While we should be speaking about an enticing few days action of GAA action ahead, much of the conversation in the buildup to this weekend's All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals has been dominated by the use of GAAGO.
The streaming service is set to show two games on Saturday, with Kerry vs Tyrone and Armagh vs Monaghan both set to be broadcast on the site. That means that those games will be behind a paywall and not available on terrestrial television.
That is something that has not gone down well in many quarters, with some believing that this is the latest example of supporters being exploited for financial gain.
Of course, all of this is going on amid the scandal currently engulfing RTÉ, who own 50 per cent of GAAGO.
Joe Brolly calls out RTÉ & GAA over use of GAAGO
Joe Brolly has long been a critic of putting championship games behind a paywall, something that has only intensified since the ramped up use of GAAGO.
Speaking on Ocean FM, the former RTÉ pundit hammered the GAA and the national broadcaster for what he felt was a clear exploitation of supporters by putting big fixtures such as Kerry vs Tyrone on the streaming site.
These games are often for the community, that's what the GAA is supposed to be.
We've got a situation now where we've got a public service broadcaster (RTÉ), and it's really a sham public service broadcaster, whose service is really to the community, and we discover that two of the senior executives in RTÉ are directors of a private company in GAAGO.
It's a profit making company designed to make profit. What they're doing is hiving off many of the best games and putting them behind a paywall to maximise profit.
You've got a massive conflict of interest...
This is about elderly people all around Donegal, Sligo, Mayo. My own father in-law for example, doesn't know how to work GAAGO and hasn't got adequate streaming, he is in a wheelchair because he had a stroke. His great delight is the games and he's not going to be able to see one of the biggest games of the year this weekend.
It's not good enough, everyone knows it's not good enough. It's this contemptuous treatment of our elderly people where the GAA and RTÉ conspired together to put most of the Munster (hurling) championship behind the paywall. They've put in my opinion the biggest game of the weekend behind a paywall (Kerry vs Tyrone).
That speaks for itself. It's something that simply should not happen.
It was confirmed to Balls that Dee Forbes has also resigned her position on the board of GAAGO as well as her place within RTÉ.
The link between RTÉ and GAAGO is something that has troubled quite a few people in recent times.
Once Sky Sports decided to forfeit their GAA broadcasting rights, a deal was quickly struck that allowed the streaming site to fill the gap they had left in the market. It was an agreement that upset many, with Virgin Media among those that claimed no attempt was made to allow other broadcasters to enter negotiations for the rights.
The scrutiny has only intensified as we have seen a number of eye-catching games shown exclusively on the service, moving them away from traditional television broadcasts.
Joe Brolly has labelled the whole thing as 'an enormous conflict of interest', believing the agreement goes against everything RTÉ is meant to stand for.
If you think RTÉ are in the slightest concerned about audience over profit, you are dreaming. This is why everyone pays their licence, they're supposed to all for the people, the way the GAA are.
The reality now is that they're maximising profit. You've got a pretence that they're a public service broadcaster that is doing its best for the people of Ireland, but on the other hand they're screwing the people of Ireland.
That's the reality of it. That's why I say there is an enormous conflict of interest...
The problem now is that this is becoming normalised, we're becoming used to it. I hope that what is happening now is a turning point, that people will say 'this is not good enough and we will no longer tolerate this'...
The whole thing is extremely murky. All this is happening with our games now.
These deals are being done behind closed doors to put massive games behind a paywall, in circumstances where we have so many people who love the games and rely on them as a lifeline, who won't be able to see these games this weekend.
I think that is a scandal.
Strong words. You can listen to the conversation in full here.
This is the final weekend of the inter-county season that big games will be shown exclusively on GAAGO, although that is unlikely to end the debate around the use of the service moving forward.
The GAA certainly have a big decision to make on its place in the sport moving forward.
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