blues six glens nil
13-04-08, 09:02 PM
A report on the front page of last Saturday`s Irish News claiming that the GAA is consdering suing the BBC over lack of Gaelic Games coverage has provoked responses in both Gaelic and non-Gaelic circles.
The irony is that if this proposed players strike goes ahead, there`ll be no GAA to cover.
This however has proved one thing, that the GAA have an understanding of the concept of marketing, and the value of television as a medium in which to market.
In fact, when the BBC announced that they were planning to cancel their flagship GAA programme, 'The Championship', the following day`s Irish News featured a story about it with quotes from the head of the GAA expressing his dismay over this.
Now, i`m not wanting to start a debate, but, if the GAA consider themselves disappointed with the level of coverage being given to them by the BBC, surely the IFA must consider themselves to have an even bigger amount of disppointment of the coverage of local football.
After all, coverage was already minimal has disappeared as the BBC are having a hissy fit over being stiffed by Sky for internationals.
And, including the fact that the IFA signed a contract with the BBC to broadcast highlights of Irish League football, which has yet to come to fruition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...
Unless, of course, the BBC are referring to 'Final Score From Northern Ireland'
1. What time is 'Final Score From Northern Ireland' broadcast?
Usually about 5pm - 5.10pm on a Saturday
2. Who would be the target audience for 'Final Score From Northern Ireland' ?
Irish League fans
3. What would the main target audience of 'Final Score From Northern Ireland' being doing when it is broadcast?
Returning home from the game.
Now, i`m no media expert, or a marketing expert, but I would suggest that scheduling a show at a time when it`s main target audience is away from a TV screen to be bad practice.
Whilst, the GAA are prepared to create a fuss and speak out, the silence from Windsor Avenue is deafening.
The have no reason to to claim ignorance to the pleas from fans. A quick websearch shows that there are many sites, forums, messageboards and blogs dedicated to Irish League Football where supporters express their opinions on all aspects of the game.
In any other industry, business will spend millions of pounds conducting Market Research finding out ideas and opinions from their consumers. The IFA can get such information for free, but don`t seem to be willing to use it.
People will counter this by pointing out the deal signed with Sky TV last year. That only covers live games though.
Having already shown Cliftonville v Linfield, Sky plan to show the return in January, as well as the traditional Boxing Day game at The Oval. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed Sky Sports News even doing profiles and features on Irish League players and clubs.
Despite not being one of the key contracts in Sky`s reportoire, they manage to provide a high standard of reporting.
It says a lot when somebody from England with no knowledge of their story can do some research and provide excellent coverage when the local media can`t even get players names right. For the record, it`s David Jeffrey and Jim Ervin, not David Jeffries or Jim Irvine.
Although, allowing Paul Kirk to strum his guitar may have been a bit much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ64h...
There is an armchair audience for the Irish League as it was widely reported in the media that Sky were 'delighted' with viewing figures for their game at Solitude, as were the BBC with their two live games. In fact, last year`s Irish Cup Final had an "impressive audience and audience share, considering the timeslot it was in".
A weekly 30 minute highlights show isn`t too much to ask, especially when you consider that the much inferior League of Wales has one. Having watched some League of Ireland games on RTE (sorry, Oir-Tay-Eee, you have to have a really bad Dublin accent if you want to be an announcer on the channel) and TG4, and I can`t honestly say that the standard was better than what we have here.
Fans have been voicing their dipleasure about this for some time now. If the IFA are serious abot the local game, they must do likewise.
But, if their Marketing Department base their success on how many key-rings or shirts they sell, you can only despair about the future of Football in Northern Ireland.
The irony is that if this proposed players strike goes ahead, there`ll be no GAA to cover.
This however has proved one thing, that the GAA have an understanding of the concept of marketing, and the value of television as a medium in which to market.
In fact, when the BBC announced that they were planning to cancel their flagship GAA programme, 'The Championship', the following day`s Irish News featured a story about it with quotes from the head of the GAA expressing his dismay over this.
Now, i`m not wanting to start a debate, but, if the GAA consider themselves disappointed with the level of coverage being given to them by the BBC, surely the IFA must consider themselves to have an even bigger amount of disppointment of the coverage of local football.
After all, coverage was already minimal has disappeared as the BBC are having a hissy fit over being stiffed by Sky for internationals.
And, including the fact that the IFA signed a contract with the BBC to broadcast highlights of Irish League football, which has yet to come to fruition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...
Unless, of course, the BBC are referring to 'Final Score From Northern Ireland'
1. What time is 'Final Score From Northern Ireland' broadcast?
Usually about 5pm - 5.10pm on a Saturday
2. Who would be the target audience for 'Final Score From Northern Ireland' ?
Irish League fans
3. What would the main target audience of 'Final Score From Northern Ireland' being doing when it is broadcast?
Returning home from the game.
Now, i`m no media expert, or a marketing expert, but I would suggest that scheduling a show at a time when it`s main target audience is away from a TV screen to be bad practice.
Whilst, the GAA are prepared to create a fuss and speak out, the silence from Windsor Avenue is deafening.
The have no reason to to claim ignorance to the pleas from fans. A quick websearch shows that there are many sites, forums, messageboards and blogs dedicated to Irish League Football where supporters express their opinions on all aspects of the game.
In any other industry, business will spend millions of pounds conducting Market Research finding out ideas and opinions from their consumers. The IFA can get such information for free, but don`t seem to be willing to use it.
People will counter this by pointing out the deal signed with Sky TV last year. That only covers live games though.
Having already shown Cliftonville v Linfield, Sky plan to show the return in January, as well as the traditional Boxing Day game at The Oval. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed Sky Sports News even doing profiles and features on Irish League players and clubs.
Despite not being one of the key contracts in Sky`s reportoire, they manage to provide a high standard of reporting.
It says a lot when somebody from England with no knowledge of their story can do some research and provide excellent coverage when the local media can`t even get players names right. For the record, it`s David Jeffrey and Jim Ervin, not David Jeffries or Jim Irvine.
Although, allowing Paul Kirk to strum his guitar may have been a bit much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ64h...
There is an armchair audience for the Irish League as it was widely reported in the media that Sky were 'delighted' with viewing figures for their game at Solitude, as were the BBC with their two live games. In fact, last year`s Irish Cup Final had an "impressive audience and audience share, considering the timeslot it was in".
A weekly 30 minute highlights show isn`t too much to ask, especially when you consider that the much inferior League of Wales has one. Having watched some League of Ireland games on RTE (sorry, Oir-Tay-Eee, you have to have a really bad Dublin accent if you want to be an announcer on the channel) and TG4, and I can`t honestly say that the standard was better than what we have here.
Fans have been voicing their dipleasure about this for some time now. If the IFA are serious abot the local game, they must do likewise.
But, if their Marketing Department base their success on how many key-rings or shirts they sell, you can only despair about the future of Football in Northern Ireland.