Paul Flynn, Tomás Ó Sé, Lee Keegan, Jackie Tyrrell and Seán Cavanagh are among the celebrity commentators who were gifted suits or outfits by men's boutiques, which they then wore during RTÉ's coverage of some of the most-watched events on the GAA calendar.
Pictures of sports stars wearing these clothes The Sunday game The set was then posted to social media platforms such as Instagram, naming the appropriate stores.
A spokeswoman for RTÉ made it clear that such brand deals had not been approved by the broadcaster.
Leading GAA professionals have used the Sunday Game to promote brand deals
When asked if RTÉ found the branding deals appropriate, the spokeswoman said, “As previously promised, RTÉ is in a process of reviewing policies related to commercial activities and external interests of on-air contractors and employees.”
Last week, former Dublin footballer Paul Flynn posted on his Instagram account “kudos” to clothing store EJ Menswear and brand Remus Uomo “for outfitting me with RTÉ this season.” The post featured four separate images by Flynn The Sunday game and RTÉ Sport set.
A number of The Sunday game The pundits were dressed by Benetti Menswear for the All Ireland football final between Dublin and Kerry on July 30th.
On his Instagram account, Benetti Menswear said it was “great to have us represented at one of the biggest dates on the GAA calendar.”
The brand released photos of former Tyrone footballer Seán Cavanagh, former Kerry footballer Tomás Ó Sé and former Mayo footballer Lee Keegan The Sunday game The participants all wore clothing provided by Benetti.
More than a million people watched the football final itself while over 170,000 watched The Sunday game Show highlights this evening.
Ó Sé had also thanked Benetti Menswear on his own account after wearing one of their suits when appearing as a pundit after the quarter-final between Kerry and Tyrone on July 1.
Former Kilkenny star Jackie Tyrrell was provided with a Guy Clothing suit for his role as pundit for a number of matches including the All Ireland hurling final.
Tyrrell posted a series of photos of himself in the suits at RTÉ studios. Tyrrell is a brand ambassador for Guy Clothing and one of the few GAA professionals to have clearly labeled the posts as part of a brand ambassador role. While viewership for the hurling final also surpassed the million mark, The Sunday game The highlights show attracted 177,000 viewers.
Despite the fact that brands have regularly provided suits to experts who have worn them everywhere Sunday game and live sports broadcasts, RTÉ has claimed that the branded offers do not qualify as product placement.
Under rules set by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, paid product placement has been permitted in certain types of programs produced and broadcast in Ireland since 2012. Programs benefiting from paid product placements must display the “PP” logo before and during those broadcasts, and companies that provided products or services must be named in the credits. One of the most famous examples of product placement on RTÉ was a full-stock Spar that opened in the fictional Dublin suburb of Carrigstown, where the soap opera was set fair city is set.
No product placement logo is continued The Sunday game.
The BAI Code of Commercial Communications defines product placement as “a third party provides products and services for inclusion in a television program in return for payment or similar consideration.” “That is not the case here as the clothing is not a feature,” said the RTÉ spokeswoman.
