The establishment of a GAA TV enterprise has moved a step closer after Croke Park officials approached RTÉ with a proposal to buy out Montrose’s 50 per cent share in GAAGo.
The GAAGo streaming serumpvice is a joint venture between the GAA and RTÉ, but Croke Park is now looking to take full ownership of the pay-per-view platform – which if successful would see a rebranding of the business.
The GAA has confirmed the media rights broadcasters for 2025 will remain unchanged and, while the finer details are still to be determined, GAAGo will again show exclusive championship matches next year.
GAAGo has been at the centre of controversy since October 2022 when it acquired the broadcast portfolio left in the wake of Sky Sports’ withdrawing from the market.
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Prior to that GAAGo had been utilised primarily to show matches to an international audience. Its arrival on the domestic front sparked debate, not only because games would be put behind a paywall, but also because it was a joint GAA-RTÉ venture, and the State broadcaster already dominated that landscape in terms of covering championship games.
A Croke Park spokesperson confirmed that RTÉ is “aware of the GAA’s intentions” in relation to seeking full ownership of the platform.
It has been mooted for many years now that the creation of a GAA TV channel was a long-term ambition of the association.
The potential for that to become a reality for 2025 is now a live one, though the GAA and RTÉ first need to reach agreement over the sale of the State broadcaster’s stake.
For the 2023 financial year, GAAGo took in €4.96 million in subscriptions, plus sponsorship of €273,437, in total generating just over €5.23 million.
However, given the controversy and level of discourse around the joint venture, RTÉ might be quite prepared to step away if a price can be negotiated.
Politicians have used the saga for point-scoring, with Micheál Martin suggesting all GAA games should be available free-to-air and Simon Harris adding that he felt the GAA had got it “wrong” in relation to GAAGo.
The level of debate on the issue even led to GAA director general Tom Ryan appearing before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media.
There is a sense among some that a clean break which removes any questions about conflicting interests, along with a fresh rebranding of GAAGo, is the best way forward.
But with a deal yet to be thrashed out, the delay has had a potentially highly damaging impact on subscription uptake as there are currently no packages available for the Irish market, with only international bundles on sale.
In previous years the GAA had offered special early-bird packages for the lucrative Christmas market, with many subscriptions bought as presents in the weeks leading up to December 25th.
The latest developments come following an advertisement in August whereby the GAA invited “expressions of interest” for media rights to games currently covered by GAAGo.
That was sparked by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s investigation of the broadcast deal, with the State’s competition watchdog recommending some elements of the agreement be put back out to tender after GAAGo’s initial two-year period had elapsed.
TG4 had entered the race to acquire those rights but the GAA has opted to stick with essentially what was in place this season, with RTÉ and GAAGo remaining the largest players.
Croke Park stated: “The GAA has decided to retain the rights for the media packages in question for the domestic market and the recently appointed advisory group will examine how they can be best utilised.”
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