FAI announce LOI TV broadcast deal

The Football Association of Ireland has announced a series of League of Ireland broadcast deals ahead of the start of the 2021 season. The new offering features:

• A new deal with RTÉ Sport to cover first picks for the live transmission of Friday Night Football
• The return of the innovative WATCHLOI service to keep SSE Airtricity Premier Division football live for the fans during the COVID-19 pandemic
• A new FAI platform – LOITV - to stream all SSE Airtricity First Division matches for the season
• LOITV will offer, for the first time ever, streaming of all SSE Airtricity Women’s National League matches free of charge on loitv.ie
• Pricing for WATCHLOI Premier Division and LOITV First Division and details for season ticket holders will be announced in due course

​The new broadcast deal with RTÉ Sport will see 60+ SSE Airtricity Premier Division matches broadcast live across RTÉ TV and the WATCHLOI platform on watchloi.ie up until the mid-season break in June. RTÉ Sport will cover all production costs for WATCHLOI with all profits from the platform set to go straight to the Premier Division clubs. The WATCHLOI platform will return with the free to air offering of the FAI President's Cup between Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk on Friday, March 12, with kick-off at 7.45pm. Friday Night Football coverage on RTÉ commences with the SSE Airtricity Premier Division game between Shamrock Rovers and St. Patrick's Athletic on Friday, March 19, followed by Waterford v Sligo Rovers on Friday, March 26 and Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk on April 2. LOITV will stream all matches across the SSE Airtricity First Division and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League with Pixellot cameras to be installed in every ground ahead of the 2021 season. The Pixellot system uses artificial intelligence with HD cameras to deliver a top-quality viewing experience with the cameras used in many leagues across the world. The streaming service will also be available to the coaching and analysis staff at all clubs. Pricing & packages will be announced by the Club in due course.