LAST UPDATE | 5 Sep 2024
THE LEAGUE OF Ireland Premier Division game between Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers will be televised as planned after a potential blackout was averted.
As reported by The 42 on Thursday morning, Shamrock Rovers have confirmed that positive talks took place earlier this week between Hoops chief executive John Martin and RTÉ head of sport Declan McBennett.
A club statement read: “After much media coverage and recent debate, a meeting was convened and attended by Shamrock Rovers FC, RTÉ TV Sport and the FAI in relation to national TV coverage of Irish football, with particular reference to recent European ties.
“Following the meeting between the three parties, we can confirm that progress has been made in regard to having a clearer transparency of the perspectives of each party in relation to broadcast TV coverage of Irish teams in European competitive tournaments and, of our domestic league.
It was a productive meeting; a professional, informative and respectful sharing of views which allowed all parties understand clearly the realities facing each other.
“The expectation is that, with the strategic input of the FAI, media broadcasters and critically, the professional football clubs, this will result in the continual improvement of TV coverage of Irish football teams across the football season.
“Shamrock Rovers look forward to the broadcast of our next fixture against Sligo Rovers live on RTÉ2 on 13 September from Tallaght Stadium.”
Rovers and RTÉ had been in dispute since the League of Ireland champions released a statement last month criticising RTÉ’s decision not to televise any of their games in Europe over the summer. Rovers said at the time that the club was “considering if it will facilitate any future requests from the national broadcaster” for the remainder of the season.
Their frustration came to a head after it was confirmed that neither leg of their Europa League play-off with PAOK would be shown, with RTÉ explaining how they informed the FAI last November that “for financial and editorial reasons” none of the European games for League of Ireland clubs would be shown.
RTÉ later chose the visit of the Bit O’Red to Tallaght Stadium on 13 September for live broadcast as part of their domestic coverage, and Rovers responded by saying they were still “considering its position on the matter.”
The 42 reported on Thursday morning that RTÉ’s head of sport Declan McBennett and Rovers CEO John Martin met on Monday with a further chat on Wednesday, and sources explained that robust and positive discussions were held that ultimately satisfied Rovers and some of their wider concerns regarding TV arrangements.
St Patrick’s Athletic’s historic Uefa Conference League play-off with Istanbul Basaksehir was also not shown by RTÉ, and was equally ignored by Virgin Media and Premier Sports.
Stephen Kenny’s side were beaten 2-0 on aggregate by the Turkish club and returned to action in the Premier Division on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Drogheda United.
Their clash with Dundalk had been scheduled between the two legs in Europe but was hastily re-arranged after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
That game with the Lilywhites, who sit bottom of the table, takes place in Oriel Park this evening and Kenny has urged his squad to maintain their impressive European form for their remaining eight games, despite a top-four spot seemingly out of reach.
“We’ve challenged the players to try to replicate the intensity and the quality of our performances in Europe and translate that to our league form between now and the end of the season.
“You are never sure coming back off a European game, especially with the tight turnaround, but the lads were excellent against Drogheda United and will need to raise their levels again.
“Every team in the league is fighting for something, all the games are difficult and facing Dundalk will be no different. The players have recovered well over the last couple of days since Sunday and trained well. We’re ready for the game.”
- Originally published at 6am; updated at 9:44am with statement from Shamrock Rovers
There are nine other teams in the Premier Division, show some of them games instead!!!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: or better still, don’t show any.
@Ray Ridge: Oh shut up.
@Richard Ford: He’s some dose is Ray
@Ray Ridge: you’re one insufferable bell end.
Let’s face it, if RTE started showing Carlow Junior B hurling matches it would provide more entertainment than any LOI match.
@Stanley Marsh:
If you don’t know the game don’t comment
@Stanley Marsh: its gas. Rte could show top class rugby, I mean the best of the best and I’d be bored to tears. However of I can’t get to a loi game I love watching one on tv. It’s almost as if people have different tastes!
@Stanley Marsh: There is no Junior B hurling in Carlow. Only three grades – Senior, Intermediate and Junior. Shows what you know…
@John Dozy: Stanley just got owned
@John Dozy: Oh well that fact negates the whole thrust of my observation then doesn’t it and consequently somehow elevates the quality of the LOI…..
@Stanley Marsh: you negated the ‘thrust’ with your claim.
Ps. The average crowd at a Carlow Junior hurling match is about 50 people. the lowest average gate in the LOI premier is Drogheda (2,000). Which is also the capacity of their ground. Go figure.
@Fergus Desmond: I’ve watched LOI games since the 70s and each time I regret it and wonder why I bothered.
Time goes by and I relent and give it another chance on the assumption that it must have improved but no it’s still dross and is to this day.
