GAA doing a deal with SkySports

[blewuporstuffed]

I have to say, i agree with Paddy Heaney.
If anything, it will lead to MORE  games being available to watch on tv, not less.

[sheamy]

Yeah, more games if you pay for them. It'll be 14 this time but come 2017 and the end of this imminent deal, I'd expect it to go the whole hog.

Still, as long as the jerseys are of Irish manufacture.

[easytiger95]

Huge contradictions in the positions here -

"I want free to air coverage available North and South."

"Let them simulcast with sky by all means but remain free to air."

Here is something that may surprise a lot of people - covering a match costs a lot of money. To cover a match well costs even more. I'm assuming in point 1 you want the coverage to be good? As good as other sports seem to get from other channels? Costs a lot of money, and, quite frankly, neither RTE or TV3 have the resources to come anywhere near a Sky/BBC/ITV production. But because we live in a territory where the majority of people were able to see BBC coverage of sports and then latterly subscribed to Sky, we feel we can slag away at the coverage of GAA. It is a false comparison. Lads, RTE didn't cover provincial championships live until 1995! The Premier League was four years old at that stage.

So then in point 2, we say let Sky cover away - but not exclusively. I'm sorry, the deal as it stands may be right, may be wrong depending on what opinion you hold, but the idea that Sky would pay to coevr GAA matches on a subscription channel while RTE covers them on FTA is absurd - there is no logic to that statment. It actually smacks of such arrogance "Yeah we'll take their dirty money, but we won't give them any kind of consideration in return."

Who do we think we are lads? Sky are the biggest sports commercial broadcaster. We entered the commercial rights market ten years ago with Setanta - the days of turning up our noses at the realities of pay per view should be gone. As Bernard Shaw said to the Duchess, we know what you are, now we're just deciding the price.

We can decide to keep our games free to air and give them to RTE to cover each year - fine, but please let's not bitch and moan about the coverage they provide when it is a monopoly.

Or we can give Championship games to Sky as well, get some money for it but have them on a subscription basis - but please let's not wail about our loss of innocence, when we started Pay Per View games with a different company 10 years ago.

[Lazer]

Huge contradictions in the positions here -

"I want free to air coverage available North and South."

"Let them simulcast with sky by all means but remain free to air."

Here is something that may surprise a lot of people - covering a match costs a lot of money. To cover a match well costs even more. I'm assuming in point 1 you want the coverage to be good? As good as other sports seem to get from other channels? Costs a lot of money, and, quite frankly, neither RTE or TV3 have the resources to come anywhere near a Sky/BBC/ITV production. But because we live in a territory where the majority of people were able to see BBC coverage of sports and then latterly subscribed to Sky, we feel we can slag away at the coverage of GAA. It is a false comparison. Lads, RTE didn't cover provincial championships live until 1995! The Premier League was four years old at that stage.

So then in point 2, we say let Sky cover away - but not exclusively. I'm sorry, the deal as it stands may be right, may be wrong depending on what opinion you hold, but the idea that Sky would pay to coevr GAA matches on a subscription channel while RTE covers them on FTA is absurd - there is no logic to that statment. It actually smacks of such arrogance "Yeah we'll take their dirty money, but we won't give them any kind of consideration in return."

Who do we think we are lads? Sky are the biggest sports commercial broadcaster. We entered the commercial rights market ten years ago with Setanta - the days of turning up our noses at the realities of pay per view should be gone. As Bernard Shaw said to the Duchess, we know what you are, now we're just deciding the price.

We can decide to keep our games free to air and give them to RTE to cover each year - fine, but please let's not bitch and moan about the coverage they provide when it is a monopoly.

Or we can give Championship games to Sky as well, get some money for it but have them on a subscription basis - but please let's not wail about our loss of innocence, when we started Pay Per View games with a different company 10 years ago.

You are right, sky probabably wouldn't want a simulcast deal, but there is nothing to stop it being offered, so its not really a contradiction - as long as the games are available free to air in Ireland, then I couldn't care less if Sky, Setanta, BT Sports or anyone else also shows them.

As for the quality, I would prefer poorer quality games broadcast free than excellent quality coverage paid for through sky.

I'm not really that bothered about sky having 14 games or so, but how long is it before they are all subscription only?

I have only got RTE in the last about 6 years, and I have loved being able to see other counties play. I will get of off the sofa and go to my own county games but rarely would go see any other county.

