GAAGO, the GAA and RTÉ broadcasting joint-venture, experienced a surge in subscription revenues, an increase of €2.6 million, or 118%, equalling €4.96 million last year. The recently submitted 2023 financial statements of GAAGO Media Ltd noted that the company’s total revenues had more than doubled, moving from €2.4 million to €5.23 million. This was primarily due to benefitting from its arrangement to air GAA championship matches to a domestic audience via a paywall.
The revenue of the streaming firm comprised of €4.96 million from subscription incomes and a threefold increased sponsorship income of €273,437. Despite criticism from GAA fans and politicians regarding the placement of premium GAA matches behind the GAAGO paywall, the firm’s pretax profits rose by 47%, amounting to €874,047 up from €595,750.
The recent two-year profits from the pay-to-view sports channel enabled GAAGO to issue a €1.2 million dividend to its co-owners, RTÉ and the GAA. The financial statements were approved this month by GAA Croke Park stadium director, Peter McKenna, and Declan McBennett, RTÉ’s group head of sport.
Directors predict that the company will continue to profit and generate significant operating cash flows up to September 2025. GAAGO, which streams GAA matches to both local and international viewers and offers over 100 live and on-demand matches each year, saw broadcasting costs to a domestic audience surge by 140%, totalling €4.36 million last year, up from its previous €1.81 million.
However, GAAGO may face competition for retaining domestic rights for the 2025 season following the GAA’s request for ‘expression of interest’ in August for domestic broadcast rights for the All-Ireland senior football and hurling championships. GAAGO’s right to broadcast games to an international audience remains untouched. According to the accounts, the company is obligated to continue broadcasting games to an international audience until the current rights agreement expires in 2027.
The company accounts also reveal that the former general director of RTÉ, Dee Forbes, resigned from the board on June 26th, 2023.