THE GAA and RTÉ have both confirmed that the broadcast rights to National League games are distributed on an all-Ireland basis and should not be ‘geoblocked’.
Some viewers in the north have complained that the Saturday GAA Live game between Dublin and Armagh a week ago was blocked.
However, a spokesman for the GAA said rights to games are distributed on the basis that they will be available to viewers across the island.
“All of our rights are distributed on an all-Ireland basis,” a spokesman said.
RTÉ said the issue around the Dublin v Armagh game was not with them.
A spokesman said: “I can confirm that RTÉ has rights to the Allianz National Leagues on an all-island basis and that RTÉ is aware that the Saturday GAA Live game between Dublin and Armagh was unavailable to some viewers in Northern Ireland.
“This was an error by parties outside of RTÉ as Allianz National League games are, as stated, available to RTÉ viewers across the island of Ireland.
“RTÉ did not block the signal or cause the signal to be blocked on any third party platforms.”
SDLP MLA Justin McNulty said people in the north are hugely frustrated by the frequent blocking of RTÉ programmes.
“Every single Gael, in every single corner of this island, should have the ability to watch our national sport on the national broadcaster. It’s just that simple,” he said.
The former Armagh All-Ireland winner called on RTÉ to “take ownership of this issue and go above and beyond to find solutions”.
“I don’t for a second believe that there’s a clandestine plot at RTÉ to exclude the north, as it is clear that there are complicated hurdles in their way,” he said.
“But it’s equally clear to see that there is an indifference to the issue, and a lethargy in wanting to clear those obstacles.
“If RTÉ was serious about putting this right, then they would throw their full weight behind doing what needs to be done to secure the rights as well as overcoming any technical barriers to allow them to broadcast in the north.
“Persisting with those technical arguments and the minutia of contract law just does not cut it,” added the Newry and Armagh MLA.
