GAA to announce SKY deal

Fair point Umpire.. but on a Semi Pro basis?.. How do League of Ireland do it ?.
Do You not think their entitled to be rewarded ?

Why dont we ask the question here..

Should Inter County Players be rewarded / paid in some way ?

Again I ask, if those 1536 Players were polled, what would the outcome be ?

In a championship season there are roughly 57 or so games.

If you cap a figure and say each squad of 25 that lines out for a game gets €200 each (average out..starter might get €300...non playing sub €75 for example)

57 games x 50 players x €200 average = €570,000 over the course of the championship season.

This is relatively small and can easily be paid from a portion of  match receipts...e.g. 666 tickets at €15 covers the player cost for each game. Even a portion of the Sky deal would easily cover it.

It still leaves a huge portion of revenue to go back to the GAA and county boards.

I picked €200 as an average as its relatively small enough not to look like its "professional" but at the same time €200 would be a nice little recognition for a player considering he receives nothing officially at this current time. It would have to be a flat rate so elitism doesnt develop.

I think its enevitable that more financial recognition of the players will come. I dont know if I'm for or against it to be honest. Can a club player not argue the same point come county championship time?

The league of Ireland teams have struggled for years and most clubs faced going to the wall on more than one occassion. Madness reigned for long periods with ridiculous wages paid that clubs couldnt sustain. I'd hazard a guess that clubs are operating these days on wage budgets that are about €1k-€6k per week for a squad of 16. Could we trust our county board to administer similar if it ever happened here?...thats why I think accross the board capping of rates at lower levels would be needed to keep things under control.

Lads can anyone tell me if their club got any funding from the GAA coffers.....i'm sick of them big wigs talking about the "Grass Roots" of the association and how it was built on volunteering ethos....and a portion of monies taken in is given to clubs...... where and when i'd ask, not my club for sure....couldn't get a bob off them when we looked for it......

SeamusMurphy
Again I ask, if those 1536 Players were polled, what would the outcome be ?

As a club player in the junior leagues, I along with many of the other junior players would love to be paid. Thats besides the point. If someone can offer a model where it would be workable then so be it!

How do League of Ireland do it ?.

League of Ireland soccer clubs have to scrap for every single penny to meet financial requirements such as paying the wages of players.

Recent High profile Croke Park "Bailouts" or "loans"....im sure there are many other smaller cases as well...where would all 3 be today without access to central funds?...I wonder how many Gaels from Mayo, Kildare and Portlaoise are up in arms over the Sky deal?

1. Mayo GAA for McHale Park €1m
2. Kildare GAA €300k
3. Portlaoise GAA...undisclosed

Here's where I think this is bluffing it. Duffy said they didn't get a whole lot more from Sky and that it wasn't about the money so what exactly was it about? He said ex-pats. Well firstly the GAA have come up with another system where they can subscribe to games on laptops and other devicees so that's the ex-pats covered. Besides, I've watched games these past 12 months from Thailand and Korea and Montenegro to Albania and Brazil and Iceland without a problem. And those abroad who say they've to watch the games in a pub, well they'll still have to. So who does the Sky deal actually benefit while clearly having a negative impact on many at home?

I suppose I was singling out specifically that Inter County Players be paid.. I appreciate that this is elitism, but is it not the same in Rugby and Soccer, ie that only the Players at the top get paid?
Can you imagine the desire for Young Fellas to want to Play for their County if there was " a few bob" with it, and not just the "love of the Jersey" ?

Did the GAA not profit to the tune of 53 Million last year ?

I agree OTB," Volunteers & Amateurs ", Yeah right, those Guys who make all these decisions at the top are all " Volunteers" my ar_e.. also dont recall our Club getting any handouts !!

O'Neill 'shocked' by aggressive line of RTE questioning

Article on HS Website..
Poor old misery guts is upset by the aggressive line of questioning during Interviews from, in the main RTE Staff.. He better stay out of Politics then, imagine Him being questioned by Pierce Doherty.

Quote :

Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Liam Ó Neill has told GAA.ie he was "shocked" by the treatment that he and Páraic Duffy, Ard Stiúrthóir of the GAA, received yesterday from RTÉ in a series of interviews they did in relation to the new media rights deal.

