UTV & BBC & RTE & TV3

[Archie Mitchell]

I get RTE1, Network 2 and TG4 through Virgin NTL.

The problem is that I miss a few inches of each side of the screen.

Anyone else have this problem or is it my NTL settings?

Is there not a way to minimise the screen on your TV?

Even with the cardboard removed I still miss bits no matter what I fiddle with on the TV set.

There are also settings in the Virgin Media box that you can change as well.

[Orior]

Does it happen on any other channels?

Missing a few inches of the side of the screen could mean different things. What type of telly are you watching it with? Widescreen or standard? If it's widescreen have you made sure that your Virgin STB is set to output a 16:9 picture in its menus?

Widescreen, and I have TV settings for Wide, Zoom, 14:9, 4:3 and Smart, none of which solve it.

I can see more of the picture when I watch it on the Setanta channel, so it seems to be the RTE channels only.

[chatchampionship]

anyone know how I can watch the Tyrone v Derry match online on the RTE media player thing
it keeps saying only available in Ireland. Is there a proxy or something to watch or get past it. I want to see
the Brolly/ Spillane debate as much as the game itself.

[Minder]

anyone know how I can watch the Tyrone v Derry match online on the RTE media player thing
it keeps saying only available in Ireland. Is there a proxy or something to watch or get past it. I want to see
the Brolly/ Spillane debate as much as the game itself.

It is also on BBC I player If you can't see it on rte.

[ziggysego]

anyone know how I can watch the Tyrone v Derry match online on the RTE media player thing
it keeps saying only available in Ireland. Is there a proxy or something to watch or get past it. I want to see
the Brolly/ Spillane debate as much as the game itself.

It is also on BBC I player If you can't see it on rte.

He wants to see it for the Brolly/Spillane showdown at high noon.

[JMohan]

It seems retarded to me that RTE can't show the games outside of Ireland where people have the damn internet!!!

It is supposedly over the Setanta deal ... not that they look to be very healthy just now!

[Louth Exile]

When in the proceedings did this lovers spat take place??

[gerry]

You should be able to download it from irish torrent site as most gaa games on there

[Hotrocks]

anyone know how I can watch the Tyrone v Derry match online on the RTE media player thing
it keeps saying only available in Ireland. Is there a proxy or something to watch or get past it. I want to see
the Brolly/ Spillane debate as much as the game itself.

Thank god someone actually replied to this.  Chat has being asking bout this all fecking day.  Three different threads he has been on asking!
Whats the hurry can you not wait a day or two, will be all over youtube in a few days!

[Doogie Browser]

One thing that the BBC deserve credit for is the amount of interviews, normally you are lucky to get one player and the manager from the winning team on a live game on RTE.  On Sunday Thomas Kane interviewed Martin Penrose, Enda McGinley, Kevin Hughes, Davy Harte, and Mickey, also due to the delayed throw in my sky plus cut off before the end so there may have been more.  Davy Harte has an oul mans head on him!

[Louth Exile]

When in the proceedings did this lovers spat take place??

Anyone 

[Archie Mitchell]

When in the proceedings did this lovers spat take place??

Anyone 

About 15 minutes into the programme when watching on RTE Player

[Louth Exile]

When in the proceedings did this lovers spat take place??

Anyone 

About 15 minutes into the programme when watching on RTE Player

Perfect, thanks.

[rrhf]

I watched it in full last night, it was a set up, Lester rolled up the balls of fine snow and handed them to orourke, he fired a couple rather softly at Brolly and Brolly dodge them well.  All that was good until spillane grabbed the snow cloud and shook it out all covering brolly, who swung catching Spillane and bursting him right open underneath the forehead (or was that oversized hole in his face already there) Anyway the moral of the story is be careful when swinging yer brolly in the snow.        

[Archie Mitchell]

Not a bad idea, but would take along time and money to develop, market etc.

I know if I was abroad and had limited access to watch game's id gladly pay for good coverage.


Back Stage, Dave Hannigan - Online & upwards

Rather than waiting for a sign from Setanta, the GAA should direct the traffic and cash towards themselves

Earlier this week, the New York Yankees announced details of a deal through which its fans can now pay a once-off fee of $49 to watch every game in the second half of the current baseball season live on their computers. These 81 matches are already carried live on the club's own channel or the national networks but the Yankees realise the world has changed and their job is to make sure their fans can access coverage whenever and wherever they now please. We mention this only because the Yankees are one of the richest and most successful sports franchises in the world. They tend to know their stuff when it comes to marketing.

