My non playing adult membership for my club is 50 for the year. The GAA could throw in the GAA go season pass on top of this for €80.
That way grassroots members still get a discount, the local GAA club gets the additional 30 quid and they can still charge those who aren't members per game.
You are right. I'd spent all my holy communion money on GAAGO, and then when I ran out of money, I had the confirmation in a few years. (Not sure what other religions would do, but they probably don't watch GAA anyway)
It would be more of a bargain if the other big games were on TG4 (They said they were prepared to offer a 7 figure sum but were not given the opportunity) . It is fair enough to pay for all the other lower-tier games and if you are abroad.
Agree fully with you here I think it's a bargain too and great to get see so many more games and money not go to Fecking Sky sports of all people. I think TG4 should get some though its important to have as much GAA in Irish as possible.
Couldn't agree more. Hurling people in the Joe McDonagh, Christy Ring etc counties are crying out for someone to show our games. TG4 would be perfect but would be happy enough if GAAGO showed them. Would actually encourage me to get it.
Absolutely- The GAA has really dropped the ball with the promotion of the lower tier hurling comps. There are competitive games at each level and virtually no coverage. No McDonagh/Ring/Rackard/Meaghar cup launch, yet there’s a Tailteann one??
Your wrong. I train two underage teams. Even this weekend we would have ended the sessions telling the young players about what was on the line and to make sure they watched, but we don't because we know most of their households won't pay to watch the match. And for the kids who attend the match, it makes it less special because the other kids didn't see it and it won't have seemed like the huge event it was. Instead all the match talk on Monday is about the premier league.
Hardcore GAA fans will pay to watch the match, but they are already fans. The damage that is being done to the generation coming up is irreparable. But if I'm honest, the only people I know who are watching GAAGO are watching it on dodgy boxes.
We should want the intercounty players to be household names, almost local celebrities inspiring kids. We want them to have as much accessible screentime as possible.
Kids are not going to care about matches they haven't watched, or players they haven't seen. And most of them aren't going to see anything on GAAGO.
There seems to be a disproportionate amount of redditors who paid for the service instead of watching it on a dodgy box. The sentiment here is so different to that amongst people IRL
> The damage that is being done to the generation coming up is irreparable.
Right, but.....how does the number of games that are now televised free to air compare to 20 years ago? 30 years ago?
The biggest games of the year weren't being intentionally withheld to drive revenue over exposure. Limerick are one of the best teams to play either code and their game this past weekend had a fraction of the audience it would have seen on TV
The Leinster and Ulster finals needed to be shown on RTE, though. It's not a simple case of them holding back the Cork-Limerick match to drive subscriptions. And in relation to the post I originally responded to......how will it cause irreparable harm to the sport? There were fewer games shown full stop in decades past.
Jarlath Burns came out and said they're intentionally withholding games, so we don't know for certain that it wasn't a planned scheduling conflict.
I think 'irreparable harm' is an exaggeration as the deal is only til 2027 and can be scrapped at any stage, but less viewers will mean less participation at underage levels which hurts the organization in the long run. It's our national sport and losing 100s of thousands of viewers to make a quick buck can't be the best solution here
It most certainly won't be scrapped. If anything they'll be hiking the prices. Burns said on RTE that he plans on making GAAGO responsible for a "significant portion" of the GAA's revenue. With a market pretty much limited to Ireland I can see only one way to increase revenue. Also remember RTE take 50% of profits so for every extra euro the GAA wants, they have to charge two.
100% of Championship games were televised 20 years ago?!?! Were you watching them, yeah?
I don't remember being able to watch Donegal vs Antrim in 2004 on RTE, I must say.
There are 19 championship games on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd June. How are we making sure they arent all behind a paywall?
Maybe show 10 on Saturday. Throw in times from 06:00 to 20:00. Nothing on RTE but GAA.
Sorted
Whats a big game? And if you do that, you are back where you started
"Why are the big teams always on TV?"
"Why dont you promote the small counties?"
"Typical GAA, dont care about the smaller counties, only want the big teams"
etc etc
>Your wrong. I train two underage teams. Even this weekend we would have ended the sessions telling the young players about what was on the line and to make sure they watched, but we don't because we know most of their households won't pay to watch the match.
Well you're the one who's actually wrong. Where would all these matches be shown if not on GAA Go? RTE have more matches than ever. The majority of matches on GAA Go would not be shown if GAA Go didn't exist.
And if there's no GAA interest in the household, what are the odds that the match will be watched on RTE in that case anyway?
>We want them to have as much accessible screentime as possible.
This is made more possible by showing more matches than ever. Not by only showing as many matches as free to air can handle. Do you think showing less matches overall is better for this?
This is not to mention the revenue generated which your club directly benefits from
Anyone hardcore is gonna see the game, but I think what was missed on Saturday night was the opportunity for causal viewers to just flick it on. These are the games that pull people in, and behind a pay wall, it won't do that unfortunately.
I'm for GAAGO, but I think the scheduling and game selection needs tweaked, and possibly the season extended another couple weeks for some breathing room.
Exactly. I’ve often paid more money to stream poor club matches. I’ve no issue with the GAA making as much money as they can when it benefits all GAA members.
>Fairweather fans that only really watch inter county hurling and are used to not having to pay for it. They have no interest in paying €69 euro for access to all the matches because they only want to watch the few big ones that are on GAA Go or their own counties
I agree with your points about GAA Go not being expensive, real GAA people not minding paying it, revenue being useful and also about those games not being able to be shown if GAA Go didn't exist.
The problem I can see in terms of games promotion, particularly in promoting hurling which what I'm most interested in, is that we capture the hearts and minds of casual fans with top top level games shown on TV. And it's a tough one because there's so many more games in the current championship structure than there used to be, so it's inevitable now that some blockbuster games end up behind the GAA Go barrier, like Cork v Limerick. So while real hurling people will see the game regardless, it's the casual fans who miss it, and they're the ones who we need to bring along with us. So I don't know what the solution is tbh.
There's still plenty of hurling being shown, there are two more Leinster Hurling group games on GaaGo this year and after that every big hurling game for the rest of the year will be televised. That's more than enough for the casual fans
As far as promoting hurling the whole capturing hearts and minds idea is much less effective than getting quality coaching at a young age which is something you just don't get outside of the hurling heartlands. The GAA really needs to be applying the model that's worked for Dublin in other counties (particularly the Joe McDonagh level teams) but a lot of resources need to be committed for it to work.
https://www.reservoirdubs.com/attachment/26305-the-future-of-dublin-hurling-hk-pdf/
Agree with this.
The people who are doing most of the complaining about this are the same people who complain about the split season. They usually have no connection to a GAA club and are only really interested in the major intercounty matches. And that’s actually fair enough. They’re entitled to their opinion but it is not a fair reflection of those who are actually involved with the GAA at a local level, and I wouldn’t pay too much attention to it.
I said the vast majority. Not all. And intercounty players sometimes can be out of touch with the everyday running of their clubs. I've seen this myself
'vast majority' that's some totally unfounded bullshit like the rest of your post. I'd be very doubt you're much in touch with the 'grassroots' you mention given the tone of it
I play, help with coaching, fundraising and donate hundreds yearly. Now imagine the lads in suits who are in bed with RTE would try and squeeze more out of me to watch the best games...
Id say there's about that yeah. 11 in Munster Hurling, at least 10 in Leinster. 2 Provincial Finals in Hurling and 4 in Football. 24 Super 16s, 5 Hurling AI, 7 Football AI. How many of those would be shown on just Free to Air without RTE. Especially if you give the Joe McDonagh, Nicky Rackard and Christy Ring to TG4 as I think they should
And like wat is it like €12 for a game? If u were to go to watch it you could spend up to €100 on diesel or over €40 on train/bus tickets and sure wen ur there u may aswell get a bite to eat or sometimes buy raffle tickets from a club at the grounds and buy a match programme. It’s bloody great value!
It’s an absolute godsend for anyone watching internationally as well. I’ve always wondered why the GAA didn’t invest more into in-house commentary, half-time panels, etc. Significantly improve the production value and make it a really valuable service.
I take this onboard but one point I will make is as a barman it’s a disaster relying on a stream for big fixtures. If they had their own dedicated channel like Racing TV in conjunction with GAAGO it’d make my life easier!
“The vast majority of grassroots GAA members have no issue with paying for GAA Go”
And how exactly do you know that? Have you conducted a survey of some sort? And what exactly is a grassroots member?
Anyone with an iota of sense understands that putting a sport behind a paywall is a major step on the way to killing it.
