When the 2024 fixture schedule for GAAGO was released last week, it certainly would have raised a few eyebrows in Cork.
There will be some high profile matches in both codes shown on the streaming service, with games in the provincial and All-Ireland series set to be shown exclusively on the site.
That was expected, but it was perhaps a slight surprise to see how often Cork were set to feature. Three of the county's four Munster Senior Hurling Championship fixtures will be shown on GAAGO. Those games will be against Waterford, Clare, and Limerick.
Speaking to RTÉ, former Cork hurler Tomás Mulcahy said there was a sense of 'shock' relating to the amount of games on GAAGO.
The initial reaction is one of shock...
You'd maybe understand one (Cork game on GAAGO). Two at most. But three.
And there's a chance that if the Cork footballers are successful in their preliminary round against Limerick that you then will have Cork-Kerry behind a paywall as well.
There's something not right about this for me.
Explaining the reasoning behind this move, GAA President Larry McCarthy said it came down to RTÉ's decision to show other games on those weekends.
However, some feel Cork being shown so often on the streaming service is no coincidence.
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Pat Spillane questions amount of Cork games on GAAGO
Pat Spillane has mixed feelings about GAAGO, saying that while he can see the value in having such a service, he does not necessarily agree with the way it has been implemented.
Writing in the Sunday World, the Kerry man went as far as to suggest that Cork being shown so often on the streaming site could have been a deliberate choice in order to boost the amount of subscriptions it sells. He also said that he agrees with Donal Óg Cusack when it comes to a potential 'conflict of interest' at the centre of GAAGO.
I agree with his contention that there is a conflict of interest here. The GAA are the custodians of the game and not the exploiters, while RTÉ is primarily a public service broadcaster and not a private profit-making entity.
The cynic in me believes their decision to put three of Cork’s four championship games in the Munster hurling championship behind a paywall is a blatant marketing ploy.
Cork has potentially the biggest paying audience for GAA matches in the country. So, GAAGO went for the kill.
GAAGO is a joint venture between RTÉ and the GAA, with some previously questioning why the national broadcaster has essentially been given a monopoly when it comes to showing championship games after Sky Sports opted to exit the market.
As has been pointed out, the GAA feel that the service is an important part of the sport's coverage as it broadcasts fixtures that otherwise would not reach our television screens.
Quite a few people in Cork will certainly become very familiar with it in 2024.
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