A pay-per-view channel launched by Greyhound Racing Ireland sustained losses of over €20,000 and attracted as few as 125 viewers, it has emerged.
Despite the losses and low viewership, Greyhound Racing Ireland is laughably maintaining that it “has been very pleased with the success of the Talking Dogs TV initiative” which ceased on 3rd July.
Details about the online channel came to light following a Dail Question from Paul Murphy TD (RISE-Solidarity, Dublin South West) to Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue who redirected the enquiry to Greyhound Racing Ireland.
CEO Gerard Dollard - who is due to leave GRI this month - revealed that viewers of the “Talking Dogs TV” streaming channel “reached a peak” of just 819 after launch and dropped to a mere 125 the week before it came to an end.
He outlined that “overall income generated from the initiative was €41,367 with costs amounting to €62,620”, meaning a loss of €21,253.
GRI charged €10/£12/$16.50 to access each of the live racing programmes, which were broadcast from Shelbourne Park in Dublin and various other tracks around Ireland. There were a total of 18 episodes and although it was aimed at “greyhound racing enthusiasts everywhere in the world”, the estimated average viewership was a paltry 230.
When it was launched, Greyhound Racing Ireland declared that the channel “will bring greyhound racing to an international audience and provide a sense of home from home for the Irish diaspora and racing fans worldwide”.
Greyhound Racing Ireland chairman Frank Nyhan stated at the time: “We are delighted to announce details for Talking Dogs TV and we look forward to its roll out in the weeks ahead. For the first time our racing will be available to followers around the globe through the same service and we are enthused at the prospect of making it easier for people to make a connection with top level greyhound racing regardless of where they might be located.”
GRI blamed the dwindling Talking Dogs TV viewership on an easing of restrictions on entry into greyhound tracks, the unauthorised sharing of races on social media and THE WEATHER - “the fine weather during the summer period is a traditionally quiet time for the greyhound industry.”
In June we highlighted that, contrary to a claim on the GRI website that “many have tuned in” to Talking Dogs TV, the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation outlined that “at the National Greyhound Consultative Forum of 28 April 2021, Greyhound Racing Ireland’s presentation stated that Talking Dogs TV ‘was not translating into significant viewing numbers’” and that “viewing numbers were falling every week”.
The greyhound breeders group suggested that the reason for this is that “potential punters and the general public are not convinced by the claims from GRI regarding adverse analytical findings [i.e. testing of dogs for prohibited substances]” and “the failure by GRI to allow any independent audit of its testing procedures lends weight to the suspicion that the previous failures in testing…have not been dealt with.”
The low level of interest in Talking Dogs TV reflects plummeting attendance at tracks in recent years.
The broadcast of RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” in June 2019 led to even more people boycotting tracks. The documentary exposed the horrors of greyhound racing, including the killing every year of thousands of greyhounds who are not fast enough to win races. The documentary included sickening scenes of greyhounds being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped into a skip. One dog was seen writhing on the ground as his merciless owner drove away.
The decline in support was confirmed by an Indecon report commissioned by Greyhound Racing Ireland and published last year. The report showed that more and more people are turning their backs on cruel greyhound racing, with attendance at tracks around Ireland falling by a massive 15,914 in the first two [pre-Covid] months of 2020 https://igb.ie/globalassets/report-pdfs/indecon/independent-indecon-assessment-of-issues-arising-on-consultation-submissions-05.05.20.pdf
In January and February 2020 respectively, numbers dropped by 7,232 (30%) and 8,682 (28%), compared to the same period the previous year.
Shelbourne Park sustained a huge 36% drop in attendance in January 2020 – down by 2,168 to 3,752, compared to the same month in 2019. Attendance continued to fall at Shelbourne Park in February 2020 – compared to February 2019, it was down by 41% (3,730) to 5,240.
The authors of the Indecon report pointed out that the “greyhound industry is likely to experience a continued decline in attendance levels” and that the decline will “continue or accelerate”.
“The greyhound racing industry in Ireland has witnessed a significant decline in attendance over the last decade,” it stated. “While 1.1 million attended races in 2008, this fell by 55% to just over 0.5 million by 2018.”
Indecon made it clear that “the sector would NOT be financially sustainable if the decline in attendance continues and if the existing cost base is not reduced” and that the losses incurred have only been sustainable because of ongoing support from the state.
With a RED C opinion poll showing that a two-thirds majority in Ireland want the government to stop propping up greyhound racing with taxpayers’ money, and more than 400,000 signatures on petitions calling for the grants to be scrapped, the government must withdraw all support and finally let cruel greyhound racing die a death.
ACTION ALERT
STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING
Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.
Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.
Fianna Fáil TDs
john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie
Fine Gael TDs
JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie
Green Party TDs
Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
Sinn Fein TDs
john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com
Labour Party TDs
sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie; ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
Dail Question and Answer
Dail Question - 16/09/2021
Paul Murphy TD: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine the number of paid views registered on Greyhound Racing Ireland's pay-per-view online channel by week, track and country of viewer since its launch in March 2021; and the associated revenue generated and the cost of running the channel.
Minister Charlie McConalogue: Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ / Greyhound Racing Ireland) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for RCÉ and, therefore, the question has been referred to the body for direct reply.
Reply from Greyhound Racing Ireland
Dear Deputy
Rásíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) launched the Talking Dogs TV (TDTV) in early March 2021 as an interim arrangement to provide the greyhound racing experience to parties who, due to Covid restrictions, were not permitted to attend greyhound tracks at that time. The initiative was viewed as a very positive intervention enabling parties in Ireland and in the international arena to view greyhound racing live on a Saturday evening. Coverage focused on racing from Shelbourne Park on a Saturday night with one other track being featured depending on overall schedules. The initiative was agreed for a pilot three-month basis and ceased on 3rd July 2021. RCÉ did operate TDTV for the first round and second round of the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby 2021 before the coverage of the competition switched to RPGTV for the remaining rounds.
Viewers on TDTV reached a peak of 819 in the early period with the lowest viewership of 125 arising on 25th June 2021. It should be noted that greyhound handlers were permitted access to tracks through out the period when ‘racing behind closed doors’ and Covid restrictions were relaxed from 7th June with a100 attendees permitted outdoors at all tracks. Overall income generated from the initiative was €41,367 with costs amounting to €62,620. Feedback in relation to such a high-quality production was extremely positive. Viewership in the latter stages was impacted by the direct admission of attendees and the fine weather during the summer period which is a traditionally quiet time for the greyhound industry.
The attraction of viewers to the TDTV channel was also hampered by the unauthorised sharing of live greyhound racing footage on social media channels. This removed the need for some parties to participate in TDTV on a pay-per-view basis as footage was clearly available through other channels. RCÉ has taken steps through the social media companies involved to address the unauthorised sharing of RCÉ material.
RCÉ has been very pleased with the success of the TDTV initiative which enabled a high-quality live greyhound racing programme of three-hour duration to be provided to greyhound racing enthusiasts during a period when access to the tracks was not permitted by the general public. As Covid restrictions ease and as greyhound racing fans can return to greyhound tracks the necessity for the TDTV initiative does not arise at the present time.
Gerard Dollard | Chief Executive Officer
Rásaíocht Con Éireann / Greyhound Racing Ireland
Green Park | Dock Road,
Limerick V94 Y17X
Phone: 061 448000
Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM