CORK councillors this week gave the GAA and RTÉ the red card over GAAGO, which was branded ‘a complete cock-up’.
Both Cllr Michael Hegarty (FG) and Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) sought a suspension of the regular agenda at this week’s meeting of Cork County Council to discuss the issue.
Cllr Carroll said he has never met more people outraged about one thing – that last Saturday’s Cork v Tipperary match was broadcast behind a pay wall, denying many, including the elderly, a chance to see it.
‘It was disgraceful that our national channel didn’t show this match and it’s the talk of, not just the county, but the whole country,’ said Cllr Carroll, who stressed that the online service didn’t work for a lot of people.
Cllr Michael Hegarty said the beneficiaries of GAAGO are RTÉ and the GAA, and pointed out that people who did pay missed half the match as the screen froze.
‘We should write to both the GAA and RTÉ on this. It’s a disgrace for the followers of our national sport to be treated in this way,’ said Cllr Hegarty.
County mayor and Bantry publican Cllr Danny Collins (Ind) said that he downloaded the app but found out that his iPhone wouldn’t ‘airdrop’ onto the television in his bar.
‘I did get it another way, and we screened the match, which was a spectacle. But everyone should have had a chance to watch it,’ said Cllr Collins.
Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) said there was a huge number of people disenfranchised by the omission of the match on the national channel.
‘Elderly people were really caught out and were desperately disappointed to have missed what was a classic match,’ said Cllr Murphy.
Cllr Seamus McGrath (FF) said they need to write to the Minister for Sport as well, as both organisations are getting a lot of public money.
‘It was an extremely bad decision that this game wasn’t aired. Between the two of them, it was a complete cock-up,’ said Cllr McGrath.
Councillors agreed to write to the GAA central council, RTÉ and the Minister for Sport on the issue, while Tanáiste Micheál Martin later said that all GAA matches should be on free-to-air channels.
On Wednesday, Cork South West FF TD Christopher O’Sullivan said the GAA fans have to come first. ‘We are talking about areas such as Beara and the Mizen peninsula in West Cork, where there isn’t adequate broadband, and we need to make sure those people have access to our national game,’ said Deputy O’Sullivan, on RTÉ radio.
‘There is also the age factor coming into play and for example, my dad has a Nokia 3210, and he won’t be downloading the GAAGO app onto his phone.
‘We need to look after these people too. Money can’t be the first priority, it has to be the fans,’ he added.
In the Dáil on Wednesday, FF TD Aindrias Moynihan said GAA fans were being hit with another ‘digital obstacle’ which was locking away popular matches for all fans.
Carbery GAA Board chairperson Aidan Rourke said that the GAA will have to find some method of showing these premium hurling matches on free channels. ‘The people who have given most of their time to the GAA are the ones not in a position to access GAAGO and Munster was let down when two great matches were behind a pay wall,’ he said, adding that the same thing will happen with football in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, West Cork GAA commentator Tom Lyons said the GAA is going down the wrong road. The Southern Star GAA correspondent said he had yet to meet anyone who agrees with the move to broadcast key GAA matches on GAAGO.
‘If you want to watch the best matches in the GAA, you must buy GAAGO and that’s a shocking attitude for the GAA to have,’ Tom said. ‘The bottom line is that it’s a money-making exercise as they had to come up with something after Sky Sports pulled out last year. They are trying to fill that void. It is a good service. I had it for watching matches when I was in Australia during Easter, but they are taking the best of the games, especially the hurling, to promote their own product.’
There are also the technical issues where poor broadband will affect the service, he noted. Tom fears the GAA could be playing a ‘waiting game’ and may eventually screen all matches behind a paywall.
On Wednesday evening, the GAA said it would review the plan at the end of this season.
