GAA rule out pay-per-view matches

The GAA have again refused to rule out putting live championship matches on subscription channels although making clear there were no plans to take that road in the short term.

Asked might this happen - the next round of broadcasting rights negotiations are due to go to tender at the end of this year - Dermot Power, commercial and marketing manager, didn't exclude the possibility.

"Never say never. There are a number of issues we look at and obviously, the reach is very important but you don't know the way television rights are going to develop in the future and what reach a company like Setanta might have. I wouldn't say it would never happen but it's unlikely to be in the near future."

Setanta last year became the first broadcaster in Ireland to transmit live coverage of GAA matches on a subscription basis when the company were awarded the rights to Saturday evening floodlit league matches.

There has been criticism of this departure in certain quarters but Power denied the era of pay-per-view had arrived. "We see Setanta as a subscription channel, not pay-per-view. We haven't allowed, and have no plans to allow, matches to be shown on that basis. Ironically, some of the criticism we've been getting is from people saying they don't want the whole package, just one match. Our position is we don't allow pay-per-view matches but a subscription channel doesn't cause us that difficulty."

Power added that the allocation of television rights had assisted the growth of TG4 and was also benefiting Setanta, whose relationship with Croke Park goes back to its acquisition of the GAA overseas television rights 10 years ago. We like to think we helped TG4 develop and we'd like to think we'll help Setanta develop, Setanta have been very good partners of ours in the context of the international rights."

The death has taken place of distinguished former Cork hurler Dave Creedon. Goalkeeper on the county's three-in-a-row teams from 1952-'54, he also won nine county medals with his club Glen Rovers. The third final saw Creedon's clubmate Christy Ring collect his then record eighth All-Ireland medal and attracted 84,856 - the biggest crowd ever to attend a hurling match.