National Forum

"Why Should Anybody Have The God-Given Right To See All Games On Television?"

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Replying To murphy32:  "Its ridiculous the only Country in the world that charges for a TV license and you can't watch the national game."
There is lot more that have one including our neighbours the UK

KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 3510 - 06/08/2019 20:41:09    2221875

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Sky and RTE have an archive of games they broadcast. The GAA should use GAA Now or an RTE or Sky Player to show these games in season. They almost certainly won't but even a free version with ads or pay a few quid for an ad-free option would be worth a watch.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 06/08/2019 20:46:07    2221878

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Personally, I'd prefer if the Sky games quota were given to TG4 (with no obligation for English commentary on the Red button etc.) and if BBC NI started covering more games involving Ulster teams in Ulster (such as the qualifiers between Armagh and Monaghan and Cavan and Tyrone) and the overall number of games shown in football increased.

However, I would not be in favour of RTE getting sole rights (with a few Ulster SFC games shared with BBC NI) as RTE having a monopoly is never a good thing, or Virgin Media being given Sky's quota as their coverage was worse than RTE's in the TV3 era, and it hard's to see them improving that much from that coverage (plus their addiction to 10+ minutes of ads every hour).

eoghan6688 (Galway) - Posts: 154 - 06/08/2019 20:57:15    2221884

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As an aside, as with many other things, Irish people pay through the nose for Sky Sports. An uncle of mine isn't really into gaelic games but loves cross-channel soccer, so he has all of packages to see the live games. When he told me how much it cost I nearly fell off my chair! It was over €100 per month.

To put it in context, I use a streaming service called DAZN (not available in Ireland) which gives me live games and highlights of every major soccer league in Europe, rugby union, all the American sports, tennis, golf, darts etc. I get charged €12 per month for a flawless stream.

Only thing is that I doesn't have GAA but I can see that other ways.

No wonder people are turning to the Dodgy Boxes ;)

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 06/08/2019 21:32:44    2221909

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Mickey is entitled to his opinion

But it's quite obviously biased towards RTE and rightly so in fairness

It is a damn shame though that there's Irish people in Ireland that can't watch certain big games.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20600 - 06/08/2019 21:43:57    2221920

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Replying To murphy32:  "Its ridiculous the only Country in the world that charges for a TV license and you can't watch the national game."
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There's a few other countries with licences and a few abolished theirs but it doesn't say what replaced it. I don't have much problem with the licence but I have a problem with almost all of it going to RTE. Some people paying licence rarely if ever watch RTE instead on Netflix, Anazon, BT Sport, Skysports, National Geographic, Food Channel etc. Why should their money fund an RTE that's already propped up. Almost like charging someone for motor tax when they don't have a vehicle.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 06/08/2019 21:59:29    2221926

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Isn't Sky giving 3 million to grassroots GAA?

Not saying that's an excuse or whatever but it has to be taken into consideration

The_Fridge (Tyrone) - Posts: 2088 - 06/08/2019 22:01:15    2221930

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Replying To jimbodub:  "Mickey is entitled to his opinion

But it's quite obviously biased towards RTE and rightly so in fairness

It is a damn shame though that there's Irish people in Ireland that can't watch certain big games."
I know it's a terrible shame for those in the North that can't get RTE.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 06/08/2019 22:02:09    2221932

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Replying To Gleebo:  "As an aside, as with many other things, Irish people pay through the nose for Sky Sports. An uncle of mine isn't really into gaelic games but loves cross-channel soccer, so he has all of packages to see the live games. When he told me how much it cost I nearly fell off my chair! It was over €100 per month.

To put it in context, I use a streaming service called DAZN (not available in Ireland) which gives me live games and highlights of every major soccer league in Europe, rugby union, all the American sports, tennis, golf, darts etc. I get charged €12 per month for a flawless stream.

Only thing is that I doesn't have GAA but I can see that other ways.

No wonder people are turning to the Dodgy Boxes ;)"
Gleebo are you living outside Ireland ?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 06/08/2019 22:12:34    2221939

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It is not the GAA headquarters bogey men who introduced sky to the market. It is your local county delegates who voted to let it happen, they're the ones to let your feelings be known to if you don't agree with it.
You could lobby your local TD and demand the dail brings in legislation that the championships has to on free to air tv. They've done it for the Olympics and six nation's etc etc.
Mickey Harte is entitled to his opinion, but I disagree very much with it. If virgin media held the terrestrial rights instead of rte would he have said the same thing?

Thelonesomegoose (Leitrim) - Posts: 204 - 06/08/2019 22:54:55    2221974

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Replying To KillingFields:  "That's a load of rubbish. Soccer is an amateur game in 90+% of all games played but that soesnt stop some games at top level being shown on fee paying TV. Same with all sports.
These full time officials act in the best interests of the association and it's their job to promote the sport.
This crap about older people is nonsense. How many are we talking about??"
You might be old yourself someday, only to be told you don't matter and be told to go and do one!

totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 06/08/2019 22:55:54    2221975

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Replying To Thelonesomegoose:  "It is not the GAA headquarters bogey men who introduced sky to the market. It is your local county delegates who voted to let it happen, they're the ones to let your feelings be known to if you don't agree with it.
You could lobby your local TD and demand the dail brings in legislation that the championships has to on free to air tv. They've done it for the Olympics and six nation's etc etc.
Mickey Harte is entitled to his opinion, but I disagree very much with it. If virgin media held the terrestrial rights instead of rte would he have said the same thing?"
Sky wasn't put to a vote, the suits in croke park decided on it

totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 07/08/2019 00:37:58    2221993

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Replying To The_Fridge:  "Isn't Sky giving 3 million to grassroots GAA?

