''Championship Live'' is

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...

's main Gaelic games

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

programme. Typically, it is shown on Virgin Media One (formerly known as "TV3") on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons during the All-Ireland championships in both hurling and football, showing live coverage of the day's match.

History

In 2007 it was announced that TV3 had signed a three-year deal with the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

which would see the independent station broadcast thirty games between 2008 and 2010. While

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and

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

had shown National League and club championship games before, this was the first time since 1962 that senior inter-county championship games would not be screened exclusively on RTÉ. TV3 also announced that '' Championship Throw-In'', a weekly magazine programme, would also be broadcast. All of the new GAA-themed programmes were launched at Croke Park on 15 May 2008. Following the completion of the initial three-year deal in 2010, the GAA were satisfied to give TV3 an expanded role in Gaelic games broadcasting. A second three-year deal saw the station get exclusive rights to broadcast eleven matches, albeit only one match more than the original deal, however, the deal now included All-Ireland football quarter-finals and both All-Ireland minor finals.

Series 1

For the first series the programme started an hour before throw-in and remained on air for an hour after the end of the game. ''Championship Live'' was broadcast for the first time on Sunday 1 June 2008. The programme was broadcast live from the

Gaelic Grounds The Gaelic Grounds, know for sponsorshop reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the Irish city of Limerick, home to the Limerick hurling and football teams. It has a capacity of 44,023. History 9 October 1926 saw ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and featured the Munster Hurling Championship quarter-final between Clare and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. The other games broadcast during the first series were the Leinster Football Championship quarter-final between

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

, both Leinster Football Championship semi-finals, the Leinster Hurling Championship final, the Connacht Football Championship final, the Ulster Football Championship final and one game each from the three rounds of the All-Ireland football qualifiers.

Series 2

The second series of ''Championship Live'' followed the same format as the first series. Once again TV3 had exclusive rights to ten championship games. The opening programme of the second series was broadcast on 7 June 2009 and featured coverage of the Munster Football Championship semi-final clash between

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

. The other games covered live included one Munster Hurling Championship semi-final, one Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final, the Munster Football Championship final, the Leinster Football Championship final, the Connacht Football Championship final and the Leinster Hurling Championship final. TV3 were also granted "first pick" rights to the last three rounds of the All-Ireland football qualifiers. qualifying rounds.

Series 3

The first programme in the third series of ''Championship Live'' aired on 14 June 2010. Broadcast live from the studio in Croke Park, that programme featured the Leinster Football Championship quarter-final between Dublin and

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

. The following week ''Championship Live'' broadcast their very first "double header" with a Leinster Hurling Championship semi-final and a Munster Hurling Championship semi-final. One week later the programme monopolised Gaelic games coverage once again with a "double header" featuring a Leinster Football Championship semi-final a Connacht Football Championship semi-final. TV3 also had the exclusive rights to the Munster Football Championship final, the Connacht Football Championship final and also had "first pick" rights in the decisive qualifying rounds of the All-Ireland football qualifiers.

Series 4

After the renewal of the broadcasting contract with the GAA, the first ''Championship Live'' of the fourth series aired on 5 June 2011. That programme was broadcast live from the Croke Park studio and featured the Leinster Football Championship quarter-final between Dublin and

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

. The other games covered live included one Munster Hurling Championship semi-final, the Leinster Hurling Championship final, the Connacht Football Championship final, the Ulster Football Championship final, "first pick" rights for the second and fourth rounds of the All-Ireland football qualifiers, two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals and both All-Ireland minor finals.

Presenters, pundits and commentators

Former newspaper editor and

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a l ...

presenter Matt Cooper was unveiled as the presenter of ''Championship Live'' at the show's launch in 2008 while three guest panelists usually join him for each match. The inaugural ''Championship Live'' team also included commentators Mike Finnerty and

Trevor Welch Trevor Welch is an Irish sports commentator who worked for TV3 from 1998 until 2012. He continues to covers TV3's live coverage of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League and up to April 2012 he was the regular presenter of the sp ...

, while TV3's Gaelic Games correspondent Kieran McSweeney and

TV3 News Virgin Media News (formerly TV3 News and then 3News Ireland) is the news division of Virgin Media Television in Ireland, owned by Liberty Global. The news division produces news and current affairs programming for free-to-air channels Virgin ...

's sports reporter Sinéad Kissane were included as sideline reporters. Welch left the Gaelic games programme in 2009 in favour of concentrating on TV3's soccer coverage. He was replaced by Seán Walsh from

Galway Bay FM Galway Bay FM is an Irish independent local radio station and operates under a licence from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. Established in 1989, the station broadcasts from studios in Galway, serving the city and County Galway. Programm ...

. The programme's hurling analysts are

Nicky English Nicholas J. "Nicky" English (born 20 October 1962) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-forward at senior level for the Tipperary county team. Born in Cullen, County Tipperary, English first played competitive Gaelic games during h ...

Jamesie O'Connor Jamesie O'Connor (born 28 July 1972) is an Irish former hurler who played as a midfielder for the Clare senior hurling team. O'Connor made his first appearance for the team during the 1992–93 National League and became a regular member o ...

, Liam Griffin and

Daithí Regan Daithí Regan (born 1968 in Birr, County Offaly) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Birr and was a member of the Offaly senior inter-county team between 1989 and 1999. Regan currently works as a hurling ...

. The football analysts are David Brady,

Peter Canavan Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Ch ...

Senan Connell Senan Connell is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Na Fianna club on Dublin's Northside and for the Dublin county team. Senan operated in the half forward line for Dublin. He made his debut for Dublin in a national league match ...

Paul Earley Paul Earley (born 3 July 1964) is a former Irish sportsman who played Australian rules football for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Gaelic football for the Roscommon county team. Earley was the first player recruited f ...

Joe Kernan Joe Kernan or Joseph Kernan may refer to: * Joe Kernan (baseball), 19th-century American baseball player * Joe Kernan (Gaelic footballer) (born 1954) * Joe Kernan (politician) (1946–2020), American politician * Joseph D. Kernan (born 1955), Uni ...

and Eugene McGee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Championship Live Gaelic games on television Virgin Media Television (Ireland) original programming