Sky Sports has secured exclusive rights to show live All-Ireland championship games this summer. The announcement came today as the GAA unveiled a number of new measures that will significantly widen viewing options and opportunities for gaelic games fans in Ireland and worldwide.
As part of the new 3 year deal Sky will show 14 championship games live, with RTE retaining their current number of 31 live games. The deal effectively sees TV3 replaced by Sky Sports.
There will be 14 championship games shown live and exclusive on Sky Sports this summer, with another 6 shared between RTE and Sky. At 31 RTE will show the same number of live games as it did last year. A total of 45 championship games will be shown live on TV in Ireland this year, while Sky will be offering British viewers 20 games live.
RTE will show all 6 provincial finals, along with the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals in both hurling and football. However, Sky Sports will be able to show the semi-finals and finals live, as a direct competitor to RTE’s coverage.
The GAA have also announced that Australia based fans will now be able to watch every single football and hurling championship game of 2014, live on Channel 7, while fans worldwide will now be able to view games live due to a new online streaming service provided as a joint-venture between the GAA and RTE.
“We are pleased to confirm arrangements for the broadcast of our games for the next three years, particularly as we believe that they represent an exciting development for the Association,” Liam O’Neill, President of the GAA, said.
“Making our games more widely available to Irish people abroad was a critical factor in our approach to these negotiations. We felt an obligation to them not to neglect their legitimate appeals to be able to watch live TV coverage of our games. We are also glad that this brings the quality and excitement of our games to a wider international audience. Gaelic games are national games played in a small country, and which must compete for audience loyalty with the hugely powerful sporting and marketing resources of international sports,” O’Neill added.
GAA director general Paraic Duffy highlighted the Association’s desire to bring coverage of the sports to a wider audience, outside Ireland.
“In the negotiation of these rights, the GAA was guided by a wish to drive the promotion of Gaelic games and we believe the new rights’ contracts will provide Gaelic games with their widest-ever global audience reach,” Duffy said.
Duffy said the new deal was driven more by this potential for a wider reach, rather than financial gains.
“Financial considerations were far from being the guiding criterion in our negotiations, and were of lesser importance than the issue of making our games more widely available to Irish people living abroad. In fact, the financial benefit to the GAA from the new broadcast contracts compared to the previous ones is marginal.,” Duffy said.
The Breakdown – Who will show what as part of new TV deal
Sky Sports
14 games live and exclusive on island of Ireland
Consisting of:
- 8 Saturday evening matches in the All-Ireland qualifiers
- 2 All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals
- 2 Saturday evening and two Sunday provincial Championship games.
- Shared with RTE: All-Ireland Hurling and Football semi-finals and finals
RTE
31 live and exclusive games
- All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals
- 6 provincial finals in football and hurling
- 2 of 4 All-Ireland football quarter-finals
- Shared with Sky: All-Ireland finals and semi-finals in hurlig and football
Channel 7, Australia
Live coverage of all 45 championship games
TG4
- Sunday afternoon Allianz League matches
- Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor finals
- AIB Club championships
- Cadburys U 21 football championship
- Bord Gáis Energy U 21 hurling championship and County Finals.
- Irish Daily Mail Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cups
- Masita All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools competitions
Setanta Sports
Saturday evening Allianz Leagues games.
