KERRY LEGEND Pat Spillane has hit out at his former employers over their coverage of GAA and rugby.
The ex-RTE icon believes The Sunday Game is not the show it used to be and that the national broadcaster has started to show a bias towards rugby.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Spillane has suggested that the URC is being given precedent over GAA matches.
He referenced the ‘box-office Ulster SFC clash’ between Derry and Donegal that didn’t receive a build-up due to RTE showing Leinster and Munster matches in South Africa.
Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final with Northampton understandably took RTE’s priority last weekend but the former pundit was still unhappy with the lack of coverage outside of that window.
Spillane wrote in The Sunday World: “RTÉ has a virtual monopoly on championship coverage (save for BBC Northern Ireland’s coverage of the Ulster championship) through themselves and GAAGO. This has impacted on the quality of The Sunday Game.
“When Sky were televising championship matches, RTÉ upped their game. I know this because I was involved at the time.
“RTÉ’s coverage of the championship is also compromised because they have the TV rights for so many sports that they cannot do justice to them all.
“Right now, the URC, a second-tier rugby competition, is taking precedence over the GAA championship.
“For example, on the day of the box-office Ulster SFC clash between Derry and Donegal, RTÉ were also showing two URC games from South Africa.
“As a result, the live coverage from Celtic Park began five minutes before throw-in. There was no time for a meaningful build-up.
“Last weekend was no different. There was no GAA championship match live on RTÉ on Saturday evening, but the station did show a live URC game involving Connacht later in the evening.
“Next month, one of the All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals will start at 1.15. Why? RTÉ are showing the semi-finals of the URC later that day.”
Spillane will likely not be impressed with this weekend’s plan as well due to the Munster Championship clash between Cork and Limerick only availabe on GAAGO.
The URC meeting of Munster and Connacht is taking the priority on RTE on Saturday afternoon.