Enquiry into GAAGO opened by competition commission

An enquiry has been launched into the GAAGO platform by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to determine whether it complies with competition law.

GAAGO is a video streaming service, developed as a joint venture by the GAA and RTÉ.

RTÉ has confirmed that the CCPC told its show, This Week, that it opened an enquiry into GAAGO in May.

The service caused much debate over which games featured on the service, essentially putting those games behind a paywall, particularly as clashes featuring reigning All Ireland football champions Kerry and high profile hurling championship games were not free-to-air. 

It is understood the enquiry relates to an expansion of the service provided by GAAGO, which had previously only broadcast matches to people living overseas.

However, when SKY discontinued its GAA coverage, GAAGO stepped in and took over those broadcasting rights. 

This meant that GAAGO no longer just broadcast to those abroad, but also provides live games to a domestic audience in Ireland. 

GAAGO was also discussed at a meeting of the Oireachtas Media Committee earlier this week.

The committee heard GAAGO attracts an audience in excess of 120,000 people. The smallest audiences were as low as between 1,000 and 1,500 subscribers.

RTÉ's group head of sport, Declan McBennett, said the national broadcaster has the ability to request games, but said the people who set the games are the GAA's CCCC.