Not saying that's an excuse or whatever but it has to be taken into consideration"
Do let us know the details on this & how it's intended to be distributed to clubs. The last time I heard this type of horse shit was when they opened Croke Park & we were told every individual club would benefit directly financially, this was not the case in Connacht. No Connacht club saw a red cent in their bank account, the direct opposite of what members were told prior to voting. I would love if you could produce a link where it shows each individual club will benefit directly from Sky money & how it's to be distributed.
As for Mickey Harte's comments, he has an axe to grind against RTE, maybe rightly so, but his comments do no service to his justification & lessen people's respect for him, cheap jibes.

moc.dna (Galway) - Posts: 1212 - 07/08/2019 00:46:17    2221996

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How much taxpayer's money did the Gaa get towards Croke Park and otherwise.Surely if an organisation is accepting and receiving taxpayer's money,that organisation is constrained in the commercial decisions it makes and can't just act as if it hadn't received tens of millions of taxpayer's money from the government.As the saying goes,you can't have your cake and eat it.

endgame (Roscommon) - Posts: 2168 - 07/08/2019 01:29:34    2222003

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Replying To lilylanger:  "Mickey Hartes comments come across awfully imo. I think he obviously and perhaps rightfully has disdain for the national broadcaster and his comments are aimed at RTE rather than joe public who cant see the matches."
If anything Mickeys giving RTE an "out" on the matter by saying the GAA has every right to do business with sky do I don't know why some of you are seeing a dig at RTE in his comments. When I was a young lad many years ago there was no seeing games by the national broadcaster in the north at all for many years as we simply couldn't get it. Around the birder counties some people could but others not a hope. Nobody cried a river for those GAA people then. It was just tough luck and that was it.

seanie_boy (Tyrone) - Posts: 4235 - 07/08/2019 03:43:24    2222009

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Replying To Thelonesomegoose:  "It is not the GAA headquarters bogey men who introduced sky to the market. It is your local county delegates who voted to let it happen, they're the ones to let your feelings be known to if you don't agree with it.
You could lobby your local TD and demand the dail brings in legislation that the championships has to on free to air tv. They've done it for the Olympics and six nation's etc etc.
Mickey Harte is entitled to his opinion, but I disagree very much with it. If virgin media held the terrestrial rights instead of rte would he have said the same thing?"
Virgin Media would probably show it on their Sport channel and that's not free-to-air.They're not the same as TV3 was when they broadcast some games. Maybe they'd have the earlier season games on free-to-air. A TV channel buying GAA rights are in it to make money, Sky want to get more people to sign up to them, Virgin media would be the same. Inadvertently we're already paying for the RTE GAA deal as taxpayers money pays the government funding they get, we pay the TV licence and viwership helps their advertising revenue.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7346 - 07/08/2019 05:53:43    2222012

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I was opposed to the Sky deal but find it hilarious to hear the crocodile tears from RTE about the poor old people in nursing homes, when they treat gaelic games disgracefully throughout the year. As a Louth man, the highlights show gave us less than 2 minutes of a report after our win against Wexford earlier this year and the panel didn't utter a word on the game. Did the poor old people in nursing homes in the likes of Drogheda not wait around all day to see the highlights of that game? Being from a smaller county, i expect any coverage to be minimal but this story could apply to the majority of counties being disrespected by this same channel that now is worried about people not having access to games. If RTE want to debate the merits of games being shown on their channel, then do so based on facts - such as viewing figures being much greater than on sky but don't use the elderly or sick as some sort of tool to make a point as this is cheap and embarrassing.

PK57 (Louth) - Posts: 1653 - 07/08/2019 07:13:05    2222016

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "Gleebo are you living outside Ireland ?"
Yes, I live in continental Europe.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 07/08/2019 08:57:10    2222034

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Replying To MesAmis:  "There was a time when people didn't have electricity in their houses too."
Aye, and a time when there was no GAA! But there was always hurling, in some shape or form!

baire (Galway) - Posts: 1806 - 07/08/2019 09:01:33    2222035

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "Their ethos is they're there to make a profit. At least they're taking a risk and they're not like RTE getting government funding, plus almost all the licence fee money, plus advertising money and producing output of questionable quality.

The GAA's ethos isn't so pure. Promote the elite football counties and don't bother about standards in so-called weaker counties.

Mickey Harte is spot on."
So Micky Harte is advocating supporting pay-per-view because the GAA supports elitism in counties! I listened to what he said and nothing is further from the truth.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4897 - 07/08/2019 09:08:07    2222038

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