Wednesday, April 9, 2008

GAA messing with fixture schedules for TV

GAA 2008: Kerry Cork postponement a sign of the times
My fear when the GAA announced the recent TV deals was that the TV companies would start dictating the throw-in times to the GAA and that this would have serious consequences on attendances at club matches.

But, to see the GAA itself altering fixtures in this manner is far worse. They are completely obsessed with television coverage. It's not as if it is the only way of promoting Gaelic games. 

I know there are lots of members of the GAA out there who like watching the big matches--the Munster Hurling Final is one of those must-see occasions for all GAA members. But, like you say Sean, the Munster Football Final certainly isn't.

2 comments:

Sean Mag Uidhir said...

Hi Ronan,
The new TV deal is only a forerunner of what's to come as the coverage of the games becomes more competitive. It's vital that the national broadcaster continues to feature in the shake-up because our games unlike soccer or rugby won't have any mass satellite audience and the games need to be available to the ordinary punter.
I have enjoyed the weekend coverage in recent years as a result of the qualifiers, there are about two weeks a year my partner is a GAA widow, but I hope we don't go the route of the 'Super' Sunday nonsense etc. Our games are good enough and don't need to be built up unlike some of the other sports on offer.

Sean Mag Uidhir said...

Hi Ronan,
The new TV deal is only a forerunner of what's to come as the coverage of the games becomes more competitive. It's vital that the national broadcaster continues to feature in the shake-up because our games unlike soccer or rugby won't have any mass satellite audience and the games need to be available to the ordinary punter.
I have enjoyed the weekend coverage in recent years as a result of the qualifiers, there are about two weeks a year my partner is a GAA widow, but I hope we don't go the route of the 'Super' Sunday nonsense etc. Our games are good enough and don't need to be built up unlike some of the other sports on offer.