RTÉ Head of Sport Declan McBennett: GAA rights deal mandated live provincial finals

RTÉ were contractually obliged to broadcast Sunday's provincial football finals on free-to-air television and didn't have the scope to focus on the Munster SHC at the exclusion of all else, Head of Sport Declan McBennett confirmed this afternoon.

McBennett also rejected any suggestion that RTÉ and GAA were selecting high-profile Munster hurling championship games to drive subscriptions to the GAAGO platform.

Former GAA President Liam O'Neill argued today on Morning Ireland that "better choices" needed to be made regarding the screening of games on free-to-air TV, stressing that high-profile Munster hurling championship games should not be transmitted on a pay-per-view basis.

For the second weekend in a row, a major Munster championship clash was not broadcast free-to-air, with the draw between Cork and Tipperary in Páirc Uí Chaoimh broadcast on the GAAGO platform, a joint-venture between the GAA and RTÉ.

The previous weekend, All-Ireland champions Limerick were defeated by Clare in a thriller in the Gaelic Grounds, also broadcast behind a paywall.

Subsequently, there has been much comment on the decision to broadcast Sunday's provincial football deciders in Connacht and Munster on free-to-air TV, with both matches proving to be one-sided affairs.

The GAA's five-year broadcast rights deal, announced last October, saw RTÉ retain 31 live championship matches, while GAAGO was granted exclusive rights to 38 games: 22 football championship games, nine from the hurling championship and seven Tailteann Cup games.

Speaking on the News at One on RTÉ Radio 1, McBennett outlined that RTÉ were obliged to show the six provincial deciders across hurling and football as part of their package of 31 games.

"RTÉ have the rights - and are very