The GAA's deal with Sky Sports is in jeopardy. Dublin has brought a motion to Congress proposing that all televised championship games be shown on free-to-air TV.
Today in the Irish Independent, Martin Breheny has written that if the motion passes, the GAA could lose up to €15 million over the next three years.
This claim was rubbished by UCD's Paul Rouse, a trenchant critic of the Sky deal. Speaking to Balls.ie, Rouse said that such assertions amounted to 'scare stories' and were based on 'invented figures'. He also questioned how such a story - based on anonymous sources - ended up in a national newspaper two days before the vote. Read his comments here.
The GPA have rowed in behind the GAA on the matter. In a move which will hardly endear them to their staunchest critics - a number of whom typically park themselves in an RTE studio on big match-days - the GPA has urged delegates to strike down Dublin's motion.
The phrase 'commercial realities' will surely set the teeth of the organisation's more romantic critics on edge. They refer indirectly to TV3 in the statement, alluding to the fact that not every 'free-to-air' channel is available in the six counties.
Any such move would be seen by the inter-county playing body as wholly regressive as it would deny the GAA the ability to negotiate the very best possible deal on behalf of the Association.
From a players’ perspective the commercial reality of this situation is that increased funding means greater support for player welfare not to mention the wider benefits to the GAA in terms of coaching, games promotion, infrastructure and facilities. It should also be noted that not every ‘free-to-air’ channel is available to GAA members in the Six Counties.
