The GAA has confirmed the takeover of RTÉ’s stake in GAAGo and announced that the first games to be broadcast on what will be rebranded as GAA+ will be on the opening weekend of this year’s Championship.
GAA Go was originally formed between the sport and the broadcaster in 2014. It has always felt as though it was on the cutting edge of the changes in sports broadcasting and preceded similar developments at the NFL and the NBA in the US and others around the world.
Originally established to provide a streaming service to the Irish diaspora it steadily built a loyal audience in that sphere.
The turning point for it’s importance came in 2020 when the Covid pandemic shut down spectator sport and GAA Go was on hand to provide a service to the fans that could not enter GAA grounds in that year’s delayed All Ireland Championships.
In the last round of broadcast negotiations it was awarded rights to show a slate of games which it does as a Pay-per-view service on mobile devices and smart TV’s.
It has withstood criticism at times for making games inaccessible but we have long made the point they have done the complete opposite by allowing more games to be shown live than any commercial TV station could possibly do.
Revenues have risen to just under €5 million last year and the service turned a profit of almost €1 million, 83 percent of which goes back into the funding of games and development within the sport.
“The creation of GAA+ is a rebrand but one with significant substance behind and in front of it,” said the Head of the new service Noel Quinn.
“GAA+ is a 100% wholly owned, managed and operated GAA platform that aims to meet the growing digital content demand from our members, while reinvesting 83% of all income generated back into the Association at all levels.”
“Going direct-to-fan is a move that addresses modern sports fans’ viewing habits and future proofs the Association’s on-air requirements in a contracting indigenous Irish TV market.”
“I am proud to lead a team that continues to innovate and pave the way for other Irish sports bodies to follow. We are ready for the next chapter that will see more live matches, renewed midweek series and other new programming.”
The confirmation of the move was made by GAA President Jarlath Burns at the GAA Annual Congress in Donegal on Saturday.
“Today, I am pleased to confirm the next phase in our ‘over the top’ / ‘direct to fan’ streaming offering with the announcement of our fully GAA-owned and operated service called GAA+,” he said.
“GAA+ will mean more content across live matches and additional programming, including midweek programming, and continued value for members and supporters alike.”
“It will stream its first live games from the opening weekend of this year’s Championship.”
“No recent changing of a calendar year in the GAA would be complete without reference to GAAGO, our own digital streaming service which came into existence in 2014.”
“Sometimes in the maelstrom we tend to forget its importance and just how much the media landscape has changed in the period since its inception.
“To say it has served us well would be an understatement and the flexibility it affords us around the scheduling and broadcasting of games would be sorely missed if it wasn’t available to us.”
“I shudder to think how much ground we would have to make up if we were only starting out on our journey in this space now.”
Thankfully the foundations laid a little over a decade ago have proven strong and have given the GAA a ticket to the future.
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
In 2014 we applauded the establishment of GAAGo, taking the skills of sports administration and broadcasting and creating something that would have been weaker without either side. The development of the model has seen extension to assist others in football and rugby and while it has often taken flak from within, it has not wavered in following a path that was being laid for the future of broadcasting with or without it. Jarlath Burn’s final line above about the ground that would have had to be made up would have been nigh impossible without the work of the past ten years.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
The first live broadcasts under the GAA+ banner will be on the opening weekend of the GAA All Ireland Championships in April.
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