GAA and TV rights: Seán Moran on the GAA's reaction to the FAI deal and its concerns over Government plans to draw up a list of protected events

The GAA has reiterated its concern about the prospect of the Government legislating for the protection of certain sports events for terrestrial broadcast. The response comes in the wake of the FAI's deal with BSkyB giving exclusive live rights to Irish soccer home internationals. This controversy has forced the Goverment into action - they have promised that a list of protected events will be compiled and their free-to-air transmission guaranteed.

"Any change in legislation of that nature is something we would have concerns about," said Dermot Power, the GAA's commercial and marketing manager.

Three months ago in his report to the GAA's annual congress, director general Liam Mulvihill spelt out the association's opposition to such provisions asking that it be borne in mind that:

The GAA has never proposed that its games be tied into a non-terrestrial broadcaster.

The list system discriminates very severely against a mainly domestic organisation.

If the list of protected events were drawn up, there would be an onus on the State to see that the Irish sporting organisations were paid a fair price for their product.

There has been frustration in Croke Park over a number of years that RTÉ, as the sole broadcaster interested in or capable of covering the games, has been effectively operating a monopoly. Realistically, however, a deal such as the FAI's with BSkyB would be politically impossible for the GAA to sell to its members.

There is also a balance to be struck between the impact on audience figures of moving games from terrestrial television and the financial benefits of such a move.

"The financial element is critical but it is only an element," according to Power. "The audience you reach is also important. We have a wide demographic and a grassroots membership that would have strong views on the matter.

"What we are looking for is a competitive, free market - in other words to get the market value. Ireland's probably not the most competitive market but competition does exist. We have had genuine expressions of interest in our product. But in the future the impact of digital transmission will transform the market anyway." Already the advent of digital television has had an effect with - ironically - RTÉ's decision - after abandoning their own digital plans - to become part of BSkyB's digital platform. This created problems in Britain, which is part of the GAA's international rights territory - as outlined by Mulvihill at this year's congress.

"A further complicating factor is that an RTÉ agreement with Sky Digital would enable RTÉ to broadcast our games directly to Britain, which would be in contravention of the international deal done with Setanta Sport . . . and the GAA will be determined to protect the agreements already entered into in good faith."

Consequently RTÉ's live broadcasts of championship matches are blanked out of the digital signal to prevent viewers in Britain acquiring Irish smartcards in order to access the matches.

Anecdotal evidence suggests this is happening in holiday resorts in Europe where there is a large tourist trade from Ireland, so that The Sunday Game can be viewed.

The events of the past few days have enhanced the GAA's importance to RTÉ's sports output. Power declined to comment on the implications of that, pointing out: "At the moment we're simply into the second year of three-year deal. Although the rights market isn't growing, we are now offering far more matches than even two years ago."

Coincidentally the GAA's matches are about to be launched on a special Setanta subscription channel in Britain.

This will enable the interested audience to access championship fixtures live at home rather than travel to a close-circuit viewing.

Transmissions began last weekend on a trial free-to-air basis and will soon be available as a package.

"Yes, on subscription," said Power. "The Irish audience in Britain is more dispersed than it used to be. We're not talking anymore just about a pub environment. For people living outside the cities, there's a demand and for families with children who parents don't want to bring to pubs."

In the past All-Ireland finals used to be broadcast on BBC 2 and Channel 4. But that's over 10 years ago and terrestrial British television has not been interested in such broadcasts since.