Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 July 2023

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media

Future of Sports Broadcasting: Discussion

Photo of Niall Ó DonnghaileNiall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have another range of questions that I will not get in on time. In the course of Mr. Hill's statement, he conflated the State with the nation a couple of times. He said that RTÉ has the right to broadcast international tournaments involving the senior men's team in Ireland, but that is not the case if people live in the part of Ireland where I live, or where Mark Sykes comes from, or the part of Ireland where James McClean comes from. Unfortunately, many of the international games are behind a paywall because Sky has the rights to show those games in that part of Ireland. In future, it is vital that the FAI considers that issue when negotiating the rights to broadcast games for both men and women, particularly international matches. My concern is we will go into the World Cup and people in that part of Ireland will not get to watch Ireland's ladies' soccer team because the games will be behind a paywall. Is it not crucial-----

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