Earlier today the GAA announced its television and radio rights arrangements for the next five years and they included some small innovations which will benefit supporters.
The new deal will come into effect with the commencement of the 2017 GAA Football and Hurling championships and run to 2022. The following is a breakdown of the details:
TV Coverage
RTÉ television has retained access to 31 senior championship games each year including all provincial hurling and football finals, both All-Ireland hurling and two All-Ireland football quarter-finals, and the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals in both football and hurling.
Sky Sports have retained rights to 20 games, 14 of them exclusive, including two All-Ireland football quarter-finals. They will, as previously, broadcast the All-Ireland hurling and football semi-finals and finals on a simulcast basis with RTÉ.
BBC Northern Ireland will once again broadcast live TV coverage from the Ulster senior football championship.
In all, a total of 45 games will be broadcast live across the GAA Football and Hurling Championships while RTÉ will continue to broadcast the Sunday night highlights programme The Sunday Game.
TG4 has retained access to Sunday afternoon Allianz League and club championship games and to broadcast Minor championship games up to and including the finals. It will therefore, continue to broadcast 85 live and deferred league, club championship, minor and U20/21 championship games each year. TG4 has also retained rights to highlights packages for the Allianz leagues and for inter-county and club championship action.
Saturday night Allianz League games will be broadcast on eir Sport.
Innovations
As mentioned above there are some small changes included in the new agreement
Clips
In a departure from the previous media rights deal, the GAA has retained its clip rights for all games with plans to leverage them across its own platforms as part of a wider digital content strategy.
eir will also have access to these rights in addition to access to the GAA archive.
Sky Sports will have clip access for their 14 exclusive games.
eir Sport
eir Sport has also added GAA archive rights. This will give GAA fans the opportunity to relive GAA moments from the past as up to four classic games will be broadcast per week on the eir Sport pack. Clips from these archive games will also be made available across mobile and internet.
The eir Sport pack is available free, to all eir Broabdand customers.
Sky Sports
For the first time ever, Sky customers will be able to watch in-match clips and post-match highlights from all of Sky’s exclusive matches, via the Sky Sports app
As part of the agreement and strengthening ties between Sky and GAA grass roots across the country, Sky will become an official GAA Learning and Development partner involved in 3 specific initiatives:
The GAA Super Games Centres in hundreds of secondary schools around the country
The GAA Youth Forum at Croke Park involving future players, coaches, parents and administrators from 12 to 21 years of age
The GAA Coaching Conference, the annual flagship event of GAA’s coaching education programme involving over 800 grassroots coaches in Croke Park each January.
Radio
RTÉ Radio 1 has successfully secured full and exclusive live radio rights for all GAA games including inter-county league and championship action while RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta will again broadcast all-year long “as Gaeilge”.
The GAA’s existing local radio agreement continues with 20 stations around the country and Today FM and Newstalk have both been awarded score flash rights.