GAA+ is here to stay – time to drop the outrage and embrace the future

They are lurking in the shadows, waiting for their moment. You can’t see them just yet, but they are there—knives sharpened, ready to pounce.

Come next Tuesday, when GAA+ is officially launched, the outcry will begin. The phone lines will light up on Liveline.

The same voices that hibernated all winter will crawl out of the woodwork, armed with the same tired arguments, and let loose.

The fury will be predictable. The Munster hurling faithful will rage. Someone—probably Simon Harris—will call it a disgrace.

The usual suspects will demand that Tom Ryan and the Croke Park chiefs be held to account.

It happens every year. It happened in 2023 when Clare vs. Limerick was on GAAGO. It happened last year when Cork’s Munster SHC games were behind the paywall. And it will happen again next week.

But here’s the thing: it’s time to move on.

The GAA has finally taken full control of its own media rights. Cutting RTÉ loose as a 50 percent stakeholder in GAAGO was a bold, ambitious move, and one that was long overdue.

The state broadcaster has had more than its fair share of the championship pie for years.

First, TV3 broke the monopoly in 2008. Then Sky’s arrival in 2014 sparked fresh debate. Now, the GAA is backing itself—investing in its own production and dictating its own future.

And that future is digital.

Over 200 games are shown live every year across various platforms, with GAA+ set to broadcast another 40 or so in 2025. Would the critics rather those games weren’t shown at all?

The argument over price will come, as it always does. But at around €79 for a season pass—working out at just over €2 per game—it’s hardly scandalous.

There’s midweek programming thrown in too, something people have cried out for.

Poor broadband in rural Ireland? Fair complaint. But is that the GAA’s fault? Should they be held responsible for bad roads while they’re at it?

The real irony is that nobody ever complains about the quality of the coverage.

Marc Ó Sé, Aaron Kernan, Richie Hogan, and Seamus Hickey are as good as you’ll get. A new studio is being built in Croke Park, just beside the stadium’s main reception.

The production standards have improved, and the product is only getting better.

And where does the money go? Back into the game—83 percent of it, to be exact. Yet that detail is conveniently ignored.

So ring Joe Duffy all you like. GAA+ is here to stay. The game has moved on, and it’s time for the outraged to do the same.