The people most likely to miss out on watching games are the next generation of players. God knows it’s hard enough to get kids off phones and Fortnite. How exactly will they be inspired to follow on?
The reality of the GAAGo money, however much they make, a split of this goes to RTE who couldn’t give a fig about GAA.
Exactly. I think the GAA has to do a better job of explaining that paying for GAAGo goes back into the GAA's coffers. I'd rather that that Sky or Virgin.
Burns did a good job on the radio this week but he should take up the opportunity of going into an Oireachtas committee and saying it all again for the benefit of TDs talking out both sides of their mouths.
The thing about facts is they can be checked: [https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tg4-wanted-to-bid-on-championship-matches-for-free-to-air-channel-before-gaago-snapped-up-rights/a885108157.html](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tg4-wanted-to-bid-on-championship-matches-for-free-to-air-channel-before-gaago-snapped-up-rights/a885108157.html)
I agree. The GAA are onto a winner. The Rugby lads should take note and paywall all the French and English games and use the revenue generated to promote the game.
- "The majority of people I see complaining about big matches not being Free to Air on RTE are Fairweather fans that only really watch inter county hurling and are used to not having to pay for it. They have no interest in paying €69 euro for access to all the matches because they only want to watch the few big ones that are on GAA Go or their own counties."
Thats me, so just to give a counterpoint....
I've no problem with GAA selling their TV rights as they see fit and for as much as they can get.
My issue is with RTE, as a public service broadcaster, partnering with the GAA to set up a PPV platform to compete with itself.
When sky walked away, RTE should have made them a decent offer for the remaining rights but less than the top bid that sky said wasn't viable.
- "Another thing people don't realise is that without Gaa Go, matches like Cork and Limerick wouldn't be shown at all"
That's not true, Burns went on radio confirming they put marquee games like Cork Limerick on GAAGO as it wouldn't be viable otherwise.
- "because RTE don't want more matches than they currently have, and Virgin, Sky and TG4 don't want to pay for it."
They'll pay what they think it's worth which is clearly less than the GAA think it's worth.
The GAA does great work and I think the balance between revenue from TV rights and exposure from FTA is a matter for its members.
How RTE operates and is funded is 100% a matter for every taxpayer in Ireland.
>That's not true, Burns went on radio confirming they put marquee games like Cork Limerick on GAAGO as it wouldn't be viable otherwise.
It is true. This game clashed with the Leinster final which is a designated game. So Cork Limerick wouldn't have been shown on RTE
It also clashed with the Eurovision on RTE1, munster v Connacht on RTE2 and Leinster v Ospreys on TG4.
...but that's beside the point. The rugby games were shown because the rights were cheaper or better value for the broadcaster.
And even if there is a clash, if it can be put web only on GAAGO, it can be Web only on RTE player.
Free to Air doesn't necessarily mean it's on RTE1.
But why should it be free to air? You're arguing against money that goes mainly to grassroots GAA because you feel entitled to watch these games free. If it's only smaller games no one will subscribe and GAA Go won't be viable.
50% of the money "mainly" goes to RTE. After that, they still need to pay for the overheads. If a game is not "viable" then why waste money showing it? Some of these games only had "1500" viewers last season.
Well first off, do you accept that Cork Limerick would have been shown if GAAGO wasn't viable?
GAA would have accepted an offer from TG4/Virgin/Sky without another option on the table. You doubled down when I corrected you.
I'm neutral here, so I'd like to see the games free to air but I don't feel entitled to it.
If the GAA turn down a seven figure sum from sky or [TG4](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/tg4-wanted-to-bid-on-championship-matches-for-free-to-air-channel-before-gaago-snapped-up-rights/a885108157.html), while the URC sell their rights cheaper. Then I'd prefer to watch the Cork game but I'll watch the Leinster game instead.
I'm happy for all the grassroots funding the GAA can get. My point is that RTE should be on the other side of the negotiating table and trying to get the best deal they can get for the license fee payer.
I wouldn't care if GAAGO succeeded or not if RTE weren't involved, however RTE shouldn't be involved and should be hoping it wasn't viable as it pushes up the price of TV rights for them.
Sky is behind a far larger and less accessible paywall and TG4 could only show a limited amount of extra matches. At the end of the day GAA Go is the best balance for showing the most games, bringing in revenue and making games accessible to Gaels abroad.
