GAA and RTÉ facing political pressure over pay-per-view GAA games

Tipperary South TD Mattie McGrath wants representatives from both organisations to come before the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sports and Media to explain their rationale behind the games that have not been free-to-air so far this season.

Three Munster SHC games have been aired live on GAAGO only, with a fourth, Clare and Waterford, being broadcast from Thurles this Saturday evening.

It has prompted an adverse reaction, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin weighing in with a suggestion that it is “something that should be reviewed”.

“It seemed that a significant audience didn’t get access to that, didn’t see hurling at its best,” he said.

The Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sports and Media, of which McGrath is a member, meets tomorrow when his submission is likely to be discussed. Among the members of the committee are the current Louth GAA chair Peter Fitzpatrick, former Mayo footballer Alan Dillon and Meath-based senator Shane Cassells who has a strong GAA background and urged the Association yesterday to “think deeply about what games are aired on GAAGO”.

Neither the GAA nor RTÉ would be obliged to accept an invitation if it was extended. The quality of hurling games – Clare and Tipperary, Limerick and Clare, and Tipperary and Cork – not shown free-to-air has sharpened the debate in recent weeks.

GAAGO was established in 2014 as the GAA’s international broadcasting arm, at the same time that Sky Sports first entered the market.

The GAA’s income for 2022 was €96m of which €15.3m came from the distribution of media rights, underlining how important it has become as a revenue generator. With Covid support, €9.5m in 2022, gone and the Croke Park stadium not projected to return anything like the €17m it generated last year, the value of the media rights as a percentage will soar in 2023.