Sky Sports will continue to show 20 live GAA matches per season until 2021 after securing a five-year deal to broadcast All-Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championship.
The deal extends the partnership between Sky Sports and the GAA into its eighth year following the original historic three-year deal which began in 2014. In addition, as part of the agreement, Sky has become a GAA Learning and Development partner, deepening Sky’s participation in GAA grass roots initiatives across the country.
Sky Sports will show 20 live matches including the All Ireland Semi-Finals and Finals. The 14 exclusive matches exclusively live in Ireland, similar to those under the existing agreement, will include 8 qualifiers, 2 quarter finals and 4 Provincial Championship games, featuring, for the first time ever, a Munster Hurling Championship game.
Read more about the full Media rights deal
Live GAA matches will be available to watch on mobile, tablets and laptops on-the-go at no extra cost to Sky Sports subscribers via Sky Go or Sky Q apps.
For the first time ever, Sky customers will be able to watch in-match clips and post-match highlights from all of Sky’s exclusive matches, via the Sky Sports app.
Matches will be available on-demand via Sky’s Catch Up TV service and there will be a mid-week show with highlights from all the weekend’s GAA action.
Sky will also highlight coverage through its social media channels adding 10 million Facebook followers, 500,000 You Tube subscribers and one million followers on Instagram.
Sky will become an official GAA Learning and Development partner involved in three specific initiatives:
- The GAA Super Games Centres in hundreds of secondary schools around the country
- The GAA Youth Forum at Croke Park involving future players, coaches, parents and administrators from 12 to 21 years of age
- The GAA Coaching Conference, the annual flagship event of GAA’s coaching education programme involving over 800 grassroots coaches in Croke Park each January
Read more about why the GAA was slow to reveal Media rights details
“Extending our partnership with the GAA and deepening our relationship with GAA grass roots demonstrates our commitment to providing the best programming, service and value to our customers in Ireland,” said Sky Ireland Managing Director JD Buckley.
“We’re delighted to build on a successful three years broadcasting GAA and will continue to push boundaries in terms of quality, innovation and analysis, to give Sky Sports customers the best coverage of our national games.”
Jamesie O’ Connor, Sky Sports GAA analyst, said: “I’m delighted the GAA and Sky Sports are extending the broadcast partnership for another five years. It’s been great being part of the Sky Sports team, we’ve been able to build year on year and adapt the technology to provide a different insight into games. It’s very exciting to know that we can develop that further over the next five years.”
