Dillon voices 'serious concern' about GAAGO as Mayo v New York to be streamed live

FORMER Mayo footballer Alan Dillon has reiterated concerns about the GAAGO streaming service as it was announced that Mayo's championship opener will be streamed live on the platform. 

The Fine Gael TD has called for RTÉ and the GAA to ‘re-evaluate’ the existing GAA media rights package to ensure that fans can have ‘have affordable access to matches, regardless of their location or financial situation’.

Deputy Dillon made his comments as it was announced that 38 championship games will be streamed exclusively on the service in 2024.

The service, offered as part of a joint-venture between RTÉ and the GAA, costs €79 for a season pass - €69 if bought before Christmas - €12 per game and a ‘three for two’ offer at €24.

A midweek preview show will also come on stream as part of a package that will have 22 Sam Maguire, nine Liam MacCarthy and seven Tailteann Cup games.

This includes Mayo’s Connacht Championship preliminary round game against New York, which will take place in New York’s Gaelic Grounds on April 7.

Deputy Dillon, who last year initially called for GAAGO to be scrapped, warned that public backlash and outrage will ensure when the GAA championship starts in six months.

Writing on his social media, the former All-Star said RTÉ and the GAA had failed to address concerns around access to broadband in rural areas, as well as ‘older people been asked to adapt new app based streaming technology’.

“The introduction of a pay-per-view model for GAA matches raises concerns about the impact it may have on the promotion of our national game, while the financial burden placed on GAA supporters and volunteers, who already pay their TV licenses, poses another barrier to accessing these matches,” Deputy Dillon wrote on his Facebook page.

Concerns have also been expressed about five Munster Hurling Championship games being shown on the pay-per-view service, including by An Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, who called for the games to be made free-to-air.

Speaking on Midwest Radio earlier today (Tuesday) Deputy Dillon said that GAAGO ‘has its place’ to but said the company’s current focus was ‘to drive revenue’ by placing high-profile games behind a paywall.

He said that he accepted that not every game could be shown on RTÉ but argued that Virgin Media and TG4 should have been included in the media rights package.