The GAA confirmed on Tuesday that it had secured a new broadcast deal for the next three years, including the announcement that Sky Sports would be broadcasting 14 live championship games annually - the first time that has happened.

The deal also honoured a long standing promise from the GAA to provide access to its major games for those living outside of Ireland. In addition to Sky Sports providing exclusive live coverage of 20 championship matches in Britain, in a major new departure, Channel 7 will show all 45 live championship games free to air in Australia.

However, Ó Néill felt media coverage of the deal, specifically on various RTÉ platforms, did not reflect the scope of the deal announced and that much of the coverage was unbalanced.

"An awful lot of the reaction was misinformed because they reacted before the news story," the GAA President told GAA.ie at Croke Park on Wednesday. "That was a bit unprofessional of some people doing that.

"Then, when they got the information, they zoned in on one particular part of the deal. And quite frankly, in relation to last night, we are shocked by the treatment we got from RTÉ. Every single one of the interviews was aggressive.

"RTÉ are our partners. They have got 31 of our games. They have radio, we give them access beyond what would be given to broadcasters in other sports and in other countries. We didn't expect them to be in our favour - we weren't looking for that. We were looking for balance and I don't think we got balance last night."

He said he felt RTÉ had led public opinion on the matter and that the breadth of the package had not been looked at - only the Sky Sports element. "They didn't realise the package was as extensive as it is and I think when the ordinary GAA person on the ground sees what we have done and when they see it in action and when they realise that finally, after talking about it for generations, we have actually gone out and done this.

"We will see what Sky bring to this. I think when people see the improvements and the different approach Sky take, I think people will be happy."

He said he believed a lot of the negative reaction is a natural consequence of the 'change process' - namely that when something changes in a large organisation for the first time, the most instinctive and immediate reaction is opposition. With that in mind, he urged GAA supporters to look at the full substance of the deal announced.

"The easiest thing to do, if Páraic and I wanted to get through these negotiations, all we had to do was say no, to do what we had always done," he explained. "But we said we would step out beyond that, and I've admitted last night on RTÉ that when you make a decision like this, of course you are nervous.
"Of course you are concerned that it might not turn out as you want it. But the fact of the matter is we have done it now. We've taken that leap of faith and my message to the followers on the ground would be to sit back and enjoy the games you want to go to and sit back and enjoy the coverage and let's judge all of this at the end of the day."

The most consistent argument that Ó Néill and the GAA faced on Tuesday was that the new deal would deprive many people of seeing games they previously would have, specifically people in isolated areas who can't afford to pay for Sky Sports and who may not be able to go to places where Sky Sports is available. However, the Uachtarán said this was not a sustainable or credible argument.

"I take the point that there are some games that people won't see. But there are some games not being televised anyway. There were games last year that weren't televised at all. But nobody jumped down our neck about that. And there will be games this year that won't be televised.

"But all games are covered, in some way or other, by radio, whether it's local or national. And as well as that, there have been a number of games with Setanta for a number of years anyway. And the same fellas who live in isolated places haven't been able to get those. So there is a lack of consistency in the argument here."

Finally, Ó Néill admitted that turning down the deal that was on offer could have amounted to a huge opportunity lost for the GAA, and he said media and public reaction could have been just as negative had people learned of the substance of the deal after such a rejection.

"That's exactly what people would have done (criticised the GAA if the deal was turned down). And that's what we didn't do. We didn't let them down, we didn't take the easy option. We're giving people access to our games abroad, we giving a wider opportunity to promote our games and we've taken that leap of faith."

Seems fair enough to me. There's no balance whatsoever in the coverage of the story. Suits RTE down to the ground to stir the shit and get all the clowns phoning Joe Duffy. And that interview last night on Six One was nothing but an ill-tempered diatribe from Dobbo.

The mock indignation by RTE is laughable, they're scared shitless they will lose their monopoly on GAA coverage, many a broadcasting career has been built on the back of the GAA. I think it's a good idea and look forward to seeing what Sky will do with it, if the numbers reported are accurate there will actually be more games televised than ever. As for the pay for play I don't think it would be sustainable in a 32 county format, anyone got a proposal as to which of the less successful counties should be kicked to the kerb bearing in mind we are one of those, oh for the day to see our finest wearing a sky blue jersey in pursuit of the holy grail, a big cheque

Cilldara_2000 wrote:

Quote :

Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Liam Ó Neill has told GAA.ie he was "shocked" by the treatment that he and Páraic Duffy, Ard Stiúrthóir of the GAA, received yesterday from RTÉ in a series of interviews they did in relation to the new media rights deal.