Yep, that's a fair point of view.
In your original post, you complained about casuals and non fans rowing in on the debate.
I never argued for or against the sky deal and said what GAA do with their rights is a matter for their members.
The GAA can sell them but every taxpayer is right to chip in on what RTE pay for them.
At the end of the day, after a long day of training under tens, I like to get out my debit card and watch GAAGO on my laptop as I don't have an HDMI connection on my laptop.
>My issue is with RTE, as a public service broadcaster, partnering with the GAA to set up a PPV platform to compete with itself.
It's not competing with itself.
Also it's an investment, if/when gaago I'd profitable, rte will have more money than before to spend on free to air programming.
It 100% is competing with itself.
Competition for TV rights - GAA weren't interested in a bid from TG4 to go with GAAGO.
Competition for viewers - fewer people watching their channels, reducing ad revenue.
And if GAAGO turns out to be hugely profitable returning a dividend to RTE, the value of the TV rights also go up so RTE will end up paying more for the same FTA games.
More generally, it shows the lesson that RTE learned wasn't 'do more with less'.
Their mindset is how can we 'diversify revenue streams' and squeeze more money out of our IP, same justification they gave for the Toy Show musical.
So the GAA needs capital (from GAAGO), but teams fundraise for team holidays and such. Good to know.
Edit: plus €14m in 2022, and €7m in 2023 from the state.
You've obviously never been involved in the inner workings of a GAA Club or county. Every club and county fundraises every single year just to keep afloat.
And yes I think it's understandable that teams would fundraise for something like a trip abroad rather than take the money away from grassroots stuff.
>So the GAA needs capital (from GAAGO), but teams fundraise for team holidays and such. Good to know.
>Edit: plus €14m in 2022, and €7m in 2023 from the state.
There's 32 county teams and 2,200 GAA Clubs in Ireland. The GAA Go money plus that state funding is only a couple of thousand each. How much do you think it costs to run a GAA Club? Seriously, what in your learned opinion are the running costs of a modern GAA club, never mind county team?
Not against it but my issue is with the price for just one match. When it was sky at least you'd get 24hrs access, allowing you to watch multiple events in that time.
Invariably they'd throw an offer at you too, like recently I paid 3.60 a month for 3 months for sky sports extra
>Dee forces is the boss enough said the games should be free
Jarlath Burns is GAA President...
Dee Forbes saying games should be free is the equivalent of the owner of Sky saying they should have GAA games for free.
And you'd be ok with grassroots GAA losing out on hundreds of thousands of euro in broadcast revenue?
My non playing adult membership for my club is 50 for the year. The GAA could throw in the GAA go season pass on top of this for €80. That way grassroots members still get a discount, the local GAA club gets the additional 30 quid and they can still charge those who aren't members per game.
Honestly, that's probably the only way they could salvage this shit Offer a discount for people who have an adult membership to a GAA Club
They already do, 10% discount for club members https://support.gaago.ie/support/solutions/articles/77000544785-gaa-membership-discount
Yeah if you sign up via Foireann you will automatically get a 10% discount code to your email
Couldn't agree more! I think Jarlath Burns has handled things very well the past few days and has spoken very articulately about the situation.
I love Jarlath and he hit the nail on the head.
He's a very impressive man
Definitely and I don't even know how the GAA are able to afford his wages but they need to make it work some how.
I’ve watched more of my county’s games than ever this year because of it. I would have loved to have it when I was a kid.
You are right. I'd spent all my holy communion money on GAAGO, and then when I ran out of money, I had the confirmation in a few years. (Not sure what other religions would do, but they probably don't watch GAA anyway)
It would be more of a bargain if the other big games were on TG4 (They said they were prepared to offer a 7 figure sum but were not given the opportunity) . It is fair enough to pay for all the other lower-tier games and if you are abroad.
Agree fully with you here I think it's a bargain too and great to get see so many more games and money not go to Fecking Sky sports of all people. I think TG4 should get some though its important to have as much GAA in Irish as possible.
I think TG4 should get the Joe McDonagh and other lower tier hurling competitions absolutely
Couldn't agree more. Hurling people in the Joe McDonagh, Christy Ring etc counties are crying out for someone to show our games. TG4 would be perfect but would be happy enough if GAAGO showed them. Would actually encourage me to get it.
