Boycott Sky!!

By Cian Duffy
July 5 2002

In a disgraceful move today, the FAI sold the TV rights to all Ireland home games to BSKYB Television for ?7.5Million. BSKYB will show all matches on a pay-per-view basis. This means that many of the Republic of Irelands 3.7 Million residents will not have access to the matches in their own homes.

In a disgraceful move today, the FAI sold the TV rights to all Ireland home games to BSKYB Television for ?7.5Million. BSKYB will show all matches on a pay-per-view basis. This means that many of the Republic of Irelands 3.7 Million residents will not have access to the matches in their own homes.

BSKYB pay-per-view events are only available on SKY Digital an occasionally on Chorus and ntl:home and NTL Digital packages. This means the vast majority of fans in the country who have no access to SKY Digital or cable/MMDS packages.

The FAI turned down a RTÉ offer for the matches. RTÉ, as the state flagship broadcaster had loyally shown all Irelands matches for many years, almost since its foundation in 1961. The FAI selling the match rights to a foreign, profit-making broadcaster is an act showing how little respect they have for the loyalty of the fans and the loyalty of RTÉ.

I encourage all Ireland fans, be they in Ireland or abroad, to boycott SKY. If you live in Ireland, get rid of your SKY Digital boxes, and revert to Chorus or NTL?s cable or MMDS packages, or just put up a UHF aerial. If you live in Northern Ireland or the UK, get rid of your SKY boxes or DTT Recievers, and get NTL or Telewest, or just revert to the BBC Analogue service.

Its odd that for Natiowide League and Ireland fans, like myself and my Colleague here at IrelandEuro2004.tk, Ade, that SKY are seen as the enemy and the saviour in the one day. However, until TV3, TG4 or RTÉ are given the rights to screen Ireland home matches, I will not view SKY sports, SKY News or SKY 1, all of which are on my non-SKY cable package.

A very outraged Cian Duffy,
IrelandEuro2008.tk, formerly WorldCupIreland.cjb.net