Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association is considering launching its own internet-based subscription channel and a pay-television channel as it prepares for its next domestic rights cycle, from 2014-15 onwards, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
The pay-television channel idea would involve a partnership with an existing pay-television operator such as BSkyB, the UK-based service which is also available in Ireland.
A GAA spokesman said that the plans were at a very early stage. “Everything is on the table. We'll examine internally what we feel is best for ourselves before we speak to anybody," he said, according to the Irish Independent.
The Independent said that the association was not planning on moving completely away from free-to-air coverage. It added that the channel plans could be a bargaining chip for the association in rights negotiations with broadcasters.
The association, which is the governing body for Irish Gaelic sports, currently has domestic rights deals with Irish public-service broadcaster RTÉ, commercial broadcaster TV3, and pay-television broadcaster Setanta Ireland, for the 2011-12 to 2013-14 period.