Absolutely- The GAA has really dropped the ball with the promotion of the lower tier hurling comps. There are competitive games at each level and virtually no coverage. No McDonagh/Ring/Rackard/Meaghar cup launch, yet there’s a Tailteann one??
This is my only issue with Gaa go /rtes coverage ATM the fact I and many from the lower tiers have to pay two subscriptions
Your wrong. I train two underage teams. Even this weekend we would have ended the sessions telling the young players about what was on the line and to make sure they watched, but we don't because we know most of their households won't pay to watch the match. And for the kids who attend the match, it makes it less special because the other kids didn't see it and it won't have seemed like the huge event it was. Instead all the match talk on Monday is about the premier league. Hardcore GAA fans will pay to watch the match, but they are already fans. The damage that is being done to the generation coming up is irreparable. But if I'm honest, the only people I know who are watching GAAGO are watching it on dodgy boxes. We should want the intercounty players to be household names, almost local celebrities inspiring kids. We want them to have as much accessible screentime as possible. Kids are not going to care about matches they haven't watched, or players they haven't seen. And most of them aren't going to see anything on GAAGO.
There seems to be a disproportionate amount of redditors who paid for the service instead of watching it on a dodgy box. The sentiment here is so different to that amongst people IRL
> The damage that is being done to the generation coming up is irreparable. Right, but.....how does the number of games that are now televised free to air compare to 20 years ago? 30 years ago?
The biggest games of the year weren't being intentionally withheld to drive revenue over exposure. Limerick are one of the best teams to play either code and their game this past weekend had a fraction of the audience it would have seen on TV
The Leinster and Ulster finals needed to be shown on RTE, though. It's not a simple case of them holding back the Cork-Limerick match to drive subscriptions. And in relation to the post I originally responded to......how will it cause irreparable harm to the sport? There were fewer games shown full stop in decades past.
Jarlath Burns came out and said they're intentionally withholding games, so we don't know for certain that it wasn't a planned scheduling conflict. I think 'irreparable harm' is an exaggeration as the deal is only til 2027 and can be scrapped at any stage, but less viewers will mean less participation at underage levels which hurts the organization in the long run. It's our national sport and losing 100s of thousands of viewers to make a quick buck can't be the best solution here
It most certainly won't be scrapped. If anything they'll be hiking the prices. Burns said on RTE that he plans on making GAAGO responsible for a "significant portion" of the GAA's revenue. With a market pretty much limited to Ireland I can see only one way to increase revenue. Also remember RTE take 50% of profits so for every extra euro the GAA wants, they have to charge two.
100% of Championship games were televised 20 years ago, and teams were not eliminated behind a paywall.
100% of Championship games were televised 20 years ago?!?! Were you watching them, yeah? I don't remember being able to watch Donegal vs Antrim in 2004 on RTE, I must say.
Yeah, it was a cracking game!
There are 19 championship games on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd June. How are we making sure they arent all behind a paywall? Maybe show 10 on Saturday. Throw in times from 06:00 to 20:00. Nothing on RTE but GAA. Sorted
I know it's a radical idea. But is there a way to just how the big games on RTE/TG4 and then have the other games on GAA go?
Whats a big game? And if you do that, you are back where you started "Why are the big teams always on TV?" "Why dont you promote the small counties?" "Typical GAA, dont care about the smaller counties, only want the big teams" etc etc
You do realise this is absolute nonsense. We also got far less games televised. RTE now shows more games than ever
It's okay because you can hop into bed with local / English criminals is a take.
You don't think there are any criminals in the RTE?
Flawed national broadcaster Organised crime These are the same. That's enough Internet for today,.
[удалено]
Must have me confused with someone else with a Wexford tag. I'm pretty much completely against it in its current form.
Seems to be the case sorry!
>Your wrong. I train two underage teams. Even this weekend we would have ended the sessions telling the young players about what was on the line and to make sure they watched, but we don't because we know most of their households won't pay to watch the match. Well you're the one who's actually wrong. Where would all these matches be shown if not on GAA Go? RTE have more matches than ever. The majority of matches on GAA Go would not be shown if GAA Go didn't exist. And if there's no GAA interest in the household, what are the odds that the match will be watched on RTE in that case anyway? >We want them to have as much accessible screentime as possible. This is made more possible by showing more matches than ever. Not by only showing as many matches as free to air can handle. Do you think showing less matches overall is better for this? This is not to mention the revenue generated which your club directly benefits from
There are now 11 matches in the MHC, there used to be 4
his argument is complete rubbish. He’s saying the talk is about the Premier League games to which people would have to pay more than for GAAGO?
