RTE's TV deal with the IRFU

[pete]

Did anyone notice RTE paying the IRFU 3 million over 3 years as opposed to the 1.6 million to the FAI for 4 years!!!

Irish rugby internationals are lucky to pull in 200-300k viewers on a saturday afternoon whereas international football can draw in double that easily which excludes the pub viewers.

Is there any wonder the FAI took the Sky euro when RTE trying to screw them like that.

[brine2]

Sounds like RTE could afford to give the IRFU extra money because they had not signed a deal with the FAI. Fair play to them.

[pete]

True but also shows up RTEs offer to the FAI as the joke it was. RTE clearly underestimated the commercial reality of the international football rights & i'd guess they never even thought Sky would go for the irish as well as UK rights.

The IRFU also getting 13 weeks of AIL rugby highlights too. If RTE moan about tv ratings for eL football i'd love to see them compared to the almosr certainly extremely low club rubgy figures.