GAAGO
GAAGO Logo
CountryIreland
Broadcast areaWorldwide
Ownership
OwnerRTÉ
Gaelic Athletic Association[1]
Sister channelsWatch LOI
History
Launched2014
Links
WebsiteGAAGO.ie

GAAGO is an Irish IPTV service jointly owned and operated by RTÉ and the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is a subscription-based sports channel aimed at an international market and at the Irish diaspora around the world. It features over 100 live and on demand Gaelic games over the year, a library of award-winning GAA documentaries as well as an archive of classic games from yesteryear.

History

As part of their broadcast rights deal, the GAA announced that it was to set up a new IPTV service for an international market. The service is owned by RTÉ and the GAA. It is run by RTÉ Digital.[2]

In 2020 GAAGO launched a similar streaming services for Irish Soccer called Watch LOI as the service provider for the Football Association of Ireland.[3]

After the GAA's broadcasting contract with Sky Sports expired in October 2022 and they did not seek contracts with producers on free-to-air channels such as Virgin Media Sport, it became the only place to watch certain games of the 2023 Munster Senior Hurling Championship.[4] This was criticised by some including Tánaiste Micheál Martin.[5]

After suspicion the service was operating beyond its clearance given by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in 2017, the commission opened an inquiry in May 2023 into the service's adherence to competition law.[6] RTÉ told the Irish Examiner that they believed that "CCPC approval was not needed".[7]

On 12 July 2023, senior GAA officials appeared before the Oireachtas Sport and Media Committee to defend the controversial GAAGO coverage of All-Ireland championships, saying broadcasting every championship match on TV was "not realistic" and not in the GAA's "interest".[8][9]

Programming

GAA

Presenters, pundits and commentators

The 2023 championship season was presented by Gráinne McElwain, alongside pundits Michael Murphy, Marc Ó Sé, Paddy Andrews, Séamus Hickey, Tommy Walsh and Eoin Cadogan,[10] while match commentary was provided by Dave McIntyre and Mike Finnerty.[11]

References

  1. ^ "TV3's audience reach left it out of GAA picture". Independent.ie.
  2. ^ "GAA and RTE Digital launch GAAGO". GAA.ie. 14 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Watch LOI Terms & Conditions". Watch LOI. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Explained: The controversy surrounding GAAGO". BreakingNews.ie. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Political heat rising over pay-per-view GAA games as Micheál Martin weighs in". Independent.ie. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  6. ^ McCarthy, Justin (16 July 2023). "Competition commission opens enquiry into GAAGO". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  7. ^ Mallon, Ian (14 July 2023). "Despite probe, RTÉ claims GAAGO does not need approval from watchdog". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  8. ^ "GAA chiefs face Oireachtas committee grilling over GAAGO". HoganStand.ie. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  9. ^ McCarthy, Justin (12 July 2023). "Commercial success of GAAGO means it is here to stay". RTÉ News. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  10. ^ "GAAGO.ie to stream 38 exclusive GAA Championship matches in 2023". GAA.ie. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  11. ^ "GAAGO commentary and reporting team announced". GAA.ie. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

External links

Television in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
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