The battle for GAA broadcasting rights remains as fraught as ever.
Newstalk have lost the rights to broadcast live championship matches under the new deal which runs from 2017-22. They will be restricted to 'flash score rights'.
The station had been broadcasting live championship matches since 2011.
Newstalk sports editor Adrian Barry released a statement tonight in which he questioned why RTE use state funding to buy rights for a service which was already available free of charge on a commercial station.
We believe we made a very competitive pitch to retain our live GAA commentary rights and we are disappointed that, after six years of innovative and extensive coverage, the GAA has decided not to renew that agreement.
Despite RTE continuing to benefit from 85% of the license fee, today’s decision begs the question as to why the state broadcaster would use state funding to purchase rights for a service that was already available to the public, free of charge, via Newstalk.
Off the Ball produced some iconic moments this year – in addition to our full coverage of Euro 2016, the Rio Olympics and the Paralympics, we grilled Lance, toasted the Dubs and drank in another successful season of Irish rugby.
We were delighted to renew our Premier League commentary package this year for another three seasons, we have recently broadcast live Republic of Ireland games for the first time, we continue to broadcast live Champions Cup rugby and we remain a broadcast partner of the GAA, with live score flash rights for the coming five years. Off the Ball’s listenership across seven days is at an all-time high, bring on 2017.
RTE have received exclusive rights to radio coverage of the championship for the next five years. On the TV rights front, the breakdown between Sky and RTE remains the same.
