Setanta for TV Rights ?

[midfield]

In the last week , the GAA has announced that some of the TV packages have been given to TV3 . Most of the premium TV packages have still to be decided on ( i.e All Ireland Final , All Ireland Semi's, Provincial Finals ) and these will be decided on in the coming weeks
Maybe its just me , but since the GAA has reached Agreement with the GPa over the grants , is it inevitable that they are softing the players and the people over a decision coming around the corner that they are going to give premium TV rights to Setanta for Pay per view.
Id be worried that this together with the grants decisison and pay per view could erode and change the very ethos of the GAA.

I give good support to my local club and feel that its important that a get a chance to watch some of the county matches on TV as a reward.

[the rat]

i think this simply comes down to money, Setanta are willing to pay big money for the rights. I agree that all major games should be free to air, but i didnt like RTE's monopoly of the rights. Im happy to see TV3 get some rights.

[Oskar]

It's no harm for a bit of competition to shake things up in the market. If nothing else, it'll give RTE's stale coverage a boot up the arse. Having said that, I shudder at the thoughts of who TV3 will dredge up to cover the games. I'm not surprised to see Setanta in the bidding but I doubt they'll ever get sole coverage of the major matches.

[naasmanxrhode]

RTE do a great job on the matches, I'm not so sure if TV3 will. I thought that their rugby world cup presentation was poor enough and that their pundits were awful. Will some of the so called pundits leave RTE, well some of them would not be missed like Bernard Flynn, Paul Curran

[midfield]

It's no harm for a bit of competition to shake things up in the market. If nothing else, it'll give RTE's stale coverage a boot up the arse. Having said that, I shudder at the thoughts of who TV3 will dredge up to cover the games. I'm not surprised to see Setanta in the bidding but I doubt they'll ever get sole coverage of the major matches.

I hope that you still feel the same when everybody is paying out money to Setanta to watch their county play. I think RTE have done a good job so far . No sign of the GAA to give TG4 some of the games.

[Lone Shark]

I've no problem with this whatsoever. As long as the games where one can't get a ticket are still fee to air, then there is no problem. The more TV channels there are, the more choice there is, and that's good for the viewer and also good for the GAA who get more revenue out of it, hopefully to be distributed down along to clubs etc.

I don't think we'll foresee a situation where there will be no free to air games on TV of a Sunday in June. More likely Setanta might try and buy some rights, and you mightn't necessaily get the most high profile game on a given day, but you'll still get to see a match.

Anyway, the more channels that have live coverage, the more highlights and magazine programmes that will be broadcast as well. TG4 are quite innovative anyway, I've no doubt they'll stay ahead of the game one way or another.

[midfield]

Its only around the corner. How can people give out about GAA grants. How will the grassroots like it when they are paying out every Sunday to watch their favourite team...


Raw deal for fans as pay-per-view games appear on the horizon

By Martin Breheny
Wednesday December 05 2007

The GAA won't divulge the financial details of the new TV deals they're lining up but it's safe to assume that the yields will be higher than when RTE had exclusive rights to championship coverage.

President, Nickey Brennan insisted that the new arrangements, which see TV3 getting aboard the 'live' schedule for the first time, weren't driven by money but rather by a desire to spread coverage as wide as possible.

A noble intention but one suspects that the prospect of an increased financial return provided a nice backdrop for the negotiations. Besides, there would be a view within the top echelons of the GAA that if they were in a position to give RTE a bloody nose, they would avail of it.

That's down to familiarity and a feeling in the GAA that RTE took them for granted, believing that ultimately Croke Park wouldn't break with them. There's no doubt that there was a time when RTE did take the GAA for granted, not least with the National Leagues.

Things have improved in recent years but in the rapidly-changing world of TV coverage, it was always unlikely that RTE would retain its exclusive position. That's no bad thing but one hopes that the GAA has a clear strategy of where it's headed in relation to TV coverage into the future.

There are many who believe that it's only a matter of time before pay-per-view becomes as much a feature of GAA coverage as it is for other sports. The GAA authorities always deny that but in the harsh, competitive world of TV times change very quickly.

The truth is that coverage of Saturday night League games has been on a subscription basis with Setanta in recent years. In its own way, that was quite a shift for the GAA.

Opportunity

Setanta deserve credit for seizing an opportunity, however, it established the principle that the GAA were prepared to deal with a subscription channel and once the first brick was removed from that particular wall, who's to say how quickly the entire demolition will follow?

The GAA needs to be extremely careful how it handles its TV deals because while it's flattering to be in so much demand, the bottom line for all TV channels except RTE is profit. RTE is commercially-driven too but also has to take on-going cognisance of its public service remit.

Unlike the FAI and IRFU which presides over sports where the big TV deals are dealt with at international level, the GAA is on its own which is both a plus and a minus. Nickey Brennan's insistence that the latest deal is not about money is all very well, but the GAA still won't tell us how much it's worth.

They will argue that it would be wrong of them to divulge commercially sensitive information. However, do ordinary club members not have a right to know? Aren't they entitled to know the strategy behind the GAA's approach to TV coverage?

The GAA don't need big money for TV rights. Obviously, they will drive the best bargain but ultimately it's all about exposure. The GAA hasn't helped itself in that regard by closing the inter-county season down for five months between September and February but for the rest of the year, they need more coverage, not just in terms of 'live' games but also with magazine programmes.

Agreement

Time will tell if the new deal with TV3 delivers on that, although one suspects that the GAA will have tied it into the agreement.

Nevertheless, the long-term fear has to be that Gaelic Games will be drawn further into subscription channel land. The subscription channels are always likely to out-bid RTE and once the GAA broke its exclusive deal with Montrose, the future is a new world.

In general, the public don't really care which channel the games are on but they most certainly will object if they have to pay for them. The GAA insist that won't happen but it already has with Saturday night League games. As the bidding war builds up in future years, who's to say that some championship games won't be pay-per-view?

It might start with a trickle but once the principle is established nothing will be sacred, except the All-Ireland finals.

The GAA are delighted with their new TV deal, exact details of which have yet to be finalised, but viewers will be sceptical, not because they believe that RTE -- or any other station -- should have a monopoly on anything but because they see it as a step towards pay-per-view. What's more, they're probably right.

- Martin Breheny