The GAA confirmed on Tuesday that it had secured a new broadcast deal for the next three years, including the announcement that Sky Sports would be broadcasting 14 live championship games annually - the first time that has happened.

The deal also honoured a long standing promise from the GAA to provide access to its major games for those living outside of Ireland. In addition to Sky Sports providing exclusive live coverage of 20 championship matches in Britain, in a major new departure, Channel 7 will show all 45 live championship games free to air in Australia.

However, Ó Néill felt media coverage of the deal, specifically on various RTÉ platforms, did not reflect the scope of the deal announced and that much of the coverage was unbalanced.

"An awful lot of the reaction was misinformed because they reacted before the news story," the GAA President told GAA.ie at Croke Park on Wednesday. "That was a bit unprofessional of some people doing that.

"Then, when they got the information, they zoned in on one particular part of the deal. And quite frankly, in relation to last night, we are shocked by the treatment we got from RTÉ. Every single one of the interviews was aggressive.

"RTÉ are our partners. They have got 31 of our games. They have radio, we give them access beyond what would be given to broadcasters in other sports and in other countries. We didn't expect them to be in our favour - we weren't looking for that. We were looking for balance and I don't think we got balance last night."

He said he felt RTÉ had led public opinion on the matter and that the breadth of the package had not been looked at - only the Sky Sports element. "They didn't realise the package was as extensive as it is and I think when the ordinary GAA person on the ground sees what we have done and when they see it in action and when they realise that finally, after talking about it for generations, we have actually gone out and done this.

"We will see what Sky bring to this. I think when people see the improvements and the different approach Sky take, I think people will be happy."

He said he believed a lot of the negative reaction is a natural consequence of the 'change process' - namely that when something changes in a large organisation for the first time, the most instinctive and immediate reaction is opposition. With that in mind, he urged GAA supporters to look at the full substance of the deal announced.

"The easiest thing to do, if Páraic and I wanted to get through these negotiations, all we had to do was say no, to do what we had always done," he explained. "But we said we would step out beyond that, and I've admitted last night on RTÉ that when you make a decision like this, of course you are nervous.
"Of course you are concerned that it might not turn out as you want it. But the fact of the matter is we have done it now. We've taken that leap of faith and my message to the followers on the ground would be to sit back and enjoy the games you want to go to and sit back and enjoy the coverage and let's judge all of this at the end of the day."

The most consistent argument that Ó Néill and the GAA faced on Tuesday was that the new deal would deprive many people of seeing games they previously would have, specifically people in isolated areas who can't afford to pay for Sky Sports and who may not be able to go to places where Sky Sports is available. However, the Uachtarán said this was not a sustainable or credible argument.

"I take the point that there are some games that people won't see. But there are some games not being televised anyway. There were games last year that weren't televised at all. But nobody jumped down our neck about that. And there will be games this year that won't be televised.

"But all games are covered, in some way or other, by radio, whether it's local or national. And as well as that, there have been a number of games with Setanta for a number of years anyway. And the same fellas who live in isolated places haven't been able to get those. So there is a lack of consistency in the argument here."

Finally, Ó Néill admitted that turning down the deal that was on offer could have amounted to a huge opportunity lost for the GAA, and he said media and public reaction could have been just as negative had people learned of the substance of the deal after such a rejection.

"That's exactly what people would have done (criticised the GAA if the deal was turned down). And that's what we didn't do. We didn't let them down, we didn't take the easy option. We're giving people access to our games abroad, we giving a wider opportunity to promote our games and we've taken that leap of faith."

Seems fair enough to me. There's no balance whatsoever in the coverage of the story. Suits RTE down to the ground to stir the shit and get all the clowns phoning Joe Duffy. And that interview last night on Six One was nothing but an ill-tempered diatribe from  Dobbo.

Watching it this morning and only thing offensive was the time given to some of those in the crowd. Wasn't one unfair question. It's Prime Time for Jesus sake, you don't go on as a PR exercise. But once more, name one unfair question posed?

