Kerry councillors call for GAA games to be free-to-air

Councillors in Kerry have unanimously passed an emergency motion calling for all GAA championship games to be made free-to-air in 2027.

The emergency motion came ahead of confirmation that Kerry's Round 3 All-Ireland tie against Armagh next weekend will be shown on the streaming platform GAA+.

The motion put forward by Fine Gael Cllr Aoife Kennelly "calls on the GAA to ensure that all inter-county senior football and hurling games from 2027 onwards are available for all to view on free-to-air television and, where required, through accessible online streaming platforms".

"Everyone should have the opportunity to watch their county team compete in the inter-county Championship," it read.

Independent Cllr Niall 'Botty' O'Callaghan told the council meeting his belief that the GAA should include TG4 when broadcasting championship matches, noting how the station broadcast the LGFA game between Kerry and Kildare in Newbridge on Saturday while the men's game between the same two counties at the same venue was not broadcast at all.

The GAA's Director of Communications Alan Milton has previously said having championship games broadcast exclusively free-to-air "is simply not possible".

"I understand that people feel strongly about this but as an organisation if we are to future proof our broadcast offering and make as many games available as possible, it's simply not feasible for all games to be free to air," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland last month.

"In essence what we are dealing with here are 180 championship games on 30 matchdays, so it is going to be a blend going forward. We have two free-to-air partners (RTÉ and BBC NI) as part of that blend but it is simply not possible to have all games free-to-air," he said.

Senior GAA representatives are to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications and Sport on Wednesday afternoon, with Kerry-based Fine Gael Senator Mike Kennelly signalling his intent to raise the GAA's policy on streaming services at the hearing.

Fianna Fáil Kerry TD Michael Cahill has previously called for a dedicated free-to-air sport channel.

Jack O'Connor's All-Ireland champions have had one of their games broadcast on RTÉ this championship season, two on GAA+ and another not broadcast live, with this coming Saturday's fixture also to be streamed on GAA+.

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