RTE lines up bid for rights to Irish away games

RTÉ today confirmed that it has entered a joint bid with the BBC for the rights to televise the away soccer matches of Ireland, England and Scotland.

However, an RTÉ spokeswoman told ireland.comthat as the national broadcaster, it has a limited budget. It may therefore find it difficult to compete with rivals for the rights.

It has been reported that Sky television has already bid €17 million to be allowed to show three of Ireland’s four away matches in the forthcoming European Championship qualifying campaign. Sky would not confirm the figure this morning and RTÉ declined to comment.

Sky has already signed a €7.5 million deal with the FAI to show Ireland's home matches on its subscription sports channels.

The rights to screen Ireland’s matches in Georgia, Russia and Switzerland are held by Sports5. The licence to show Ireland’s other away game in Albania is owned by a different company.

The news will compound the misery for Irish soccer fans who are looking increasingly unlikely to be able to watch the Republic’s home matches for free.

The Wednesday deadline set by the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, for the FAI to cancel their €7.5 million deal with Sky over the rights to Ireland’s home matches looks set to be broken.

During a meeting with top FAI officials last Friday, Mr Ahern reportedly warned the soccer body the Government could force them to cancel the deal, ensuring the broadcasting of the games on domestic TV stations.

It is understood the FAI is unlikely to bow down to the Government demands. "The FAI has a firm contract. It is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to unwind this," a source told The Irish Timesat the weekend.

The RTÉ spokeswoman said they were awaiting the outcome of the situation, but they were still eager to bid for the rights to show the home games.

The Government has insisted it intends to go through the legal system if necessary to ensure the matches are available free to the public.

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, said the Attorney General, Mr Rory Brady, had advised him the Government was in a good position legally and he was confident they would be successful in any legal bid. His preferred option, however, would be for an amicable solution being worked out with the FAI.

The Cabinet will meet on Wednesday morning to discuss the situation and hear Mr Ahern’s plans to keep certain key sporting events on terrestrial television channels.