TommyKeegan wrote:

Watching it this morning and only thing offensive was the time given to some of those in the crowd. Wasn't one unfair question. It's Prime Time for Jesus sake, you don't go on as a PR exercise. But once more, name one unfair question posed?

Totally agree. I'm sure he was well primed by his own PR people beforehand and he knew he was going to get a tough ride and why shouldn't he? Smacks of him trying to deflect attention away from the issue at hand.

TommyKeegan wrote:

Cilldara_2000 wrote:

Seems fair enough to me. There's no balance whatsoever in the coverage of the story. Suits RTE down to the ground to stir the shit and get all the clowns phoning Joe Duffy. And that interview last night on Six One was nothing but an ill-tempered diatribe from  Dobbo.

Watching it this morning and only thing offensive was the time given to some of those in the crowd. Wasn't one unfair question. It's Prime Time for Jesus sake, you don't go on as a PR exercise. But once more, name one unfair question posed?

I referred to Six One with that Brian Dobson clown not Prime Time, which I didn't watch.

And I saw Six One this evening too. They put up "quotes" on screen from Liam O'Neill which weren't actual quotes at all. But I suppose they covered themselves as they didn't use the inverted commas so I'm sure everyone watching    picked up that they were paraphrasing. Pure hatchet job.

As an aside, I used to agree with the general opinion on Liam O'Neill until I met him last year. He's totally different in person. Very pleasant demeanour without a hint of the dourness that comes across on TV or radio.

Cilldara_2000 wrote:

TommyKeegan wrote:

Cilldara_2000 wrote:

Seems fair enough to me. There's no balance whatsoever in the coverage of the story. Suits RTE down to the ground to stir the shit and get all the clowns phoning Joe Duffy. And that interview last night on Six One was nothing but an ill-tempered diatribe from  Dobbo.

Watching it this morning and only thing offensive was the time given to some of those in the crowd. Wasn't one unfair question. It's Prime Time for Jesus sake, you don't go on as a PR exercise. But once more, name one unfair question posed?

I referred to Six One with that Brian Dobson clown not Prime Time, which I didn't watch.

And I saw Six One this evening too. They put up "quotes" on screen from Liam O'Neill which weren't actual quotes at all. But I suppose they covered themselves as they didn't use the inverted commas so I'm sure everyone watching     picked up that they were paraphrasing. Pure hatchet job.

As an aside, I used to agree with the general opinion on Liam O'Neill until I met him last year. He's totally different in person. Very pleasant demeanour without a hint of the dourness that comes across on TV or radio.

Apologies, too much coverage for me to keep up with. Did laugh and cringe at O'Neill in Newstalk this evening, referring to RTE being scared by the "razmatazzzzzz" Sky would bring. Really think GAA people have gone bananas when I hear that. Lads the games will be squeezed into two-hour segments, these "highlights" on Sky Sports News will be like the highlights of stuff they don't care about now lobbed in for 20 seconds and not sure what else we are expecting. Remember talking to Frank Maloney a few years ago about the brilliant job Brian Peters promoting fights in Dublin. He agreed but said he wouldn't get away with it on Sky, you are squeezed for time and they take no shit. That's boxing. GAA won't rate that highly with bosses.

TommyKeegan wrote:

Cilldara_2000 wrote:

TommyKeegan wrote:

Cilldara_2000 wrote:

Seems fair enough to me. There's no balance whatsoever in the coverage of the story. Suits RTE down to the ground to stir the shit and get all the clowns phoning Joe Duffy. And that interview last night on Six One was nothing but an ill-tempered diatribe from  Dobbo.

Watching it this morning and only thing offensive was the time given to some of those in the crowd. Wasn't one unfair question. It's Prime Time for Jesus sake, you don't go on as a PR exercise. But once more, name one unfair question posed?

I referred to Six One with that Brian Dobson clown not Prime Time, which I didn't watch.

And I saw Six One this evening too. They put up "quotes" on screen from Liam O'Neill which weren't actual quotes at all. But I suppose they covered themselves as they didn't use the inverted commas so I'm sure everyone watching     picked up that they were paraphrasing. Pure hatchet job.

As an aside, I used to agree with the general opinion on Liam O'Neill until I met him last year. He's totally different in person. Very pleasant demeanour without a hint of the dourness that comes across on TV or radio.

