The FAI and the League of Ireland have announced that Virgin Media Television will broadcast a further five SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division fixtures in 2023 with the upcoming Dublin Derby between Shelbourne and St Patrick’s Athletic first up on Friday, 19 May. Following a successful broadcast of Shamrock Rovers’ win over Bohemians at Dalymount Park in April, Virgin Media Television will broadcast a further five fixtures this season proudly sponsored by SSE Airtricity. Two fixture details are confirmed today while another announcement on the three outstanding fixtures will be made at a later stage in the season. As well as the Saints’ visit to Tolka Park, St Patrick’s Athletic will also host Derry City at Richmond Park on the June Bank Holiday Monday at a new kick-off time of 18:45 live on Virgin Media Two. The two newly confirmed broadcasts on Virgin Media Two will be:• Shelbourne v St Patrick’s Athletic - Tolka Park, Friday, 19 May, 2023 at 19:45 • St Patrick’s Athletic v Derry City - Richmond Park, Monday, 5 June, 2023 at 18:45
BREAKING! 🚨
We are delighted to announce that Virgin Media Television will broadcast five more SSE Airtricity League of Ireland games this season!
Shelbourne v St Patrick's Athletic will be live on Virgin Media Two on Friday, May 19.#LOI pic.twitter.com/sXkIkf3x5q— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) May 10, 2023
With the title race and battle for Europe extremely tight at the top of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table, the announcement of five further live televised fixtures will bring the unmissable action to an even bigger audience. Football Association of Ireland CEO, Jonathan Hill, said: “We’re really pleased to announce the confirmation of a further five games to be broadcast on Virgin Media Television for the 2023 SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division campaign which is a reflection of growing interest in the League of Ireland overall and an important dynamic as we look to the structure of future broadcast deals, especially in relation to a strong base of free-to-air exposure.
"Both sides agreed that the original one match experiment was a great success, a feeling echoed by our title sponsors SSE Airtricity whose wider support remains key as well. We will be looking at all broadcast models moving forward but one thing is clear in that to attract more interest into our broadcast product we will continue to need to invest both into the on-field look and feel (quality of pitch, floodlights etc) but also the modern broadcast facilities we will need to have in place moving forward to maximise broadcast interest which will in turn generate the income to drive our ambition for League football in Ireland to become an industry in its own right and for our stadia to be modern, welcoming homes for our existing and many new fans”. FAI Commercial Director, Sean Kavanagh said: “We’re delighted to have agreed a further five live SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division broadcasts on Virgin Media Television. Working with Virgin Media and SSE Airtricity for the first live broadcast was a brilliant experience where together, we were able to bring the incredible action from Dalymount Park to the wider public and much excitement was built up in the lead up to the fixture. We’re looking forward to the next chapter in this partnership and are excited for the next live games on Virgin Media TV.”
