IT will be one of the biggest Irish sporting events of the year – but RTÉ’s free-to-air coverage of Katie Taylor’s farewell fight will be unavailable to thousands of homes in the north.
The national broadcaster confirmed on Wednesday that it had secured the rights to broadcast the huge Croke Park event in Ireland via RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with 2FM providing live radio commentary.
However, those rights only cover the 26 counties, as subscription-based streaming platform DAZN have the rights to broadcast the fight worldwide – including the UK.
That means the familiar issue of geo-blocking will frustrate many who hoped to watch RTÉ’s coverage on September 5, when Irish boxing’s golden girl takes on Flora Pili in an historic undisputed super-lightweight title fight.
While those with an RTÉ aerial will still be able to access television coverage, it will not be available to those with UK IP addresses who access RTÉ via outlets such as Sky, because the UK rights are not available for RTÉ to purchase.
Most northern residents have default IP addresses that are UK-registered, meaning their access to Irish sporting events – including GAA – is often restricted.
Belfast boxers Tyrone McKenna and Paddy Gallagher are among the fighters on the Croke Park undercard, with McKenna taking on Paddy Donovan in the chief support bout and Gallagher continuing his ring comeback against Dubliner Paul Ryan.
In recent years, several politicians have lobbied the UK and Irish governments to assess unique IP addresses for Northern Ireland residents in a bid to circumvent geo-blocking issues around sports broadcasting.
Announcing that the Taylor fight would be shown live on RTÉ, head of sport Declan McBennett said: “RTÉ was there at the start of Katie’s journey as an amateur and we are delighted to be there for the final chapter.
“Katie is, and always will be, one of Ireland’s greatest-ever sporting icons and it is fitting that she ends her illustrious career in Croke Park in front of a full stadium and a national audience.”
A crowd of 80,000 is due to converge upon Croke Park for what promises to be a momentous occasion, after tickets for the fight were snapped up in a matter of hours upon release in June.
The last time a professional boxing event was staged at the home of the GAA was July 1972, when Muhammed Ali famously took on Detroit heavyweight Al ‘Blue’ Lewis.
In footage recently released on her Instagram account, Taylor revealed she would have fought in Croke Park for free.“Look at the life that [boxing] has given me and look at the memories that it’s given me. I just wanted to elevate the sport and pursue my passion and this is what I love to do.
“This is what I was born for and I’ve had a chance to headline these iconic arenas and be involved in these iconic fights.
“Just to open the door for the next generation of female fighters, that to me is everything. I’m just forever grateful.”