Contrived GAAGo ‘row’ is merely a political sliotar

You could set your watch by it really: as soon as the Cork hurlers appear on GAAGo, or the Limerick hurlers lose an immaterial epic, the immediate backlash from supporters complain about the game being behind a paywall.

I was fascinated to see the pushback online against a report last Friday by Marty Morrissey, who correctly cited the condensed championship seasons as the reason many prime fixtures aren’t on free-to-air telly. He’s right: it’s a three-month season with more games involved. Limerick completed their four-in-a-row in 2023 with seven games in three months. Kilkenny only played four games to do it in 2009; this year it could involve eight, possibly nine.

The pushback was indistinct but seemed to suggest RTÉ, instead of renting the games online, should put them on telly for free. Speaking practically, that means four or five games every weekend. RTÉ has responsibilities to other codes too: where would it fit the URC, the Champions Cup final, the Champions League, or Euro 2024?

Incidentally, buying a greater portfolio of matches means RTÉ spending more on TV rights. You may have heard: RTÉ isn’t exactly swimming in money right now. Perhaps the politicians making a political sliotar of this could suggest how much the licence fee ought to rise as a result.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to have a problem with GAAGo: its inaccessibility for those without tech savvy or good broadband, and its status as a collaboration with RTE, at the cost of squeezing out other broadcasters who might want to get in.

But it’s funny how the complaints only emerge when it’s Cork beating Limerick, and not Carlow’s heroic draw with Kilkenny. The GAA didn’t even organise a launch event for the Joe McDonagh Cup this year. So what are people really upset about: showcasing hurling, or scoring easy points in an election cycle?