[Jonah]

http://www.todayfm.com/player/podcasts/The_Ian_Dempsey_Breakfast_Show/The_Ian_Dempsey_Breakfast_Show/13260/2/Gift_Sky_Sports_GAA

[easytiger95]

Well Lazer, you might be lucky - if Sky do get it, they may not have any Ulster championship games. The large majority of games will be an RTE, so hopefully you'll get to see the games you want. Also, not sure where BBC NI fit in - they could still have their quota of games as well.

[Bingo]

I think too many are making the comparison between SKY and going professional, many seem to think this is a windfall.

And I can't see the situation arising where SKY will ever have exclusive rights to the games.

[orangeman]

Before Bill Whelan and Riverdance Irish dancing was on a small scale in a couple of countries and you could follow it and participate in it without having to have a pile of money.

Now it's massive in about 50 + countries in the world and participation levels are unbelievable. Whether by accident or design, participation costs have rocketed. It's big, big bucks now to be part of it.

[sheamy]

I think too many are making the comparison between SKY and going professional, many seem to think this is a windfall.

And I can't see the situation arising where SKY will ever have exclusive rights to the games.

If media reports are correct, Sky have already netted exclusive rights to some games. It's really not that big a leap to overall control. It has happened in almost every area they've invested in. They don't do small pieces of the pie.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/john-fogarty/john-fogarty-sky-deal-heralds-whole-new-era-263893.html

[screenexile]

It's probably a better situation for me as I can't get access to TV3 except for 2 pubs in the Town that have it but sure now it'll be on Sky.

It's not like they're taking over, RTÉ will still be covering the Lion's share and surely this will give our games greater exposure and participation rates which can only be a good thing...

Unless you are armagniac

[Rossfan]

If media reports are correct, Sky have already netted exclusive rights to some games. It's really not that big a leap to overall control. It has happened in almost every area they've invested in. They don't do small pieces of the pie.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/john-fogarty/john-fogarty-sky-deal-heralds-whole-new-era-263893.html

Gaelic games are so tiny in comparison to a lot of Sky's output so "overall control" of Gaelic Games is hardly part of their agenda.
Has anyone  any FACTS about the proposed deal?

[thejuice]

Paddy has it spot on.

[Main Street]

Paddy has it spot on.

Yeah, but Paddy didn't mention a dickeybird about Sky sports policy about the goal and point celebration music that they certainly impose on games they cover, which also implies proper goal celebrations by players and pro active DJ announcements over the PA system to whip the crowd into a 'frenzy'.

[Bingo]

I think too many are making the comparison between SKY and going professional, many seem to think this is a windfall.

And I can't see the situation arising where SKY will ever have exclusive rights to the games.

If media reports are correct, Sky have already netted exclusive rights to some games. It's really not that big a leap to overall control. It has happened in almost every area they've invested in. They don't do small pieces of the pie.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/john-fogarty/john-fogarty-sky-deal-heralds-whole-new-era-263893.html

Sky have always done selective pieces of the sports - there is very few sports that they hold full exclusive rights for.

Is it in Skys interests to have exclusive rights for the GAA? Who knows, they are likely testing the water but you can't imagine it been a Sky sports 1 or 2 viewing sport. Likely to sit on 3 or 4. Plus when the GAA season is at the business end the premiership is in full flow again.

Is it in GAA's interests to have exclusive rights for the GAA? Not now or in the future and these guys are smart in Croke Park, money isn't always first to them. They know that the GAA already battles for media space on the air waves with other sports and taking it off freeview in its entirety is in no ones interests. They will see the bigger game and know the national broadcaster is the bread and butter. It may pressure them into getting better deal or improving the coverage but closing the doors to many isn't an option.

[seafoid]

Paddy Heaney in today's Irish News

Why go to a match when you can complain about Sky showing it?

IF the negotiations between Croke Park and Sky run smoothly, the GAA will announce details of its new TV and radio rights deal today or tomorrow.

There has been widespread speculation that Sky Sports has secured the exclusive broadcast rights to 14 Championship games. But those 14 games are only part of Sky's package. In addition to acquiring eight Saturday evening Qualifiers, two Saturday evening and two Sunday provincial Championship games, and two All-Ireland football quarter-finals, Sky has also purchased 'simulcast rights' to the semi-finals and finals of the All-Ireland football and hurling Championships. That's an additional six matches, which brings Sky's total for the summer to 20.

