Virgin Media chief questions RTÉ's spending spree on sports

Paul Farrell claimed that despite being publicly funded, RTÉ simply refuses to declare the detail of its spending. As a result Irish sports rights are inflated and uncompetitive. 

Bang for buck?: RTÉ's Coverage of the GAA Championship fronted by Darren Frehill, Jacqui Hurley, Des Cahill and Joanne Cantwell is not giving licence fee payers value for money according to Virgin Media MD Paul Farrell. Picture Andres Poveda

RTÉ is failing to deliver sufficient GAA coverage to the Irish public for the amount of rights it owns, a leading sports agreement buyer has claimed.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Virgin Media MD Paul Farrell said RTÉ’s production of just one highlights show per week – The Sunday Game – was “extraordinary” and the station was unable to efficiently deliver sports coverage on its “linear service”.