Sky’s GAA debut only attracts 31,800 viewers

Industry reports yesterday revealed Sky Sports’ live coverage of the Kilkenny-Offaly game on Saturday night attracted just 31,800 viewers, a 2.9% share of the Irish audience.

That compares with 402,000 who tuned in for the Dublin-Laois Leinster SFC quarter-final on RTÉ Two, a 40.6% audience share.

The Sunday Game Live’s first game on Sunday, the Connacht semi-final between Mayo and Roscommon, accrued a 32.6% audience share, which represents 252,300 people.

Perhaps more concerning for the GAA is in the UK where there are also reports of disappointing numbers for the Leinster SHC quarter-final in Nowlan Park.

Sky Sports’ numbers are slightly deceptive in that the game was put behind a paywall and their 31,800 viewers in Ireland each constitute a subscription. They were also on a Saturday, which for GAA games, always records poorer numbers than Sundays.

Despite their heavy marketing campaign and significant media coverage given to their entry to the GAA’s media rights stable, the figures will come as little surprise to Sky who had anticipated them to be low starting off.

They have also yet to officially roll out their discounted subscription packages to GAA clubs. Last year, just over one million people tuned in on RTÉ Two for the All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Mayo, which equated to a 74% audience share. The first Clare-Cork hurling final on the same channel gained over 66% of the audience share.

Joe Brolly, an outspoken opponent of the GAA’s decision to grant Sky Sports live GAA media rights, yesterday responded critically to the figures.

“The audience figures are no surprise,” he tweeted. “The motive was always profit not principle.”