Today is a big day for GAAGo, the streaming joint venture between the GAA and RTÉ Digital. Later this morning they will launch a newly engineered website to deliver what will be their third season of live action and GAA content to global audiences in the USA, Australia, Britain and in over 100 countries around the world.
They will also reveal what the content will be over the next twelve months, starting off with the Allianz Leagues, working through to the closing stages of the All Ireland Championships and including content such as the Sunday Game every week along the way.
We wish the team good luck with the launch today. We will have all the details of what next year’s campaign will look like as it is launched.
Here’s what we discovered when we dropped by the GAAGo offices two weeks ago to learn about how and why the service has been a real winner since its launch in 2014…
This Saturday’s International Rules test match between Ireland and Australia at Croke Park will be the last live outing of the year for the GAAGo service that streams GAA action to the four corners of the world.
Sport for Business had a behind the scenes look at this growing operation during the week and left in the firm belief that this was one of the most exciting ventures in Irish sport at this moment in time.
This was the second full year of the service which shows live action from RTÉ, TG4 and Sky coverage to online audiences that now come from 160 countries around the world.
“In year one we announced the service on April 1st and were live through the RTÉ international player within six weeks,” said GAA Media Rights Manager Noel Quinn.
“We were able to build awareness through a one year sponsorship of the All Ireland Football Championship but everything was based on building the right foundation for this to be a long term success.”
The service is a joint venture between the GAA and RTÉ and the offices are based in a building on the broadcaster’s Montrose campus.
Images sent in from customers around the world share wall space with Value statements, customer service targets and schedules that would make major broadcasters shudder at overlaps and potential glitches.
“Our focus is on helping people through any technical problems they might have,” said Customer Service Manager Lorna Buttimer who joined the venture from RTÉ’s production department and is loving the challenge of building something so new.
Kabul Calling
“We have customers from all over and the first call we took on the opening day of the online service was from Kabul in Afghanistan.”
“It’s very immediate when a match is about to start and somebody who has paid cannot see the live pictures right away.”
“Fortunately the issues are few and far between. We have a matrix of potential problems and solutions and the aim is to spend as much time as we need to make our customers happy, but not so much as to leave others waiting.”
“It gets busy at the weekends when the main action is on but the relationship we build with satisfied customers makes them our best advocates in markets around the world.”
The bond that bringing live action from ‘home’ builds among those who have left Ireland for many different reasons is a powerful one.
Games broadcast on Sky can be seen in the UK but the service is a novelty for most who would at best have previously seen only deferred coverage or paid high ticket prices to watch live broadcasts to pubs or cinemas.
Almost half of the audience is in the US and that remains a key marketing ground for the service.
“We have tapped into communities in New York and Boston and word of mouth has been a powerful tool,” said Karl O’Shaughnessy, Marketing Manager.
Bond
“The plan now is to reach further into areas of the US and elsewhere that may not be as close knit as overseas communities but who have just as strong a bond to the parishes they have left behind whether it was in the past five years or the previous fifty.”
“We are always looking for an angle and when Ed Sheeran played at Croke Park this summer Peter McKenna of the GAA was able to hand him an Ireland shirt with our brand on the front. Those pictures travelled around the world in a way that could not have been imagined a few years ago.”
An area of growth through the second year and one where the company sees potential for growth is in partnership with international brands.
“In 2015 we have structured deals with Etihad Airways and Allianz to bring their message to our audience,” said Noel Quinn. “They are working in a global marketplace so the message is relevant across national boundaries and the association with something that clearly means so much to those who are buying is a powerful one.”
“As our subscriber numbers grow we see this as an area for real growth in the coming years.”
For now the International Rules Test will be the end of a second chapter. Because of the time difference the coverage in Australia on Channel 7 will be deferred giving a window of opportunity to steal a march for GAAGo.
Over 90% of the streams are of live action rather than the highlights or deferred coverage.
Conversation
Watching live allows those far away to share the conversation that is going on socially at home with friends and family. It brings them closer in a way that sport can do better than almost anything else.
RTE’s TV coverage of both the Shinty and the ‘Rules’ games will be relayed around the world on the new medium of pay per view online. It’s available to buy as a one off or as part of the season ticket which next year will remain at €160 but which will be able to be paid in different currencies for the first time.
It’s a business which, in the way of the GAA is doing things right one step at a time. The six core values of the Association are writ large on the wall above Donal Moriarty’s desk. He’s the RTÉ grounded product leader who delivers on the broadcast side but does so within that remit.
They are simple but could stand as a guide for most organisations and individuals. Simple. Instant. Modern. Quality. Exciting. Personal.
This journey of the GAA into the future of online consumption could only be done within a partnership format. It feels like these first steps were taken carefully but, like a child with growing confidence, they are becoming more sure-footed.
Its a journey that could take them a long way.
