Gaelic Games

GAAGo to bring Sunday Game to over 150 countries

Also added to 2015 package will be access to Allianz Leagues, Minor and U21 Championships and club finals

At the launch of the 2015 GAAGO Season, the GAA and RTÉ announced that GAAGO, the online streaming service for Gaelic Games outside of Ireland will more than double the number of games being shown internationally and will stream The Sunday Game highlights show which will be available to watch globally for the first time. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
At the launch of the 2015 GAAGO Season, the GAA and RTÉ announced that GAAGO, the online streaming service for Gaelic Games outside of Ireland will more than double the number of games being shown internationally and will stream The Sunday Game highlights show which will be available to watch globally for the first time. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Eamon Donoghue
Thu Dec 04 2014 - 15:42

The GAA and RTÉ's subscription-based online streaming service, GAAGo, is set to expand next year to include The Sunday Game highlights show, the Allianz Leagues and other intercounty underage and club action.

Offering live GAA games to audiences from Bermuda to Bahrain for the first time last year, the new service proved largely to be a success, with GAA fans from over 150 countries gaining access to live All-Ireland championship action.

Among the subscribers last year were fans from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Iraq, Jordan and Jamaica, while fans from Great Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and Spain amassed the highest amount of views.

New Package

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Moving forward to 2015 and The Sunday Game highlights show will now also be available to watch live globally on the day of transmission, as well as on-demand.

Also added to the package will be access to the Allianz Leagues, the Electric Ireland GAA Football and Hurling Minor Championships (6 matches - semi-finals and finals), the AIB GAA Senior Club Finals, the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U21 Championship final, and the GAA Football U21 Championship final.

A tremendous success

GAA director general Páraic Duffy last year explained that ‘the GAA cannot treat our emigrants abroad as second class citizens.’

And 12 months on he’s heralded the debut season as being “a tremendous success in helping us to bring our games as they are broadcast at home to our members and supporters right around the globe. The feedback and general reaction after the first year was hugely positive and we are confident of building on the positive start with the enhanced package of games on offer in year two.”

Whilst Noel Curran, Director General, RTÉ, described the service's introducution as an historic step for RTÉ and the GAA, "who have a long and proud shared history".

The Sunday Game

Discussing the availability of The Sunday Game Highlights Show internationally, Des Cahill, Presenter of the show, said “The Sunday Game has been going strong for 35 years, and has been essential viewing on Sunday evenings for many people in Ireland over that time.

“It’s great to know that GAA fans, and fans of the show, even if they are thousands of miles from home, can now watch the show. GAA supporters, no matter where they are in the world, can now get involved in the discussion and debate on The Sunday Game, and I know that’s important to them.”

Prices

A worldwide GAAGo Season Pass (excluding Ireland and Great Britain) is priced at €160 and will provide online access to over 100 televised matches, live and on-demand, as broadcast by RTÉ, TG4, Setanta and Sky Sports, in addition to 20 episodes of The Sunday Game highlights show. The cost of the GAAGo Season Pass is the equivalent of €1.33 per event, down from €2.24 per event in 2014.

There are also packages available for viewers within Great Britain, minus Sky Sports’ broadcast games, as well as pay-per-game options.

Eamon Donoghue

Eamon Donoghue

Eamon Donoghue is a former Irish Times journalist