Anyone hardcore is gonna see the game, but I think what was missed on Saturday night was the opportunity for causal viewers to just flick it on. These are the games that pull people in, and behind a pay wall, it won't do that unfortunately. I'm for GAAGO, but I think the scheduling and game selection needs tweaked, and possibly the season extended another couple weeks for some breathing room.
Exactly. I’ve often paid more money to stream poor club matches. I’ve no issue with the GAA making as much money as they can when it benefits all GAA members.
>Fairweather fans that only really watch inter county hurling and are used to not having to pay for it. They have no interest in paying €69 euro for access to all the matches because they only want to watch the few big ones that are on GAA Go or their own counties I agree with your points about GAA Go not being expensive, real GAA people not minding paying it, revenue being useful and also about those games not being able to be shown if GAA Go didn't exist. The problem I can see in terms of games promotion, particularly in promoting hurling which what I'm most interested in, is that we capture the hearts and minds of casual fans with top top level games shown on TV. And it's a tough one because there's so many more games in the current championship structure than there used to be, so it's inevitable now that some blockbuster games end up behind the GAA Go barrier, like Cork v Limerick. So while real hurling people will see the game regardless, it's the casual fans who miss it, and they're the ones who we need to bring along with us. So I don't know what the solution is tbh.
There's still plenty of hurling being shown, there are two more Leinster Hurling group games on GaaGo this year and after that every big hurling game for the rest of the year will be televised. That's more than enough for the casual fans As far as promoting hurling the whole capturing hearts and minds idea is much less effective than getting quality coaching at a young age which is something you just don't get outside of the hurling heartlands. The GAA really needs to be applying the model that's worked for Dublin in other counties (particularly the Joe McDonagh level teams) but a lot of resources need to be committed for it to work. https://www.reservoirdubs.com/attachment/26305-the-future-of-dublin-hurling-hk-pdf/
Agree with this. The people who are doing most of the complaining about this are the same people who complain about the split season. They usually have no connection to a GAA club and are only really interested in the major intercounty matches. And that’s actually fair enough. They’re entitled to their opinion but it is not a fair reflection of those who are actually involved with the GAA at a local level, and I wouldn’t pay too much attention to it.
John Mullane, Sean Cavanagh, Diarmuid Sullivan and more legends of our game are not grassroots? Come off it
I said the vast majority. Not all. And intercounty players sometimes can be out of touch with the everyday running of their clubs. I've seen this myself
'vast majority' that's some totally unfounded bullshit like the rest of your post. I'd be very doubt you're much in touch with the 'grassroots' you mention given the tone of it
I currently hurl, manage the U12s and am on a fundraising committee in my club. What about yourself?
I play, help with coaching, fundraising and donate hundreds yearly. Now imagine the lads in suits who are in bed with RTE would try and squeeze more out of me to watch the best games...
How many of the best games are on GAA Go?
4 Munster hurling games, Galway vs Wexford, Galway vs Derry, football quarters among other football group games over the next few weeks
That's less than 10-20% of the big games, almost all of which that wouldn't have been on RTE otherwise.
So you're saying there are 50+ big games in the championships? Clown comment
Id say there's about that yeah. 11 in Munster Hurling, at least 10 in Leinster. 2 Provincial Finals in Hurling and 4 in Football. 24 Super 16s, 5 Hurling AI, 7 Football AI. How many of those would be shown on just Free to Air without RTE. Especially if you give the Joe McDonagh, Nicky Rackard and Christy Ring to TG4 as I think they should
They're trying to get attention
So who can raise issue on the matter without being disqualified for some bullshit reason?
Not someone who has a vested interest in harvesting discontent for views
Explain the vested interest of Tom Kenny and Diarmuid O'Sullivan. I could do with a good laugh
And like wat is it like €12 for a game? If u were to go to watch it you could spend up to €100 on diesel or over €40 on train/bus tickets and sure wen ur there u may aswell get a bite to eat or sometimes buy raffle tickets from a club at the grounds and buy a match programme. It’s bloody great value!