Even ‘football’ people who go to matches (e.g. Off the Ball) have been stunned by the quality recently.
To illustrate the lack of quality last week they gave a run down of the form of the teams from 1 to 10 in the table and it was a shocking tale of ‘haven’t won a match in…, haven’t scored a goal in…, have only scored X goals in X games this season and so on right down to the teams fighting relegation.
Why in God’s name would you want to put that on TV?!?
@Stanley Marsh: because it’s competitive, exciting and unpredictable? With jeopardy in every game?
Unlike the barstool brigade’s beloved British Premier League, which has been a procession in recent years.
@John Dozy: ” you negated the ‘thrust’ with your claim.” No I didn’t. You obviously don’t understand the thrust of my claim.
“the lowest average gate in the LOI premier is Drogheda (2,000). Which is also the capacity of their ground. Go figure.”
I went and figured and the capacity of Drogheda’s ground is 3,500.
Shows what you know…
And the highest average attendance in the league is 5700 which is 100 times your alleged average attendance at a 3rd tier hurling match in a county where gaelic is the dominant game…wow, well done the LOI….
@Stanley Marsh: oh God. Where did you get a figure of 3,500? Wikipedia?
Go look further down the entry.
“The stadium used to hold 5,400, though the safe capacity is now set at 2000 by the Louth County Fire Officer.”
The current capacity is 2,000. As I said. Wikipedia gives the wrong (outdated) figure up top.
And I repeat:
The combined average LOI home gate of Leinster LOI clubs (25,500) is larger than that of Leinster rugby in URC (18,200). And this includes games Leinster play at Lansdowne Road – with its huge capacity. The gap would be even bigger if Bohemians and Drogheda (who sell out basically every game) and Shelbourne and St Pats (who sell out a number of games each year) had larger grounds. Also, soccer clubs have 19 home league games a season, rugby has 9.
Connacht Rugby has about the same home average crowd as Sligo and Galway combined (5,500).
There is your fair comparison.
@John Dozy: “because it’s competitive, exciting and unpredictable? With jeopardy in every game?”
Mainly because the players can’t string 2 passes together so you don’t know what calamity is going to happen next….
@Stanley Marsh: that’s absolute nonsense. Unworthy of engagement.
So, an idle threat by Rovers. What a sense of entitlement they have. RTE waste enough of the publics money. The league attracts less than 20k spectators a weekend on average, RTE should not be making huge losses on a league that has little following
@John Buckley:
And you shouldn’t be commenting on something you don’t know about
@John Buckley: The combined average LOI home gate of Leinster LOI clubs (25,500) is larger than that of Leinster rugby in URC (18,200). And this includes games Leinster play at Lansdowne Road – with its huge capacity. The gap would be even bigger if Bohemians and Drogheda (who sell out basically every game) and Shelbourne and St Pats (who sell out a number of games each year) had larger grounds. Also, soccer clubs have 19 home league games a season, rugby has 9.
Connacht Rugby has about the same home average crowd as Sligo and Galway combined (5,500).
Now, look at how much hype and promotion rugby gets and compare it to Irish soccer?
Imagine if the LOI clubs got the same treatment?
@John Dozy: The rugby teams in Ireland compete at the highest level of the game. Whereas the league of Ireland sides battle it out with the like of magpies from malta and penguins from Greenland. Maybe if the FAI minded its business a little bit better, things might be different.
@Ray Ridge: id rather watch bohs v fc magpies than ireland v the all blacks. See how this works?
@Brian Dunne: Absolutely. Some people get entertained watching girls and boys at the annual sports day. No harm in it at all. Personally, I prefer to watch to watch quality top end level sports.
@Ray Ridge: so the state broadcaster should only show top end elite level sporting events?
@Brian Dunne: No harm or offence to Shamrock rovers but I doubt they’ll be too many around the country getting their knickers in a twist if they were to go ahead with a broadcast blackout.
@Ray Ridge: Really? Shamrock Rovers are playing Chelsea in December. Pat’s beat teams from Azeri and Swiss leagues, and drew with a Turkish team. Shels also drew with a Swiss team. Hoping you’re just a crank and you don’t really believe this nonsense. Rugby is a minority sport, taken seriously in three states in Europe: Ireland, France and the UK.
@Ray Ridge:
You really would wonder why do barstoolers hate our league
@Brian Dunne: rugby is not even elite. It’s a minority sport. Easy to be a top team in Europe when only three states care about it. And even then, it’s losing ground in the UK.
@John Dozy: Well a huge majority of Georgians consider themselves European and it’s their national sport.
Looking at the comment’s dear god we are some crowd lol