Sky and RTÉ retain the same GAA championship TV deal

There will be no change in the packaging of this summer's live GAA championship matches broadcast by RTÉ and Sky Sports.

Although the specific games of each broadcaster have yet to be confirmed, RTÉ will again show a total of 31 live games, while Sky Sports will broadcast a total of 20 live games – of which 14 are exclusive to the satellite platform.

This is the same package of matches agreed under the three-year TV rights deal announced this time last year by the GAA, and the cause of some considerable controversy at the time. It had been suggested that Sky may be seeking some higher profile games, although that hasn’t proved true.

RTÉ will confirm their exact schedule of games next week, their 31 games the same amount of matches as under the previous deal before Sky joined in: this RTÉ package includes all six provincial finals, and the All-Ireland finals and semi-finals in both codes.

Qualifiers

Sky’s package of 14 exclusively live games will again be made up of eight Saturday evening qualifiers, two All-Ireland football championship quarter-finals (involving the Leinster and Ulster champions), two Saturday evening provincial championship games, and two Sunday provincial championship games.

The six non-exclusive games will be the All-Ireland finals, in both codes, and the four All-Ireland semi-finals.

"We are looking at the same package of games, the majority of which go out on the Saturday evening," confirmed Mark Deering, spokesman for Sky Ireland. "We will be announcing the exact schedule in the coming weeks, but there is no change to what was agreed in the three-year package."

Sky experienced modest viewing figures last summer, although these did improve as the championship progressed. Sky interest peaked for the Wexford-Waterford hurling qualifier in July, when more than 60,000 tuned in to see Liam Dunne’s team progress to the quarter-finals.