Pundit Arena has signed an agreement with the GAA to broadcast the Semi-Finals and Finals of the Bank of Ireland Celtic Challenge Finals in 2019 and 2020.

The competition for 16 and 17-year-old hurlers was launched at Croke Park last week and will see 1,300 players representing 44 teams drawn from all 32 counties.

The 2019 tournament kicks off in March, with the finals taking place on June 29th in Bord na Móna O’Connor Park, Tullamore.

GAA fans will again be able to watch the event via the GAANOW platform and also on Pundit Arena TV.

Building on the success of last year’s tournament, which was also broadcast by Pundit Arena, the 2019 and 2020 editions will see increased coverage and content delivered over the course of the entire tournament.

This year will see four of the semi-finals and all 6 finals broadcast on the Pundit Arena and GAANow platforms, as well as a consistent volume of bespoke video and written content over the coming months.

The overall viewership for the games and highlights from last years finals amounted to 190,000. With the added broadcast of the semi-finals, in addition to increased coverage, the 2019 edition is expected to exceed that figure.

“GAANOW isn’t even 2 years old but has already become the go-to source for GAA fans in Ireland and around the world seeking in-game clips, midweek archive features and live social broadcast content,” said Noel Quinn, GAA Senior Marketing & Media Rights Manager.

“People have very much become screen agnostic when it comes to consuming content and the GAA’s digital broadcast focus aims to address this habit via GAANOW.”

This renewed live match streaming partnership with Pundit Arena adds more options for viewers, while showcasing the next generation of hurlers at the same time, and is a fantastic addition to the live GAA schedule.”

“After the success of the 2018 partnership, we’re excited to expand how we’re bringing to life this unique hurling tournament, covering all teams, games, and news across multiple platforms and content formats,” added Matt Steerman, Commercial Director of Pundit Arena.

“In addition to expanding our broadcasting to feature both the Semi-Finals and the Finals in ’19 and ’20, we’ll be working closely with the GAA and teams from around Ireland to produce a range of editorial, social and video content that will provide a level of coverage and awareness that hasn’t been done before in this space.”

“As Ireland’s leading bank for students, we are very proud to sponsor the Bank of Ireland Celtic Challenge competition once again this year<‘ said Liam Sheedy, Bank of Ireland Director for Munster.

“We are striving to build on the success of last year, where over 1,200 young players took part in what is the largest all-county hurling competition. It is fantastic that the competition will be brought to a larger audience and broadcast on Pundit Arena.”

Another step in the ever changing world of media rights.