The GAA expects to earn around €4 million from the GAAGO streaming app this year.

Representatives from the association revealed the figure in their appearance before the Oireachtas Sports Committee alongside RTÉ Sport this afternoon.

In recent months, the service has been severely criticised by politicians, many of whom want all championship games to be free-to-air.

However, the committee were informed that the number of free-to-air games on television had almost doubled since 2018.

Media Committee member Senator Shane Cassells said he was aware that not all games could be shown free-to-air, but he did not agree as to which games were shown exclusively on the platform.

"I think that the debating point this summer has been around which particular games are being broadcast on the GAAGo app,” he said.

“I think a huge part of that is going to be scheduling, making sure that the big games are available for people.

"I think that the facilities are there for that to happen."

'Every broadcaster'

According to the GAA and RTÉ Sport, games that are on GAAGO would previously either have been on Sky TV or potentially not been broadcast anywhere.

Director of the GAA, Tom Ryan, said "every broadcaster and every potential partner that was in the market" was approached when their contract with Sky Sports ended.

"The cycle was probably done over a one-year duration and everybody had the opportunity to participate," he said.

The majority of games shown on GAAGO this year have only had an average of around 1500 subscribers. The most viewed games on GAAGO have between 120,000 and 100,000 viewers.

Senator Marie Sherlock at the Oireachtas Sports committee yesterday (Photo by Oireachtas TV)

Pensioners

Labour Senator Marie Sherlock called for the service to be made free for old-age pensioners.

"I want to ask one specific question about it being made free to caregiving establishments, hospitals, and care homes," she said.

"We have free public transport for people over a certain age, has there been any consideration of that?"

The streaming service had a total audience of 1.3 million covering 42 games.

The GAA has also said it intends to generate a fair return from matches and it is seeking to be independent.

Additional reporting by Faye Curran