Tánaiste says all games should be free-to-air amid GAAGO criticism
Jake Morris of Tipperary scores a free during the Munster Championship Round 3 match between Cork and Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
The Tánaiste has said that all GAA matches should be free to air amid criticism of the GAAGO app which charges fans for watching some games online.
Micheál Martin said that his "personal view" for a "long, long time" has been that fans should not be subjected to extra charges to watch GAA matches online.
It comes as Cork's epic with Tipperary on Saturday was was broadcast on GAAGO rather than terrestrial TV.
Three of the five Munster Championship games so far have been shown on the online, pay-per-view platform, which is a joint-venture between the GAA and RTÉ.
Waterford v Clare next weekend will also be on the platform, an arrangement which has attracted much comment and criticism in recent weeks.
Speaking in Cork, the Tánaiste said: "We want more and more people to see hurling being played like it was on Saturday with Cork and Tipp and last week with Clare and Limerick — it’s something that should be reviewed.
"I think the games should be free to air …. and it’s the game of hurling that has lost the most because the game of hurling at its best is simply a classic and irrespective of one’s preference for any one code or sport, everyone loves to watch a great game of hurling.
"We’ve had two classics now in terms of the Clare-Limerick game last weekend and the Cork-Tipp game on Saturday evening and it just seems that a significant audience did not get access to those games to see hurling at its best."
Mr Martin said last Saturday night in Páirc Uí Chaoimh was a magical occasion.
"It was just one of those occasions, sun drenched, beautiful new stadium and a great game of hurling between Cork and Tipp — certainly our senior citizens need to be able to watch these games.
“I think hurling would benefit because if we want to continue to brand hurling as one of the great iconic identifiers of Ireland, one of the great games played at a very high quality, we want more people to see it and I think it (GAAGO app payments) is something that should be reviewed for the benefit of hurling."
GAAGO charges €12 per game, three matches cost €24 or €79 for access to streamed games over the course of the season.
On Sunday, former Cork goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack strongly criticised RTÉ and the GAA for their failure to screen more hurling championship clashes on free-to-air television.
Age Action policy specialist Nat O'Connor echoed Mr Martin's comments, telling Newstalk Breakfast that GAAGO has created an "invisible barrier" for older GAA fans who cannot afford the streaming service or are without internet access.
"It's an invisible barrier that people don't have the technology or the wherewithal to access these games online and it is not a small issue."
However, former GAA president Liam O'Neill told the show that GAAGO actually brings a wider audience to GAA rather than excluding fans.
"There are 15 games next Saturday — with all due respect, no channel can show all those,” he said.
"GAAGO is a means through which you can watch some games — not all games, but some games will be able to shown next Saturday."
Mr O'Neill said that the GAA is probably one of the most inclusive organisations in the world.
"The GAAGO is far from being exclusive. It is inclusive. It was set up at the time we did the Sky deal and it was for people who lived abroad. It was only accessible to people who lived abroad and the complaint at that time was that it wasn't accessible to people in Ireland.
"Then when the pandemic came GAAGO was a means by which a huge number of extra games were made available to people who couldn't have gotten to see them because they couldn't get out."
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