Jarlath Burns accuses local streaming companies of facilitating ambush marketing

GAA to rein in arrangements that conflict with national commercial deals.

President of the GAA Jarlath Burns. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher.

GAA president Jarlath Burns has claimed the sponsors of some counties’ streaming platforms are “ambush marketing” on the back of the organisation.

At Special Congress on Saturday, Burns spoke of the difficulty the GAA’s official media partners TG4 have found in securing club games in counties who have streaming agreements in place.

He will shortly convene a meeting of county chairpersons to discuss their commercial dealings as some are in direct conflict with those completed by the GAA at national level.

“TG4 have been a fantastic partner to the GAA and this is putting us at risk because we don’t really know who owns these contracted rights,” Burns told delegates.

“A lot of counties are doing very bad deals and I’ll be gathering the broadcasting advisory group, which consists of people who are eminent in this field.

“We’re going to take advice from that group, we have actually four or five things already about other issues pertaining to broadcasting, GAA+. I’m not here to give off because if somebody comes in and says ‘we’re going to give you x thousands of pounds to screen your championship’, it’s very lucrative.

"But it is coming at a price to us and coming at a price to you evidently as well. We’re going to be taking more of an advisory role with our counties.

“I see Ned Quinn here – Ned Quinn warned us about this five years ago. Nobody really had that depth of understanding that Ned has of the GAA and business.

"We have to be very careful that these chickens don’t come home to roost because some of these companies are doing side deals with sponsors, which are in direct contravention to our national GAA sponsors, ambush marketing, really. All of the rights we negotiate on behalf of you go back to the counties as do our main sponsors here out on the field.”

In the post-Special Congress press conference, Burns said the GAA “just can’t be selling the rights twice” and revealed some counties regrets the streaming contracts they have signed.

He said: “We're not luddites. We're in the streaming market ourselves at GAA+. But it's just we want to make sure that our counties are getting best value for money.

"We want to make sure that the contract is commensurate with something that gives them the advantage, that allows them to keep the footage, that the footage belongs to them, and also then that there isn't any ambush marketing, that any company that comes in along with a county is respectful of the fact that the GAA has sponsors and that we have to be very careful about how we go about that business.

“And also then we have to respect the broadcasters with whom we have the contracts, BBC, RTÉ and in this case TG4. We just can't be selling the rights twice. And counties haven't been doing that in any way deliberately or cynically.

“As I said today, whenever a company comes in and wants to buy your rights, it's easy money for counties but it mightn't just be all that easy at the finish up because it does impact on the crowds that go to watch the match and then it can impact on your ability yourself to own the rights to your own games and the number of games that are being shown.

"So, counties are coming back to us themselves saying that they have concerns about what the signed up to.”