Seven years after Major League Baseball first offered a service through which fans living out of state could watch their hometown teams play live online, the Yankees have gone a step farther. They recognise that in the 21st century sports enthusiasts use their computers as much as home entertainment devices as workstations. Everything is about making it easier for the supporters to access the games they wish to. Whether at home in New York or abroad, in the office or a hotel, the die-hard now need never be without their nightly Yankee fix. Against the background of this news, it was kind of bizarre to read the GAA's commercial and marketing manager Dermot Power's response to the ongoing Setanta crisis.

"We're still in the dark until we know what the new Setanta model is going to be," said Power in The Irish Times the other day. "We've been in contact with them all the time. At stake are our international rights and domestic league rights. We do want to get the games to our people all over the world and as originally, pubs and clubs are still the major distribution channels for us overseas."

Power is a smart guy but the last sentence was a ludicrous statement because the days when pubs and clubs are still the major distribution channels overseas are at or near the end. Or at least they would be if the GAA realised what a wonderful opportunity is within their grasp to change the game completely. The original deal with Setanta transmitting the matches to Irish-centric venues was a boon to emigrants everywhere, doing more for their quality of life than perhaps any Irish government ever. But, even before the company hit the financial rocks in recent weeks, the time for this kind of contract has passed, its efficacy overtaken by rapidly-changing technology and demographic trends.

Once Setanta's current deal expires, the major distribution channel for the GAA needs to be GAA.ie. That's where fans from New York to New South Wales should be able to log on to pay a yearly fee of, let's just say, €150 to watch every championship match shown live every weekend of the summer. If 100,000 of the diaspora did that every May, Croke Park would benefit to the tune of €15m each year. Nobody knows what Setanta currently pay for their privilege but by dealing directly with the customer, removing the profit margin of the pub owner and the distributor, the GAA surely stands to make a whole lot more.

Is it wildly optimistic to expect 100,000 Irish abroad to sign up? At least that sort of attendance turns up at venues across America and Australia and England every week to fork over $20 or its equivalent in other currencies at a time. And there are many multiples that number of Gaelic football and/or hurling devotees flung to the far corners right now who don't live within striking distance of a pub or club showing the matches. How many would be tempted to buy into the chance to cheer on their county from the convenience and comfort of their own homes?

The last part is important too. Today's emigrants no longer tend to gather so religiously around a hub or a neighbourhood in a particular city. They are a far more disparate and white-collar bunch, as likely to be found in small towns and suburbs as in traditional enclaves like Yonkers and Kilburn. Shouldn't the GAA's policy towards overseas broadcasts reflect that new reality too and capitalise on the fact these people are living in countries with such sophisticated broadband that there is no difference between watching a game on a computer and a big screen. Not to mention the days are (mostly) gone when Paddy drank through the night and slept on the bar before being woken up to watch the match the next morning.

That the GAA is already aware of the new reality is obvious. From time to time when schedules have conflicted, RTE have gone the internet transmission-only route, albeit frustratingly restricted to Irish audiences. Setanta, to their credit, also offered an online pay-per-view option though it was ill-conceived and flawed. Whether the company that owns the overseas rights expires before the current contract with Croke Park does, Power et al must realise they have a wonderful business opportunity here.

Beyond the original subscriptions, Croke Park could offer half-price season tickets to those buying after 15 July each year (bandwagon jumpers suddenly interested because their county is progressing!), special offers for those who renew early in the year. Think of the pitch GAA.ie could make to online advertisers like airlines too. How many page views could it guarantee these companies every week? How many visitors to the site would also end up using it to buy their county merchandise from? Whether it's to potentially fund the grant payments for players or just to boost the coffers to finance the ongoing promotional battles with other sports, this sort of revenue has never been more badly needed.

There is another harsh nettle to be grasped here. It is now possible to watch a lot of the live championship matches on pirate feeds online. As the quality of that service improves and proliferates – and it will – there's the possibility of losing more and more viewers who will take their chances with illegal downloads rather than trekking to the AOH Hall or the Irish Club of a Sunday morning. By offering a legal alternative that represents good value, and with ancillary attractions like subscriber draws for All Ireland final tickets, the GAA can ensure most of its overseas audience won't be tempted down that road.

As always, it's sad to witness the troubles of an Irish company, especially one like Setanta that made a genuine sporting and cultural contribution to our lives. However, the current situation should finally force the GAA into rethinking its overseas strategy. Online and upwards.

http://www.tribune.ie/sport/gaelic-football/article/2009/jun/28/back-stage-dave-hannigan-online-upwards/