#HatersGonnaHate
RTÉ and The Sunday Game are often criticised for their coverage of the GAA, whether it’s the pundits they pick, the things said pundits say, the matches they choose to cover or how they cover it.
In recent times, people seem to be fed up with the same old analysis, which says the same old stuff – for example, Colm O’Rourke’s comments about the Ulster final between Derry and Donegal and the negativity surrounding it, ruffled a few feathers.
A stick that was always used to beat RTÉ was the fact that their coverage starts and ends with the weekend. Unlike in soccer for example, where Sky Sports have their games and analyses on Saturday and Sunday, with a separate Monday night show for even more analysis and debate.
Add in the likes of Soccer AM, and no one can say that Sky aren’t using every single ounce of value they can get out of having the rights to the Premier League.
Dublin legend Philly McMahon has recently been hitting out about the constant negativity that the selected pundits seem to induce on RTÉ, and how that influences the viewers into thinking that the games they are watching are worse than they actually are.
Former Laois star Colm Parkinson has always been critical of the channel’s lack of coverage throughout the week, and openly admits to preferring the BBC coverage during the Ulster championship.
“It has been a hugely positive start to the competition. There has been excellent buy-in from managers and players.”
Ross Munnelly and Enda McGinley believe the Tailteann Cup will become an important competition in the GAA calendar. #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/hfiaTy3ZOA
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 19, 2022
Joe Brolly, a former RTÉ pundit, absolutely slammed them in an interview with Tomas O Sé, claiming that his former employers were “boring,” and have sucked all the fun out of it.
Throw in the fact that they are the national broadcaster of the country and everyone has to pay their license fee, meaning that viewers feel more obliged than ever to be critical when they see fit.
However, after a very good weekend of football where the hurling quarter finals were in full flow, with Sunday dedicated entirely to the Tailteann Cup, and RTÉ have come out swinging.
In a tweet that is pretty left-field from their usual content, those in the know at the station decided to list the amount of coverage, pundits, and work that went into covering last weekend.
Each thing that they listed was pretty much a direct reply to every criticism they have had to endure in recent times, and it had more sass than a Taylor Swift breakup song.
12 hours live TV. 10 hours live radio. 2hr hilites show. Across 2 days. 3 venues. 4 different panels. 2 x Hurling Quarters. 2 x Tailteann semis. Special guests. New voices. Analysis. Tributes. Awards. Credit to all in front and behind the camera. #LicenceFee #RTEGAA #SundayGame
https://twitter.com/TheSundayGame/status/1538637449508933633
The full stop after each statement, the hashtag for the License fee, and the emphasis on the use of fresh new pundits – they may as well have tagged each of their critics personally and threw in the middle finger emoji.
Not that this is a bad thing, if RTÉ are getting their act together, and are on a mission to defiantly silence those who say they aren’t doing enough, then we, the viewers, will be the beneficiaries of that.
