GAAGO is an Irish

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

service jointly owned and operated by RTÉ and 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 ...

. It is a subscription-based sports channel aimed at an international market and at the Irish diaspora around the world. It features over 100 live and on demand Gaelic games over the year, a library of award-winning GAA documentaries as well as an archive of classic games from yesteryear.

History

As part of their broadcast rights deal, the GAA announced that it was to set up a new IPTV service for an international market. The service is owned by RTÉ and the GAA. It is run by RTÉ Digital. In 2020 GAAGO launched a similar streaming services for Irish Soccer called Watch LOI as the service provider for the Football Association of Ireland. After the GAA's broadcasting contract with Sky Sports expired in October 2022 and they did not seek contracts with producers on free-to-air channels such as

Virgin Media Sport Virgin Media Sport (formerly TV3 Sport) is a sports production unit at Virgin Media Television in Ireland which produces specialist sports content for its television channels Virgin Media One, Virgin Media Two, and Virgin Media Three. The depa ...

, it became the only place to watch certain games of the

2023 Munster Senior Hurling Championship The 2023 Munster Senior Hurling Championship was the 2023 installment of the annual Munster Senior Hurling Championship organised by Munster GAA. The competition began on Sunday, 23 April 2023. Limerick, who entered the competition as four tim ...

. This was criticised by some including

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...

. After suspicion the service was operating beyond its clearance given by the

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the Competition regulator in Ireland. It is an Irish state agency established in 2014, combining the previous functions of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. ...

in 2017, the commission opened an inquiry in May 2023 into the service's adherence to competition law. RTÉ told the '' Irish Examiner'' that they believed that "CCPC approval was not needed". On 12 July 2023, senior GAA officials appeared before the Oireachtas Sport and Media Committee to defend the controversial GAAGO coverage of All-Ireland championships, saying broadcasting every championship match on TV was "not realistic" and not in the GAA's "interest".

Programming

;GAA * Allianz Leagues games * GAA Championship Coverage

Presenters, pundits and commentators

The 2023 championship season was presented by Gráinne McElwain, alongside pundits

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

Marc Ó Sé Marc Ó Sé (born 25 April 1980) is an Irish sportsman. A teacher by profession, he works in the CBS in Tralee Co. Kerry, he played Gaelic football for the Kerry county team from 2002 until 2016 and played with his local club team An Ghaeltac ...

Paddy Andrews Patrick Andrews (1913-1981) was an Irish footballer who played as a midfielder in the League of Ireland. Andrews was a part of the Bohemians amateur team of the late 1920s and early 1930s. He won full international caps for Irish Free State, ...

Séamus Hickey Séamus Hickey (born 2 October 1987) is an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Murroe-Boher from 2005 to 2019 and is now a member of the Croagh-Kilfinny club. Hickey was a member of the Limerick senior inter-county tea ...

, Tommy Walsh and Eoin Cadogan, while match commentary was provided by Dave McIntyre and Mike Finnerty.

References

External links

* {{Television in Ireland Sports mass media in Ireland Television channels and stations established in 2014