Subscription revenues at GAAGo, the controversial GAA and RTÉ streaming joint venture, surged by €2.6 million or 118 per cent last year to €4.96 million.
According to 2023 accounts recently filed by GAAGo Media Ltd, the company’s overall revenues more than doubled from €2.4 million to €5.23 million as the platform benefited from its deal to broadcast GAA championship games to a domestic audience behind a pay wall.
The streaming company’s income comprised €4.96 million in subscription revenues and sponsorship income which jumped threefold to €273,437.
Against the background of a backlash from GAA fans and politicians at high profile GAA games being put behind the GAAGo pay wall, pretax profits at the company rose by 47 per cent to €874,047 from €595,750.
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Profits at the subscription-based sports channel over the last two years allowed the company to pay a €1.2 million dividend to its joint owners, RTÉ and the GAA.
The accounts were signed off this month by GAA Croke Park stadium director, Peter McKenna and RTÉ’s group head of sport, Declan McBennett.
Trading forecasts to September 2025 “show the company continuing to operate profitably and generating significant levels of operating cashflows”, directors said.
GAAGo streams GAA games to both domestic and international audiences and features more than 100 live and on-demand games over the year. Broadcasting games to a domestic audience saw costs surge by 140 per cent to €4.36 million last year from €1.81 previously.
The company will likely face competition to retain the domestic rights for the 2025 season after the GAA sought ‘expression of interest’ in August for domestic broadcast rights to the All-Ireland senior football and hurling championships. GAAGo’s right to broadcast matches to an international audience remains unaffected.
The accounts state the company has an operational commitment to broadcast games to an international audience until the end of the rights agreement in 2027.
They also show that former RTÉ director general, Dee Forbes, resigned from the board on June 26th, 2023.
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