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Sky Sports and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) have ended their broadcast partnership in the UK and Ireland after the two sides could not agree the terms of a new deal.
The two sides were said to b keen on extending their nine-year relationship until 2027 but lengthy negotiations failed to yield an agreement.
Pay-TV broadcaster Sky has shown fixtures from the All-Ireland Gaelic football and hurling championships since 2014 and reportedly wanted additional fixtures from the National League competitions in any future deal.
However, the GAA was reported to be unwilling to acquiesce to this request. A condensed season meant Sky would only have had 13 games from 2023 – another reason for parting ways.
“Despite our participation in the broadcast rights bidding process, lengthy negotiations and a strong willingness on both sides to continue our partnership, Sky and the GAA have been unable to reach a renewal agreement,” Sky Ireland chief executive JD Buckley said in a statement.
The GAA is expected to finalise its broadcast arrangements in the near future, with the Irish Independent suggesting that public service broadcaster the BBC could air the All-Ireland finals in the UK, bringing the GAA to an entirely new audience. BBC Northern Ireland already has some coverage.
The GAA has domestic rights deals with state broadcaster RTE and Irish language channel TG4, while matches are available internationally via the GAA Go streaming platform. Premier Sports, soon to be Viaplay, has the rights in the UK.
The GAA’s decision to take All-Ireland fixtures behind a paywall in 2014 was hugely controversial. Few sports organisations are as intrinsically part of a country’s national identity as the GAA, whose sports remain amateur and are supported by a network of clubs across the island of Ireland.
Many felt partnering with Sky undermined these values, especially since the rights were taken away from commercial free-to-air (FTA) broadcaster TV3. However, the GAA felt the additional revenues would prove invaluable in its mission to grow its games and community projects.
Although Sky’s games were also broadcast in the UK, it was a deal that focused mainly on adding value for subscribers in Ireland who might not be as interested in sports beyond soccer. Sky evidently saw value in the deal and wanted to expand it so that coverage would be spread across the calendar, rather than just the summer, and lower any potential churn.
The GAA will be hoping any future arrangement delivers the same financial and promotional uplift as its relationship with Sky.
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