GAA+ MUST HAVE its share of “plum games” in order to be recognised as a credible streaming platform, according to the GAA’s director of communications.

Alan Milton has said that the Association will “never” broadcast all inter-county games, while explaining the GAA has to “future-proof” its live-coverage offering. 

The streaming service, which was rebranded from GAAGO after the GAA acquired full ownership of the platform from previous partners RTÉ, carries 40 exclusive championship matches. 

It boasts the first pick for many Saturday fixtures, including Tipperary v Clare last weekend and Kerry v Donegal this weekend. It will also exclusively broadcast two All-Ireland football quarter-finals.

“GAA+ can’t just carry games that are of mediocre interest,” Milton told Morning Ireland.

“From time to time, depending on how the games fall, how they’re scheduled by the CCC (competitions control committee), and the packages that GAA+ has, they will get some plum games, and I think they need to. 

“If it’s to be a credible platform for broadcast, it needs to have games that are high billing or high attraction.

If the GAA is savvy in this space, it quite simply has to future-proof our offering. We’re involved in a lot of infrastructural projects and when you reinvest 83% of what comes in, we have to be efficient and forward-thinking.”

Milton said that the GAA broadcast 300 games per year, with 90% getting free-to-air coverage.

He also pointed out that there has been investment in a GAA+ studio, which hosts a series of weekly magazine-style programmes on social media.

GAA+ presenter Aisling O'Reilly and pundit Paddy McBrearty. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

There are “no plans” to increase the €95 subscription fee “at the moment”, Milton added.

“We’re in the fourth year of the five-year media cycle,” he said. “If another free-to-air partner was to come into play or express an interest, that changes the landscape, but in an era where we’ve lost five media correspondents from traditional media, it’s imperative that the GAA is bulking up its offering on digital and social and other platforms.”

Milton said that some of the commentary concerning senior citizens being able to access GAA+ “quite simply can be disparaging”, while noting the challenge of catering for everyone “from eight to 88”.

Concerns over the promotion of hurling have been repeatedly raised, with Milton referring to the lack of hurling action on TV last weekend as “an anomaly”, adding: 

RTÉ could have chosen two Waterford games recently and chose not to. In fairness to RTÉ, they’re dealing with the same conundrum and they’ve placed their eggs in the baskets of having provincial finals on TV, which the nation expects. 

“If RTÉ weren’t to pick the provincial finals, they would get it in the ear. That’s the tightrope people walk. 

“Don’t forget we’ve reconfigured our season and it’s the way to go for our clubs, but we have a shorter season and we’ve more games. We have two codes, both of which are fundamentally different in structure. So it is a challenge in the landscape to try and offer the best coverage. 

“You’re probably not going to satisfy everybody all of the time, but I’d like to think there’s a fair offering out there for people who are willing to engage with the technology and blended with free-to-air.”

Milton said GAA+ subscription numbers are not published for “commercial reasons”.