GAA livestream verdict? So far, extremely positive
NECESSITY being the mother of invention, live streaming of club games has quickly emerged as an essential aspect of GAA life in the coronavirus era.
From Wexford GAA TV and Limerick GAA TV to LuTV in Louth, counties have been thinking on their feet and finding ways of bringing games to locked out supporters.
While most have charged for the service, anywhere from EUR5 to EUR10 per game, led the way in bringing free streams to GAA fans from championship games in Cork and most recently Kerry.
The question now is whether live streaming of attractive fixtures is the way forward for county boards or merely a short-term stop gap while attendance restrictions are in place.
Westmeath GAA Head of Operations Pat Doherty isn't sure yet but is keen to explore the area with live streaming of their games proving a big hit in recent weeks.
They are charging €10 per game and averaging out at around 150 customers, leaving them with a profit of around €500 on each match after paying expenses of roughly €1,000.
They streamed four games last weekend and plan to cover seven matches next weekend with the flagship football championship down to the quarter-final stage.
Some counties had already been covering club games but most only jumped into broadcasting when left with no other alternative in recent months.
"Coincidentally it's something that we had talked about and had been actively looking at but Covid-19 certainly sped up our thought process," said Doherty.
"We had a little bit of initial work done and were exploring how it might all work. There's no capital cost, it's a game to game cost of around €1,000. The only time that might rise is in the event of a second camera though that's maybe another €250 to €300.
"We're dealing with 247.tv who allow us to provide Iarmhi TV and they're extremely professional and have been really good. We're extremely happy with the product we've been churning out and the feedback has been very positive."
Doherty crunched some numbers yesterday and found that, so far, viewership is generally limited to club members watching their own club in action.
"This could change as we go into the knock-out stages in our various championships and maybe your own club is out and the games are attractive and you'd just like to watch them, that will be interesting to see," said Doherty.
"But from an overall point of view it's been very positive and it's definitely provided a useful and much needed service. We've had decent numbers watching which means the whole thing is washing its face financially."
The big question is what happens when the crowds come back? Will the live streams be binned or can county boards find a way to retain them and continue to make a quick buck without harming attendances?
"The bottom line is we want people in our grounds," said Doherty. "We want them in our grounds but obviously that can't happen so this is the best possible alternative. It's certainly going to be a big consideration as to whether streaming would take away from crowds or not. That's going to be a decision we'll have to make when we have the most accurate data of who has been watching the games."
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