NO TV REVIEW

New GAA boss insists Sky TV deal will stand

THE GAA’s new director general Tom Ryan has revealed that there will be no review of the existing television rights deal before its conclusion in 2021, including the controversial pay-per-view element.

The decision to put championship matches in particular behind a paywall via Sky Sports has been a real bone of contention with supporter opposition, with counties bringing motions to Congress to oppose it and even a recent online petition.

But in his inaugural address, the Carlow native said the current arrangement where 14 championship matches will be shown exclusively on Sky will remain in place.

Even with a new expanded round robin Munster and Leinster hurling championship and a Super 8s football format at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, there are no plans to increase the number of live games to be broadcast this summer from its existing figure of 45. ‘We’re not going to review it

until the contracts expire at the end of the 2021 Championship season,’ said Ryan (left). ‘It’s really at that stage that we’ll be looking at what opportunities are ahead of us for broadcasting. ‘I respect all views on it but what I’d ask people to do is to bear in mind that there are 140 or 150 [televised] matches over the course of the year… There is a little bit of perspective there in those numbers. ‘I’d also ask people to take cognisance of the fact that if we’re going to put out 200 or 300 coaches in a year, spend five or six million on capital projects, we need to bring in an income.’