Competition will improve the quality of analysis

THE GAA’s media rights are up for renewal after this year. With Croke Park’s Peter McKenna lobbing Amazon Prime into the conversation as Eir Sport pull back, Oisín McConville – a regular analyst on BBC and RTÉ – believes it’s inevitable that GAA coverage will have a pay-per-view element in the future

‘It just seems to be a natural progression. Seems to be moving in the same direction… you look at soccer. I remember a couple of years ago, I was having a panic attack. I woke up on Stephen’s Day and I was looking at Sky and BT for Premiership games. Then all of a sudden it’s on Amazon. I was scrambling to find a way to get that. That’s the way it seems to be going.

‘I do think competition is good. When Sky came on board, I thought it was a good move. I thought everybody would up their game. I think BBC, RTÉ and Sky are putting out a good product all the time. To be fair, the level of analysis seems to have been ramped up.’

The streaming revolution is part of all that he says, referencing the viewing habits of his mother Margaret (right), the Crossmaglen club legend who is coming up to 85.

‘I’ve never had as much reaction to stuff we’ve done on TV until this year because so many people were using that opportunity to watch it on TV.

‘My mum was at home that whole time. She was vulnerable. We were counting it up one night – she had taken in club games within 18 or 19 counties, which is remarkable. Where would you get the opportunity to do that?’