The world of sports broadcasting is one of opportunity as rights to matches are sold and sold on, and an Irish emigrant to Australia has garnered international coverage for his purchase of the rights to show the Republic of Ireland against Sweden on Friday, September 5th.
David Feeney, originally of Deans Grange in Dublin, bought the rights to show the game in Australia from the original holder Kentaro for what he has loosely described as ‘tens of thousands of dollars. He persuaded his irish born wife it was worth putting up their home as security and off he went.
He then struck a deal with an Australian bore racing cable channel and they have helped distribute it to a number of casino’s and Irish clubs around Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Feeney works in sales and he has certainly made the Irish population aware of it with coverage across all Irish and Australian media over the last 24 hours.
The game will be played in the not so small hours of Friday morning but those who have dismissed the scheme as hare brained may have missed the deep attachment and willingness to go an extra mile to connect with ‘home’ that exists among the Irish abroad.
There are around 65,000 Irish living in Australia, and many more that would claim some form of allegiance. Even getting hundreds of them together and charging $20 dollars admission, as well perhaps as securing a little of any additional revenue they generate for the venue could at least make a dent in the cost and overnight he has built a reputation as someone who can get things done.
There is talk of one time Kerry star and now Sydney Swans player Tommy Walsh coming along and an invite has also been sent to Ronan Keating who is down under at the moment.
There has always been a hunger to see Irish matches, whether in GAA, Soccer or Rugby, and Setanta Sports was formed on the platform of Michael O’Rourke buying rights for GAA games and showing them in pubs around London and Britain.
With international rights for GAA matches being negotiated in the coming months, Feeney’s grand adventure proves once again that the appetite for live pictures remains the same, and the experience of watching as a group is more attractive than the various ways he might have been able to view via internet streaming sites.
We wish him the best of luck and who knows, media moguls have been known to emerge from Australia and become active in sports broadcasting in the past…
Sports Tourism Seminar at Croke Park (September 19th)
Sport for Business 20/20 at Ulster Bank HQ (October 8th)
The Business of Youth Sport Seminar (November 28th)
