GAA+ on hold as GAAGO sale not yet signed off

GAA president Jarlath Burns said in February that GAA+, the association's new streaming service, would begin broadcasting games on the opening weekend of the championship. 

In 2023, GAAGO earned €4.96m in subscriptions and €273,437 in sponsorship. Due to the delayed launch, GAA+ is unlikely to hit those numbers this year. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The RTÉ board and Government have yet to sign off on the sale of the national broadcaster’s 50% share of GAAGO to the GAA.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media have confirmed the deal, estimated to be worth in excess of €2million, has yet to pass two stages of approval.

It is understood the RTÉ board could sign off on the sale at their monthly meeting on Thursday.

In response to a query, a Department spokesperson said: “While an agreement in principle has been reached between the GAA and RTÉ, such agreement is subject to final approval by the Board of RTÉ.

“After the matter is considered by the Board of RTÉ, the Minister’s consent, as required under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 2009, will be required and a request for such consent is awaited.” 

The GAA were set to launch their new, wholly-owned GAA+ streaming service replacing GAAGO earlier this month ahead of the provincial championships beginning on Saturday week. However, the event was postponed.

No schedule has yet been released for the championship games that will be streamed outside of the 31 RTÉ have already confirmed they will be televising live. As before, BBC will also be showing matches including the Ulster senior football championship.

Announcing GAA+ in February, GAA president Jarlath Burns said the platform would be showing games from April 6/7. As first reported by the Irish Examiner in December, the GAA approached RTÉ to buy them out of the joint streaming initiative as they chose to retain media packages previously shown on GAAGO that they sought expressions of interest last August.

Burns stated: “I am pleased to confirm the next phase in our ‘over the top’/‘direct to fan’ streaming offering with the announcement of our fully GAA-owned and operated service called GAA+.

“GAA+ will mean more content across live matches and additional programming, including midweek programming, and continued value for members and supporters alike. It will stream its first live games from the opening weekend of this year's Championship.

“Why are we doing this? To be strategic, to be a leader in Irish sport, to leverage global trends, to future proof the value of our broadcast rights in a quickly evolving media world, to further embrace the digital age and meet our members’ demands.” 

In 2023, GAAGO earned €4.96m in subscriptions and €273,437 in sponsorship. However, those figures are unlikely to be repeated this year due to the delayed launch and lack of early bird offers.