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19th August 2024
03:29pm BST
Shamrock Rovers are considering preventing RTÉ from televising their home League of Ireland home matches for the remainder of this season as the broadcaster will not air their upcoming Europa League play-off.
The two-legged tie against Greek side PAOK, scheduled for August 22nd and 29th, will instead be available on the League of Ireland's streaming service, LOITV, on a pay-per-view basis.
Rovers progressed to this stage of the competition by beating Slovenian side Celje last Thursday in Tallaght. None of the matches from their European run so far have been televised by Irish broadcasters.
The television rights for the PAOK tie were available to all Irish broadcasters, including RTÉ, Virgin Media, and TG4.
However, in a statement, Shamrock Rovers expressed their disappointment, stating they had "exhausted every avenue" to secure free-to-air coverage of their European matches but were unsuccessful.
The club criticised RTÉ specifically for not acquiring the rights and indicated they are now "considering if it will facilitate any future requests" from the broadcaster to air their home games at Tallaght Stadium in 2024.
The statement reads:
"The club exhausted every avenue across the four rounds of European matches to deliver matches on a free-to-air national broadcaster, but to no avail.
"Live streaming has provided fans with the option to follow the Hoops home and away in Europe in July and August.
"It has been a disappointment that these thrilling games have not been showcased to a wider Irish audience.
"And now, the visit of PAOK will not be broadcast on terrestrial Irish TV.
"The club is considering if it will facilitate any future requests from the national broadcaster to show SSE Airtricity Premier Division fixtures from Tallaght Stadium in 2024."
St Patrick’s Athletic, who have also reached a play-off round in the Conference League against Istanbul Basaksehir, are in a similar situation as no Irish broadcaster has picked up the rights to air their games either.
RTÉ, Virgin Media, and TG4 collectively cover over 40 League of Ireland matches each season, with RTÉ broadcasting the majority.
However, RTÉ’s last live League of Ireland game was in May, and their next one isn't scheduled until mid-September due to their commitments to broadcasting other major sporting events over the summer.
Shamrock Rovers will at least reach the Conference League group stage, with those matches set to be aired by Premier Sports.
RTÉ have yet to comment on Shamrock Rovers' statement.
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