There is now a distinct possibility that RTE and Sky Sports 3 will be showing the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals at the same time. Subscribers to Sky Sports will be able to choose between the two channels.

Contrary to some reports, RTE's coverage will remain largely unaffected. During last year's Championship, RTE showed 31 games. For the next three years, RTE will continue to show 31 games. Their package includes all the provincial finals. The BBC will continue to cover the games in the Ulster Championship which are broadcast by RTE.

The big losers are TV3, the station which showed nine games in last year's Championship. TV3 are no longer part of the equation. Given that TV3 isn't available in huge chunks of the North, there will not be a huge amount of weeping about that particular revelation.

Under the last deal, RTE (31) and TV3 (nine) broadcast a total of 40 Championship games. From 2014 to 2017, it will be possible to watch 45 games, 31 on RTE, and another 14 for those who are willing to sign up to Sky Sports. Even before the details of the GAA's TV rights deal have been confirmed, the backlash has started. Former Kerry footballer Tommy Walsh, who joined the Sydney Swans five years ago, outlined his views via Twitter.

Walsh wrote: "So our 'amateur' game is now being sold to Sky? There is no other sport in the world where players and supporters are taken advantage of more!"

Derry County Board chairman John Keenan has voiced his opposition to games being broadcast on subscription channels. "I would not favour asking our patrons to pay to watch gaelic games [on TV]. I am in favour of having all our games being available to all classes and creeds," said Keenan.

A few years ago, I would have been in total agreement with the Derry chairman. However, my views on this issue have changed somewhat. For the continued promotion of gaelic games, it remains extremely important that matches are aired on free-to-air television.

But let's consider the amount of fixtures which are available on RTE and TG4. Under the new deal, RTE will show 31 Championship games. TG4 will show 62 live and 22 deferred games. That's 93 live games.

Now, let's examine the identity of your stereotypical armchair viewer.

John Keenan's native county Derry represents an excellent case-study. The county has a population of roughly 250,000. Sunday's home game against Kildare attracted a crowd of 2,429. That's equates to less than one per cent of the population.

Using this formula, Dublin don't fare much better. Saturday night's attendance of approximately 22,000 in Croke Park might sound good. But Dublin is a city of nearly 1.5 million. That crowd represents about two per cent of the population.

The bottom line is the vast majority of television viewers never darken the turnstile of a GAA ground. They don't pay into county games. They don't support their clubs. They don't pay club memberships. They contribute nothing.

Why are these people automatically entitled to watch every GAA game free-of-charge? Where is it written that all gaelic football and hurling matches must be broadcast on terrestrial channels?

Let's not forget that for the purpose of this debate, we are talking about the loss of nine games from a station which wasn't even available nationwide. Naturally, once Sky enters the arena, the GAA will be accused of succumbing to corporate greed. But this is just a lazy sound-bite, which is normally flung around by people who know nothing about the GAA.

Just look at Croke Park's two leading figures. The director-general is Paraic Duffy, a dyedin-the-wool GAA man, who never misses a Monaghan game. As a character, Duffy is about as far removed from a corporate fat cat as you can get. He is the former principal of St Macartan's, Monaghan.

The GAA president is Liam O'Neill. Cut from much the same cloth as Duffy, the Laois man is the principal of a primary school. While the GAA's commercial director Peter McKenna might have headed the negotiations with Sky, he would have taken his direction from Duffy and O'Neill. It's understood that the GAA will not make a huge amount of money from Sky. Next year's financial figures will show that the new contract will net a marginally larger figure than the last deal. Croke Park's main motivation for allowing Sky to join the table goes back to the primary purpose of the GAA - they believe it's the best way for the Association to promote its games, not just in Ireland but in Britain and further afield.

If the National League is a taster for the Championship, there is no reason why gaelic games can't attract a wider audience.

If Irish people can become avid fans of American football, it is not beyond the realms of fantasy that the Scottish, English and Welsh will start watching football and hurling.

There is no doubt that Tommy Walsh will have voiced the sentiments of many people. But the GAA has no need to apologise for this deal. The GAA is perfectly entitled to sell their games to whomever they please.

It's hardly corporate greed when 80 per cent of all revenue is redistributed to the provincial councils and county boards. Besides, there are plenty of games on terrestrial television - 93 of them to be exact.

The armchair viewers who want to see more, but who don't want to subscribe to Sky, always have the option of getting off their backsides and going to one.

Does Paddy not  understand Irish culture ?
Do not ask what I can do for my country. What will it give me ?