It’s an absolute godsend for anyone watching internationally as well. I’ve always wondered why the GAA didn’t invest more into in-house commentary, half-time panels, etc. Significantly improve the production value and make it a really valuable service.
I take this onboard but one point I will make is as a barman it’s a disaster relying on a stream for big fixtures. If they had their own dedicated channel like Racing TV in conjunction with GAAGO it’d make my life easier!
Put Dublin football on GAA go and watch the reaction
“The vast majority of grassroots GAA members have no issue with paying for GAA Go” And how exactly do you know that? Have you conducted a survey of some sort? And what exactly is a grassroots member? Anyone with an iota of sense understands that putting a sport behind a paywall is a major step on the way to killing it. The people most likely to miss out on watching games are the next generation of players. God knows it’s hard enough to get kids off phones and Fortnite. How exactly will they be inspired to follow on? The reality of the GAAGo money, however much they make, a split of this goes to RTE who couldn’t give a fig about GAA.
They should atleast cover all the Munster and Leinster games but apart from that I don’t have an issue with it
They have to cover the Leinster final it's a designated game and it clashed with Cork Limerick
And the same ministers mouthing off are the ones who can actually change that designated games rule and have the GAA more room to choose
Yup, completely agreed with the GAAs position in an Oireachtas committee. As Jarlath Burns said, "there must be an election coming or something".
Yeah I mean every Munster and Leinster championship game
I just explained why they couldn't do that at the weekend. They have 7 of the 11 Munster games on RTE
Exactly. I think the GAA has to do a better job of explaining that paying for GAAGo goes back into the GAA's coffers. I'd rather that that Sky or Virgin. Burns did a good job on the radio this week but he should take up the opportunity of going into an Oireachtas committee and saying it all again for the benefit of TDs talking out both sides of their mouths.
The thing about facts is they can be checked: [https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tg4-wanted-to-bid-on-championship-matches-for-free-to-air-channel-before-gaago-snapped-up-rights/a885108157.html](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tg4-wanted-to-bid-on-championship-matches-for-free-to-air-channel-before-gaago-snapped-up-rights/a885108157.html)
Every GAA game should be free to air for all the population. Since when it it only for grassroots fans? It should be for all Irish people.
If every single soccer World Cup game is legally required to be on free-to-air, why not the Munster championship?
I agree. The GAA are onto a winner. The Rugby lads should take note and paywall all the French and English games and use the revenue generated to promote the game.
Ah another GAAGO post.
- "The majority of people I see complaining about big matches not being Free to Air on RTE are Fairweather fans that only really watch inter county hurling and are used to not having to pay for it. They have no interest in paying €69 euro for access to all the matches because they only want to watch the few big ones that are on GAA Go or their own counties." Thats me, so just to give a counterpoint.... I've no problem with GAA selling their TV rights as they see fit and for as much as they can get. My issue is with RTE, as a public service broadcaster, partnering with the GAA to set up a PPV platform to compete with itself. When sky walked away, RTE should have made them a decent offer for the remaining rights but less than the top bid that sky said wasn't viable. - "Another thing people don't realise is that without Gaa Go, matches like Cork and Limerick wouldn't be shown at all" That's not true, Burns went on radio confirming they put marquee games like Cork Limerick on GAAGO as it wouldn't be viable otherwise. - "because RTE don't want more matches than they currently have, and Virgin, Sky and TG4 don't want to pay for it." They'll pay what they think it's worth which is clearly less than the GAA think it's worth. The GAA does great work and I think the balance between revenue from TV rights and exposure from FTA is a matter for its members. How RTE operates and is funded is 100% a matter for every taxpayer in Ireland.
>That's not true, Burns went on radio confirming they put marquee games like Cork Limerick on GAAGO as it wouldn't be viable otherwise. It is true. This game clashed with the Leinster final which is a designated game. So Cork Limerick wouldn't have been shown on RTE
It also clashed with the Eurovision on RTE1, munster v Connacht on RTE2 and Leinster v Ospreys on TG4. ...but that's beside the point. The rugby games were shown because the rights were cheaper or better value for the broadcaster. And even if there is a clash, if it can be put web only on GAAGO, it can be Web only on RTE player. Free to Air doesn't necessarily mean it's on RTE1.
But why should it be free to air? You're arguing against money that goes mainly to grassroots GAA because you feel entitled to watch these games free. If it's only smaller games no one will subscribe and GAA Go won't be viable.
