GAA announces new five-year media plan

The GAA have finally revealed their new arrangements for television and radio coverage for our games for the next five years.

The deal remains much the same as it was for the past three years.

RTE will have exclusive rights to 31 matches, while RTE radio will have exclusive radio coverage.

Sky TV’s deal sees them receive the rights to broadcast 20 lives matches, including the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals. 14 of those will be exclusive, and one of those will be a Munster Hurling Fixture.

BBC television will continue to broadcast coverage of those matches involving Ulster teams which are being shown live on RTE. However they have also managed to secure a new deal involving digital rights. They will now be able to provide coverage of all the live and deferred matches on their iPlayer catch-up service.

BBC Radio Ulster have rights to cover all matches with Ulster involvement.

Shane Glynn, BBC Northern Ireland’s Managing Editor of Productions said: “It’s fantastic to have certainty for our audience about the level of our Gaelic Games coverage across our platforms for the next five seasons, and we’re grateful to the GAA for their continued support in what is a very complex, international rights market. I’m particularly pleased that, for the first time, we’ve been able to secure iPlayer rights for the matches we broadcast in the Ulster Championship, potentially bringing our coverage of Gaelic Games to a whole new audience.”

The new deal begins with the 2017 Ulster Championship and runs until the end of the National League in 2022.

The other broadcasters who have had their agreements reneweed are TG4 and Eir Sports Ireland.

TG4 will have exclusive rights to Sunday’s National League matches, as well as live clubs, minor, u-21 and colleges matches.

The one loser is Newstalk, who have lost radio coverage rights.

One interesting facet is that the GAA have retained the clips rights for themselves, for their own websites.