RTÉ considers sharing 2016 sports rights

RTÉ is understood to be considering sublicensing various 2016 sports rights to other broadcasters, including TV3, to balance its books next year.

It is expected to hold talks with a number of Irish broadcasters about the possibility of sharing coverage of the big sports events to which it holds the rights.

TV3 said it was interested in "taking on the burden" of coverage, including perhaps some Euro 2016 fixtures or part of the action from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "We are offering to take on any rights that RTÉ would make available under sublicensing arrangements," TV3 Group commercial director Pat Kiely said.

Next year is set to be expensive for RTÉ, with Euro 2016, the Olympics, the general election and the 1916 centenary commemorations, on top of its GAA coverage and its penultimate broadcast of the Six Nations rugby championship.

Budget

“We would imagine everything is crying for a piece of the budget,” Mr Kiely said. “It clearly would be a burden for RTÉ to do it all, and they are going to be under pressure to pay for everything. They’re going to have a very tough year.”

As well as possible sublicensing deals in 2016, TV3 is also keen to bid for sports rights in partnership with RTÉ in future, partly to lock out other broadcasters, but also because of the high costs involved.

In the UK, the BBC has allied with commercial rival ITV on Six Nations rights to see off a threat from pay-TV operators. Mr Kiely said he envisaged a “new world” where RTÉ and TV3 share rights “and the winner is the Irish viewer”.

TV3 Group, which is in the process of being acquired by the Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media, recently outbid RTÉ on the rights to the Six Nations. The four-year deal kicks in in 2018.

Before then, it may decide to chase GAA rights. The current three-year deal, in which Sky has the rights to 14 exclusive matches, expires after next year, and the bidding process for the rights from 2017 will open soon. If TV3 bids for GAA rights, it is likely to pursue a bigger chunk than it has held in the past, so it can justify the resulting investment in marketing and studio operations and also put together more attractive packages to advertisers.

Mr Kiely responded to criticism that TV3 had shown too many ads at half-time during the Rugby World Cup, saying it had never exceeded its 12-minute-per-hour regulatory maximum.