Hospitality audio-visual firm Startle has launched a new drive to bring Irish sport to pubs in the United Kingdom – and not just Irish pubs, but any location where customers enjoy ‘competitive and action-packed’ sport.
Startle has entered into a new partnership with GAA+, the official streaming service for The Gaelic Athletic Association, so that pubs enabled with Startle can broadcast Gaelic football and hurling games that are unavailable on terrestrial TV.
It is claimed that the popularity of GAA sports has been steadily rising outside of Ireland, with increased participation at grassroots level, while major competitions such as the All-Ireland Championships are attracting ‘record-breaking crowds’ and viewership.
The new GAA+/Startle service allows pubs to pick content to build a fully customised TV channel of their own, including streamed-in news, weather, entertainment, and Gaelic sport, with their own internal promotions integrated into the content flow.
CEO of Startle, Adam Castleton, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with GAA+ to bring Gaelic games to pubs across the UK.
“We’ve worked hard helping pubs with the complex task of managing their promotional sports content for years, so we’re excited to now also support live broadcasting.
“Irish sport is growing in popularity, so it’s a great time to make GAA+ available to the thousands of pubs we work with.”
Sales and marketing manager at GAA+, Gavin Doyle, added: “To partner with Startle in the UK is exciting for us in two ways.
“It brings a lot more eyeballs to the games of Gaelic football and hurling, helping build on the existing international growth of the sports, but it also ensures that the presentation and delivery of these games is executed professionally and with ease for all parties involved thanks to Startle’s product and people.”
