script these guys pull out every time a Northern team win a match at all ireland semi stage and on? It was almost identical to the stuff Spillane has been saying this last few years after Tyrone and Armagh did well - the language barely changed. They were also questioning a Tyrone penalty which was as clear cut as you'll see. Big Art then came on and thanked the Sunday Game for giving Tyrone the inspiration to get that far in the championship, some things never change!

[Jinxy]

I think in general that ex-players will often lament the so called demise of the "basic skills" when in reality football is in a very healthy state. Check out the basic skills in some of the so-called great games from the 70's and 80's. Junior B stuff.

[Loup Bandit]

what time does the irish lotto be on at on a sat nite lads?

[Barney]

Has Marty Morrissey ever seen a good game of football or hurling? He's always disappointed and shocked at things that have "no place in the game"

Why do the pundits even bother with the GAA - sure they can't see anything positive in football at all?

[darbyo]

Has Marty Morrissey ever seen a good game of football or hurling? He's always disappointed and shocked at things that have "no place in the game"

Yea this drives me mad as well, I can't remember the incident yesterday but Marty was at his sanctimonious best again. Does he think that only 8 year old children watch the games on TV, Reverend Lovejoy's wife would comment with less moral outrage than Marty Morrissey.

[tayto]

Always seems to be ovelyr negitive reporting on GAA, okay you get the odd duffer of a match or Kilkenny will sometimes roll someone over big time, but how many matches will SKY show this winter where one of the big four in the premiership will hammer the bejaysus out of some premiership also rans, will SKY bemoan the one sided predictable nature of the game? no, they'll highlight the skill of the better side. Now I dont want RTÉ to do a SKY but ease off onthe feckin moaning, not every match can be a classic. 

[Fishead_Sam]

Always seems to be ovelyr negitive reporting on GAA, okay you get the odd duffer of a match or Kilkenny will sometimes roll someone over big time, but how many matches will SKY show this winter where one of the big four in the premiership will hammer the bejaysus out of some premiership also rans, will SKY bemoan the one sided predictable nature of the game? no, they'll highlight the skill of the better side. Now I dont want RTÉ to do a SKY but ease off onthe feckin moaning, not every match can be a classic. 

Ya tayto but football & hurling are real sports not the big brother equivelant that is sky sports barclays premiership.   
So we expect so much more. 

[tayto]

Well that's very true, they do throw up classic matchs far far more often then that hypefest from over the water, so we are kinda spolit for choice, i just wish they'd relax on the hurling is dying stuff everytime kilkenny paste someone. the all blacks for example tore france a new arse in several games recently at home and in france, now france would be in the top 5 or 6 teams in the world, everyone admires the all black play rather then moans about the state of france.

[El Goocho]

For some time now I have been reading this board as a GAA fan.  Most of you guys come across as angry little men who will never be pleased when it comes to GAA coverage by RTE. I worked in RTE for a few years.  Dont worry, I am no-one special, just a guy who worked behind the scenes in TV.  I dont work there anymore.  But I feel I should defend some of the outrageous generalisaions and subjective hatred which is posted on this board about RTE.

I would be here for a week if I was to begin dissecting every single false accusation and contradiction which has been attributed to RTE by angry ant posters on this board. But here are a few thoughts.

