Has GAA slipped down RTÉ’s order of importance?

LIVE GAA coverage will soon become the poor relation in the RTÉ sports schedule.

The state broadcaster is set to show more live domestic soccer on television than GAA championship matches by 2013, while Montrose’s rugby output is also increasing after inking a four year deal with the Magners League.

Earlier this week, RTÉ secured 31 of 40 senior championship ties on offer up to 2014, with the GAA keen to lessen the number of their games shown live. In the previous deal which ended after this year’s All-Ireland SFC final, RTÉ had 40 fixtures. The announcement, which has caused upset amongst RTÉ staff, comes at a time that RTÉ is locked into an FAI agreement which commits them to show more and more domestic league and cup games live each season.

Tomorrow’s FAI Cup final between Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers will be the 18th game shown live by RTÉ this year.

That figure is set to increase to 23 in 2011, 28 in 2012 and in 2013, 33 games from both competitions will be broadcast live on television – two more than that year’s GAA championships. The station also has deals in place to cover the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and the tournament finals itself in two year’s time.

Rugby is also on course to surpass the GAA live output with the station committed to showing Six Nations, Autumn Test match Internationals, All-Ireland League and the Magners League.

Last August, RTÉ inked a deal with the latter competition, revealing in a press release that “up to 35 live matches are set to be broadcast on RTÉ Two television this season, and for the next four seasons, as part of a new deal secured by RTÉ alongside fellow public service broadcasters TG4, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC Cymru Wales, S4C and BBC ALBA.”

Meanwhile, Conradh na Gaeilge have written letters to Newstalk and TV3 to find out if the broadcasters intend to continue the practice of commentating on the All-Ireland minor finals in Irish.

TV3 secured the rights to televise the All-Ireland minor finals, and Newstalk secured radio rights for second-choice GAA Championship games when the media rights deals for the next three years earlier this week.

Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa, President of Conradh na Gaeilge, said that the Irish language organisation have also asked the GAA if there is any arrangement in place to continue the tradition of broadcasting the minor finals in Irish.

Mr Mac Fhearghusa, speaking to Nuacht RTÉ said: “We are greatly in favour of the commentary of these games being broadcast in Irish, as has been the case for many years.