A prominent Unionist group in Northern Ireland has slammed the BBC's involvement in the new GAA broadcasting deal, and has suggested that their choice to continue showing GAA is an example of their "bias" against the Unionist side in Northern Ireland.
As part of the new GAA TV deal, BBC NI will continue to carry the Ulster SFC, as well as adding coverage of crucial All-Ireland series games, and a simulcast of both All-Ireland finals across the wider BBC network. Their increased broadcast of the sport comes indirectly as a result of Sky Sports' departure from their deal with the GAA earlier this week.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) has spoken out about the BBC's new commitment to the GAA, and have pointed out their unwillingness to display the Orange Order marches earlier this year in contrast.
GAA: Unionists question new BBC TV deal
Earlier this year, the BBC announced that they would take no part in broadcasting the July 12 marches in Northern Ireland, citing audience reasons, in a move that did not go down well with many of Northern Ireland's Unionist population.
With the Beeb now committing to the GAA's five-year broadcasting plan, some Unionists have spoken up again.
In a statement, the TUV's Norman Boyd slammed the BBC's decision to commit to an expanded GAA package, given their decision not to broadcast this year's July 12. Boyd claimed that these decisions confirmed the BBC's "anti-unionist bias" and said that the broadcaster was "incapable" of reflecting Unionist experiences in Northern Ireland:
The BBC decision to secure rights to broadcasting more GAA in the same year in which they binned live coverage of the Twelfth demonstrations speaks of an organisation which is failing in its duty as a public service broadcaster and confirming its anti-unionist bias.
The BBC is an outlet which cannot tolerate a single hour of live coverage of an expressly unionist and British event. At the time they announced their decision to dump the Twelfth, one of the largest cultural events in Europe, and replace it with reruns of Bargain Hunt and other content of similarly questionable creative merit TUV highlighted that there was no suggestion of coverage of anything related to the nationalist tradition being scaled back. Now we have confirmation that the publicly funded broadcaster is scaling up its coverage of the GAA.
This will compound the belief that the BBC is one-sided and incapable of reflecting the reality that the Orange, unionist and protestant community exists in Northern Ireland.
In response to Boyd's statement, the BBC said: "This latest sport agreement adds to the long-term contracts that BBC Sport NI already has in place for football, rugby and the North-West 200."
The BBC's expanded 2023 coverage of GAA is likely to get underway in mid-April next year, when the Ulster senior football championship gets underway.
SEE ALSO: The 2012 GAA All-Star Football Team: Where Are They Now?
