TV rights deals to be finalised in New Year

GAELIC GAMES:The GAA are now unlikely to conclude their new championship television rights deals until the New Year. Four of the five main live packages have still to be agreed, but TV3 and Setanta are already set to share the All-Ireland championship coverage with RTÉ for the first time, writes Ian O'Riordan

The decision on which stations broadcast which matches is eagerly anticipated given TV3 have already broken the mould by securing the rights for the first package, which features seven provincial and three qualifier ties.

The new television rights will begin from the start of the 2008 championship next May and last for three years, and although the exact matches which TV3 has secured have not been decided, they will include two provincial finals, in either hurling or football.

While RTÉ are likely to maintain their grip on the championship coverage with exclusive rights to later rounds of the All-Ireland, the remaining four packages include some 120 games over the next three years. These include the All-Ireland finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals in package one, the remaining coverage of 10 provincial and All-Ireland qualifier games in package two, followed by packages four and five, which comprise of 10 picks from the earlier rounds.

Earlier this month it was announced that TV3 have agreed to pay the GAA around €6 million for what has been termed "the number three package" of live championship matches - but it's the top two packages that will bring in the big money, and probably bring the GAA's total media earnings over the next three years to over €20 million.

"These discussions are ongoing," explained the GAA's press officer Feargal McGill. "The next rounds of bids were submitted last week, and at this stage we're not anticipating an announcement on those packages until the New Year."

RTÉ's last one-year deal for the total championship rights package was around €4 million. But under the new deal, there are 25 packages in total divided among television, radio, internet and foreign coverage. Among the new agreements already decided under the first packages, UTV can now show clips of championship games, while Today FM have acquired the rights for "score flashes". RTÉ have also secured three sets of radio broadcast rights and one for "video-on-demand".

Naturally, the relevant stations are reluctant to disclose the exact nature of their bids for the remaining packages, although Niall Cogley, chief executive of Setanta Ireland, has gone on the record to state that their bid was limited to their basic channel Setanta Ireland, as opposed to any of their subscription packages, therefore ruling out the immediate threat of a "pay-per-view" championship package.

Yet the GAA aren't being rushed into a decision, and the upcoming league rights are already agreed, with TG4 still holding the rights to broadcast the Sunday league games, while Setanta have the rights to Saturday night games.

The new-layered sponsorship structure, similar to the Champions League format, is also influencing the negotiations on the television rights, as the stations will be required to use the various company names as part of their match day presentations.

Six companies, three for each code, are being sought for the next three years, worth a total of around 29.1 million - with the GAA reportedly pricing the All-Ireland football championship sponsorship at 5.1 million per company for three years and the hurling at 4.6 million.

GAA president Nickey Brennan has already insisted the television negotiations aren't all about money: "It's about looking at the whole presentation of our games and looking at how we can attract a new audience . . . all the big stuff is there on the table to be played for still but we feel there is an opportunity to broaden the appeal of Gaelic games to a new audience."

Meanwhile, the GAA have confirmed the dates for the All-Ireland club championship semi-finals. In hurling, Portumna of Galway will play Loughmore-Castleiney of Tipperary and Birr of Offaly will play Dunloy of Antrim on February 24th.

In football, there will be a quarter-final between Tír Chonaill Gaels of London and and Crossmaglen of Armagh in Ruislip on January 27th; the winners will play St Vincent's of Dublin, also on February 24th, while on the same day the other semi-final features Ballina of Mayo against Nemo Rangers of Cork. Venues have yet to be decided, but the finals, as usual, will be played in Croke Park on St Patrick's Day.

Meanwhile, the executive of the Laois county board met last night to investigate the scenes which marred Saturday's under-21 football championship semi-final replay between Portlaoise and St Joseph's/Barrowhouse, where a St Joseph's player was reportedly knocked unconscious.