Firstly in relation to those who work on programmes, I would love to see some of you guys doing commentaries and analyses. For every one perosn who thinks you are doing a great job, there will always be others who disagree. Thats life. Look at your own topics under discussion Seldom if ever is there any one GAA topic or dicussion on which there is unanimous agreement.  So is there acutally such a thing as a GAA analyst who will say something that everyone will agree on? Based on your own arguements on this board, the answer is clearly no.  So they are in a no win situation.  If Dara O Cinneide says something that half of you think is spot oin, there will always be the other half who will say he is talking sh..e.  All of these analysts are former county players.  How many people here are former county players who know exactly what its like for those involved.  I would love to see the vitriol on this board if RTE did away with GAA players and used journalists instead.  Which would you prefer? Who is more qualified to analyse matches.   I think there are probably more bar stool generals than former county players throwing anonymous hateful comments onto this board about people.  I dont know if they read this board but if I was Tony Davis or Anthony Tohill, or Martin McHugh, I would feel physically sick at the hurtful comments which you guys feel free to post here under anonymity.  I know I would be genuinely hiurt if I was called the sort of names which ye guys feel free to do on the world wide web. Its actually liabilous in reality.  I would love to know from all ye RTE haters, who would you have on your TV panel and why. List them. Tell us why they are better than the All Ireland medalists who are on each Sunday.  And what is wrong with being critical about the quality of a match? Ye are the very ones who lash out at SKY for their biased coverage claiming every soccer match is great. If RTE panelists were sitting on the fence about the quality of a match, i know where I would look first to see them get bashed for not having an opinion. Yes, this webpage.  Again, you should remember these guys are only human, not getting paid a fortune and they dont deserve some of the vindictive hatred which comes from many of ye faceless anonymous hurlers on the ditch.

Secondly, you give out week after week about RTE coverage. Before the new Road to Croker programme, the know alls on this board were predicting how terrible it would be.  It proved to be a good show yet they get lambasted even before the programme goes on air. Even then, the comments have been begrduging.  This week, ye were lashing typical RTE, that shower etc because they were only showing one match yesterday. They showed two.  Not a word of "thanks". That post quickly fell down the boards pecking order.  They showed the Dubs V Meath replay on RTE.  More cries of "Dubs loving" etc. Then they show Tipp V Limerick on RTE 1, again the silence was deafening.  These were two decisions which RTE would never have done with any other sport, yet RTE are full of "rugby heads".  How do ye know? Many of ye wouldnt know how to get to RTE let alone know anyone working in sport there. That assumption is completely laughable anyway.  Its an urban myth which ye guys have latched onto.  Ye really do show your true colours when you come up with this rubbish about RTE sport being biased towards rugby. 

You must also remember that the GAA fan is in the complete minority among RTE licence fee payers. It boxes above its weight when it comes to quality coverage vis a vis viewership figures. The same can also be said about other sports like rugby and soccer.  The GAA gets top priority in RTE and rightly so.  But if you were privvy to the comments which come into RTE which are distributed to staff weekly you would see the ammount of viewers and listeners that complain about too much sport on RTE and even among those who like rugby and soccer, they give out hell about RTE loving the GAA too much. As I said, they cant win.  its quite unbelievable the negative comments which come into RTE from people who have absolutely no time for sport and in turn no time for GAA.  Like it or not, their view is as important as yours.  They pay the same licence fee.

One guy here one day was complaining about too much talk and not enough action on the Sunday Game. Another similar Sunday Game hater said that there wasnt enough analyses and too much action which had already been seen earlier in the day. If the RTE Sunday Game producers were to use this website as a template for suggestions, they would be completely confused.  Why dont all of ye RTE haters get together now, form a new thread and design the "perfect Sunday Game".  See how many posts there will be before ye are all happy.  Go on, put your money where your mouth is.  In the meantime, stick to local radio for your updates on GAA because if you hate RTE so much, why bother tuning in. 

Oh, and for those of you talking about Setanta, remember your soccer counterparts went off to TV3. We saw the wonderful job TV3 made of soccer. All of those soccer guys who hated Dunphy etc were soon saying, better the devil you know. So be careful what you wish for.  At least you are getting it for free with RTE. Love to hear from all of you (mainly non licence fee paying because you are in the six counties according to your posts) angry little ants whinge and complain when its pay for play on Setanta!!

[Rossfan]

Hopefully you feel better after all that 

[tayto]

this board would be deserted if it wasnt for the constant moaning, no need to take it to heart! 

i actually said before that i think RTÉ have really upped their game this year with the new radio show and website.

i thought the viewership figures were strong, certainly stronger then most other sports. dominating the top ten most watched sports events on RTÉ. Mind you considering RTÉ is losing most other sports to pay per view that's probably not all that hard.