I throw my eyes to heaven when I hear Harris or Martin give out about what the GAA are doing at any point in time, but christ Burn's performance in response this morning was depressing.
I finally bowed and took out GAAGo Saturday to watch the match. I'm tech savvy and do everything online where I can. I spent 15 minutes trying to sort out the season pass, with orders repeatedly refused. After trying 4 different cards it finally accepted one my wife's. When I had it going, the app refused to cast to the tv (never an issue with the multiple other streaming apps I have). So I sat out my own watching on the phone. The only sport my 5 year old saw that day evening was URC rugby.
Forget the cash. I was fairly intent on watching the match, and was close to giving up and just listening on the radio instead. If i wasn't as pushed, I'd left it off after first glitch. If something is a minor inconvenience to access, people are far less likely to bother doing so, even if it's free.
Hurling needs as much exposure as it can possibly get, even in the places it thinks it's already strong, and Cork more than anywhere. You really have to wonder about the mentality of those who think there's no issue with putting the best part of the championship for major counties on a subscription streaming app, and how exactly it serves to purpose of the GAA? To hear Burns go in about maximising revenue, paying for stadiums, misses the point of all this by a country fucking mile.
Also, I just don't buy the "it wouldn't be available anywhere so be thankful for it". It's been split up this way by design by the GAA and RTE. A proper, open attempt to find broadcasters to show the games for a reasonable fee would never see no option being taken to show prime Munster hurling championship games.
As a bit of a left field suggestion, I wonder how it would play out if hurling and football were given out as different packages. Give hurling over to hurling people to promote and boost income from and see what they make of it.
