RTÉ wait on television coverage verdict

RTÉ hope for better news from the GAA with regard to their spread of live television coverage of championship games over the next few years when the second round tenders are revealed in the next week or so.

And, this will be followed a short time later by the announcement of the six major companies who will share the sponsorship of the All-Ireland senior hurling and football championships. In this regard, the Association’s Commercial and Marketing director Dermot Power revealed yesterday that they are ‘at the stage’ of final contracts with the six companies chosen to spearhead their first multi-sponsor deal.

On the television front, while TV3 may have stolen a march on RTÉ in terms of outbidding them for one of the ‘packages’ in the first round of television and radio contract negotiations announced in early November, the belief is that there is no question of the national broadcaster conceding their dominant position in Gaelic games coverage. However, Setanta, along with TV3, are expected to be involved in the final shake-up before what Power described as the final piece of the jigsaw is finalised – the granting of international rights.

He explained that while the negotiations on both fronts had been protracted, they were particularly pleased to have arrived at the stage they are now at in relation to the sponsorship of the hurling and football championships. “With the link with the television contracts, the two are tied up together. When you are an event sponsor, you also become a broadcast sponsor of the coverage of the GAA games,” he explained.

“The next stage for us is to announce the second round tender of the television contracts and we expect to do that next week. The two run parallel. We have a ‘long form’ of agreement which is just going out today with some of the sponsors. It’s at detailed contract stage now. We’re talking to six — three in hurling, three in football.

“We were not able to accommodate some companies. We have been saying from day one that this is not just about getting money, not about just getting sponsors. This is about getting the right mix of partners who will help us promote our games. That was our underlying principle right the way through. It has been a worthwhile process. With three sponsors it is a shared space and each company will be competing to associate themselves with the championship.”

One significant effect of the multi-sponsorship model is that the competitions will revert to their original names. Said Power: “This is certainly one of our objectives. This is definitively the GAA All-Ireland championship. Getting the GAA name is very important to us.”

Meanwhile, Director General Paraic Duffy has voiced his concern over the senior hurling championship format agreed for this year, commenting: “I think it’s particularly unfair to Antrim and I would like to see that addressed. We have chopped and changed over the last number of years, I think we have to look at that again. I would like to see a long-time structure that meets everybody’s needs.

“I don’t know if we will see a breakdown of the provincial system. I just don’t think that the present system sufficiently serves Antrim and I don’t think it particularly serves Galway either!”

Longer-term, he regards the development of the National Strategic Plan as the biggest challenge facing the Association.

“We have a big day here on Saturday with the National Club Forum. We have over 300 delegates from clubs all over the country coming to Croke Park to have their input into the development of that plan.

“There’s a lot of consultation under way with various sectors of the organisation. We hope to present the plan to Congress and that will set the agenda for my term as Ard Stiurthoir.”