The GAA and RTÉ have been given formal approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to proceed with a full joint venture surrounding the provision of GAAGo to an international audience.

This is the fourth full season of the partnership between the two organisations but while the services have been provided under license up to now the decision to move to a full joint venture is a sign of the commitment from both sides to making this a major plank of GAA broadcasting for many years to come yet.

It is understood that the final step for this to happen in Ministerial approval but with the CCPR having completed its review that is unlikely to pose a difficulty.

The success of the partnership was indicated this week in the RTÉ Annual report which stated that

“In 2016, GAAGO, RTÉ and the GAA’s online streaming service for Gaelic games around the world, continued to expand its service offering, streaming more than 120 GAA events to fans in over 190 countries around the world.

 

With a focus on enhancing fans’ viewing experience and developing key markets, GAAGO launched a dedicated GAAGO channel on the Roku streaming platform, making Gaelic games available to millions of American households.”

This was an echo of GAA Director General Paraic Duffy’s report from earlier in the year when he said that

“GAAGO, a joint venture of GAA and RTÉ Digital, will again provide access to televised games to Irish people in virtually every country via the internet, a hugely significant facility for Irish people abroad.”

At a time in sport where media rights and how the games that are played are distributed to the fans are among the most critical issues facing administrators it is heartening that the GAA should be ahead of the game when it comes to streaming through GAAGo and the new GAANow service that launched this season.

They are areas that were covered in detail at the recent Sport for Business Unleashing Content event at the studios in RTÉ.

They are areas we will be returning to often in the months and years to come.

The clearance by the Competition and  Consumer Protection Commission is a small step but it is in a forward direction on a journey that is perhaps more important than any other facing sport into the future.