Waterford v Cork tops GAA classics list, but are TV viewers tiring of nostalgia?
The 2004 Munster Hurling Final meeting of Cork and Waterford has been the most-watched GAA match so far in TG4’s All-Ireland Gold series this year.
In March, TG4 began broadcasting classic games from the archives to compensate for the lack of live action during the sporting shutdown.
And Waterford’s famous 3-16 to 1-21 win — featuring a red card for the heartbroken John Mullane — has proved most popular to date.
Dublin’s 2013 All-Ireland football semi-final win over Kerry — a free-flowing cracker that finished 3-18 to 3-11 — is second in TG4’s charts, while Galway’s breakthrough All-Ireland hurling final win over Waterford in 2017 is next.
The list indicates that viewers may be tiring of the nostalgia festival. The top-five matches on the list were all broadcast in April, as the reality of shutdown began to bite with sports lovers.
The games broadcast in May and early June do not fare as well, indicating viewers may have begun to crave some live action.
TG4’s Rankings
Apr 12 Waterford v Cork '04 - 97.4k
Apr 5 Dublin v Kerry '13 - 93.2
Apr 26 Galway v Waterford '17 - 81.9
Apr 19 Clare v Galway '95 - 77.8
Apr 5 Cork v Galway '90 - 77.1
May 10 Galway v Tipperary '88 - 75.2
May 24 Dublin v Kerry '77 - 75.1
Mar 29 Galway v Limerick '80 - 68.6
Apr 19 Kerry v Donegal '14 - 67.5