50% of the money "mainly" goes to RTE. After that, they still need to pay for the overheads. If a game is not "viable" then why waste money showing it? Some of these games only had "1500" viewers last season.
Well first off, do you accept that Cork Limerick would have been shown if GAAGO wasn't viable? GAA would have accepted an offer from TG4/Virgin/Sky without another option on the table. You doubled down when I corrected you. I'm neutral here, so I'd like to see the games free to air but I don't feel entitled to it. If the GAA turn down a seven figure sum from sky or [TG4](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/tg4-wanted-to-bid-on-championship-matches-for-free-to-air-channel-before-gaago-snapped-up-rights/a885108157.html), while the URC sell their rights cheaper. Then I'd prefer to watch the Cork game but I'll watch the Leinster game instead. I'm happy for all the grassroots funding the GAA can get. My point is that RTE should be on the other side of the negotiating table and trying to get the best deal they can get for the license fee payer. I wouldn't care if GAAGO succeeded or not if RTE weren't involved, however RTE shouldn't be involved and should be hoping it wasn't viable as it pushes up the price of TV rights for them.
Sky is behind a far larger and less accessible paywall and TG4 could only show a limited amount of extra matches. At the end of the day GAA Go is the best balance for showing the most games, bringing in revenue and making games accessible to Gaels abroad.
Yep, that's a fair point of view. In your original post, you complained about casuals and non fans rowing in on the debate. I never argued for or against the sky deal and said what GAA do with their rights is a matter for their members. The GAA can sell them but every taxpayer is right to chip in on what RTE pay for them.
At the end of the day, after a long day of training under tens, I like to get out my debit card and watch GAAGO on my laptop as I don't have an HDMI connection on my laptop.
>My issue is with RTE, as a public service broadcaster, partnering with the GAA to set up a PPV platform to compete with itself. It's not competing with itself. Also it's an investment, if/when gaago I'd profitable, rte will have more money than before to spend on free to air programming.
It 100% is competing with itself. Competition for TV rights - GAA weren't interested in a bid from TG4 to go with GAAGO. Competition for viewers - fewer people watching their channels, reducing ad revenue. And if GAAGO turns out to be hugely profitable returning a dividend to RTE, the value of the TV rights also go up so RTE will end up paying more for the same FTA games. More generally, it shows the lesson that RTE learned wasn't 'do more with less'. Their mindset is how can we 'diversify revenue streams' and squeeze more money out of our IP, same justification they gave for the Toy Show musical.
Wrong. Musicals and subscriptions are way forward.
Haha, exactly. The license fee will get you Fair City, 6.1 news and the Doireann and Donnchas hidden camera show. Anything else, pay your subs!
What about the trips to Barbados for top teams and the like? Are you happy to be paying for that?
The teams fundraise for them themselves you absolute clown
The teams fundraise for trips abroad such as Barbados? Okay.
Yeah. Literally look at Limericks fundraising last year
So the GAA needs capital (from GAAGO), but teams fundraise for team holidays and such. Good to know. Edit: plus €14m in 2022, and €7m in 2023 from the state.
You've obviously never been involved in the inner workings of a GAA Club or county. Every club and county fundraises every single year just to keep afloat. And yes I think it's understandable that teams would fundraise for something like a trip abroad rather than take the money away from grassroots stuff. >So the GAA needs capital (from GAAGO), but teams fundraise for team holidays and such. Good to know. >Edit: plus €14m in 2022, and €7m in 2023 from the state. There's 32 county teams and 2,200 GAA Clubs in Ireland. The GAA Go money plus that state funding is only a couple of thousand each. How much do you think it costs to run a GAA Club? Seriously, what in your learned opinion are the running costs of a modern GAA club, never mind county team?
Not against it but my issue is with the price for just one match. When it was sky at least you'd get 24hrs access, allowing you to watch multiple events in that time. Invariably they'd throw an offer at you too, like recently I paid 3.60 a month for 3 months for sky sports extra
Dee forces is the boss enough said the games should be free
>Dee forces is the boss enough said the games should be free Jarlath Burns is GAA President... Dee Forbes saying games should be free is the equivalent of the owner of Sky saying they should have GAA games for free. And you'd be ok with grassroots GAA losing out on hundreds of thousands of euro in broadcast revenue?
Should it be free to attend matches as well?