Apologies, too much coverage for me to keep up with. Did laugh and cringe at O'Neill in Newstalk this evening, referring to RTE being scared by the "razmatazzzzzz" Sky would bring. Really think GAA people have gone bananas when I hear that. Lads the games will be squeezed into two-hour segments, these "highlights" on Sky Sports News will be like the highlights of stuff they don't care about now lobbed in for 20 seconds and not  sure what else we are expecting. Remember talking to Frank Maloney a few years ago about the brilliant job Brian Peters promoting fights in Dublin. He agreed but said he wouldn't get away with it on Sky, you are squeezed for time and they take no shit. That's boxing. GAA won't rate that highly with bosses.

The point is, Sky Sports care when they've money in. The biggest soccer game of all time could be taking place in the league but if it's on BT, their coverage in terms of build-up and after isn't the same as it is for one they're covering and that's the soccer. Look at the almost overkill stuff they do on the darts, boxing, rugby league, motocross (is it motocross? That motorbike thing where they go around a slippy clay-like surface for two or three laps?)... they all get the full barrells once they do it. The 30-second highlight bit might be on Sky Sports News although that's even on a loop for 24 hours so there's pretty huge exposure in that. I'd venture hurling will get more than that - they'll love/be horrified at the physicality. In fact they will with the football too.

But in their main coverage of games they'll do big build-up, they'll have state-of-the-art technology, they won't play Wolfe Tones. Jim White might unfortunately throw in the odd drinking and leprechaun reference bit we'll just have to take that (he's a Rangers man after all, although it would be ironic a Scot/Glaswegian making any comments on drinking!) Hopefully they'll pay someone like Donal Óg Cusack but the standard of analysis is the one question mark and that applies across the line anyway.

This is getting out of hand. Maybe I am missing something here. Sky are only getting a limited number of games. RTE are getting the same number as last year. Good luck to Sky. Good luck to RTE. Looking forward to the upcoming season. For the people who moan that they cannot afford sky probably did not even watch the games on TV3 last year and probably paid €500 for an iphone. Why not go to friends house to watch it. If you cant watch the games on RTE for the year (plenty to view). This is the important point. THE GAA NEED TO INVEST THE MONEY BACK TO THE COUNTIES.

One thing for sure is it will bring the GAA international, what would neutral people watch cricket or GAA??
In the long term if it works it will also open GAA players to bigger markets and exposure and all the things that brings and will be interesting to see how the GAA deal with it.
It will also be a lot easier for the aussie rules / rugby scouts or who would bet against an American football team coming in for a GAA player in the next 10 years!

Feck sure TV3 are offering redundancies to all the staff! I reckon Sky will end up throwing a few more quid into their coverage...
This will settle down soon and I think either for or agin it everyone will be curious to see what they bring to the table.
Am getting annoyed at non sports people who are 'GAA fans' being given a lot if print and air time mind. Lets just wait and see how it goes. I walked past Croker today and its still there...

Lads love swallowing the spin. One third of all live games in the GAA's showpiece event are behind a paywall, causing those that create the games through their charity of money and time to pay more to view their own product. The GAA says it's a great deal for the GAA, but the top brass in the GAA forget that the GAA is the members. So is it a good deal for the GAA when the GAA has to pay to watch? As for this international aspect, ah lads, relax. It's going to be 10 minutes before throw in, five minutes after throw in and highlights will be 30 seconds every three hours on Sky Sports News much like Speedway is now.

Every GAA club in the country is to be giving a discount on their subscription which can't but be a positive thing. Yes GAA will be a minority sport for Sky but it will still equate to more coverage than it has been given by any of the terrestrial channels in recent years!

Echos of Rule 42.... Almost 10 yrs later not a word about it.... Move on. The deal is signed so there's no going back.

Also remember here that Setanta have a deal to show a lot of games and a lot of people don't get to see them that is no different than Sky! That seems to got lost in the whole debate!

Thats a fair point mickey re: Setanta.. That would mean the GAA would have recieved a nice few bob from that Contract also, as they to are Pay per View.. Throw in the One Direction and Gareth Brooks Concerts that are up coming and the GAA Bank Account must be Swelling nicely.

Setanta have never shown one live championship game in Ireland ever.

TommyKeegan wrote:

Setanta have never shown one live championship game in Ireland ever.

TG for that as I don't have Setanta !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!