Mayo v Tyrone. Dublin v Donegal.
At last, the heavyweights are on a collision course. Perhaps the most exciting double header at Croke Park for some time. Four teams with genuine ambitions of winning the All-Ireland and two of them will be going home in the quarter-final.
The championship is ready for it. Ireland is ready for it.
But, alas, only the 80-odd thousand in attendance at headquarters and those with a Sky Sports subscription pack will actually get to watch it.
Sky Sports are the big winners of the All-Ireland football quarter-final draw https://t.co/zh4HWOdaFr #GAA
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 30, 2016
The deal with Sky Sports three years ago has been anything but unanimously accepted. GAA people have never paid to watch football or hurling and a lot of them don’t think they should’ve had to begin.
In the broadcaster’s defence, they’ve not only paid the most money for the coverage, but they’ve done a good job of covering the games too. They’ve done a very good job.
It’s the GAA people are angry at for selling the rights to Sky.
The problem inevitably comes to a bit of a crescendo this weekend. As part of the deal with the GAA, Sky got exclusive rights to two quarter-finals and, as luck would have it, the two best fixtures just happened to land on the dates agreed long before anyone knew what teams would be there in the mix.
But the fightback has begun.
Former Mayo footballer, John O’Mahony, a Fine Gael politician and senator in the Mayo area after acting as TD for nine years, has voiced the concerns of the public.
A leading activist forum, Keep Gaelic Games Free To Air, has been vocal in its condemnation of the GAA for the Sky deal and Senator O’Mahony, in his address to Seanad Eireann appealed that the concerns be brought before the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to review games which are and are not ring-fenced for the public in the country.
Games that the public shouldn’t have to pay for. Games that should be in the matter of public interest.
“I have been requested to raise the issue of pay-per-view broadcasting of sports events. The group that contacted me wishes to keep Gaelic games free to air,” O’Mahony said in a statement at Seanad Éireann.
“Negotiations on broadcasting rights have commenced between the GAA and various companies. This is a major issue which affects all sports. At the weekend, for example, the British Open was broadcast for the first time on Sky Sports, having been broadcast previously on the BBC.
“Some Senators may recall that under a deal agreed between the GAA and Sky, 14 games were broadcast for the first time on an exclusively pay-per-view basis. Ordinary supporters believed they had not been consulted at the time and they fear the number of pay-per-view games will increase in this round of negotiations.
“Having discussed the issue formally at a committee, I understand it is a matter for the governing bodies and television companies. At the same time, the Government has a role to play in the matter.
“In the case of Gaelic games, the only games ring-fenced, if one likes, for terrestrial television coverage are All-Ireland finals. If they wished, the governing bodies could agree to have all other games broadcast on a pay-per-view basis.
“The GAA has done tremendous work in promoting its games. I commend Senator Billy Lawless for his contribution on the diaspora. In this regard, the GAAGO platform allows thousands of followers of Gaelic games living abroad to tune into games and connect with Irish culture, which is important. A review of the sports events to be shown on terrestrial television was carried out in 2014.
“I raise this issue because all hell broke loose three years ago when the broadcasting rights to certain GAA games were sold to Sky Sports. Given that the issue is under negotiation, I request that the Leader ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline his views on the matter.”
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