Where can I watch Shamrock Rovers’ Europa League play-off? Well, not on domestic TV as the Hoops have to lineup LOITV stream as Irish TV stations uninterested

Shamrock Rovers upcoming Europa League play-off will be streamed online, just as their six previous matches in Europe have been as Irish TV companies have declined to show any of the League of Ireland champions European matches this season (or any of the 16 matches played by League of Ireland sides in Europe this year).

When the Hoops take on PAOK in Thessaloniki next Thursday evening the Irish TV stations that normally show live football will be showing a building renovation programme (RTÉ2), one on farming on Inis Mór (TG4) with some live sport on offer as the Diamond League Athletics is being covered on Virgin Media 2. 

Rovers have hit out at the TV situation today when they announced that their upcoming play-off will only be covered on LOITV even suggesting they will not facilitate RTÉ if they request to cover a Rovers league game before the end of the season:

The club exhausted every avenue across the four rounds of European matches to deliver matches on a free to air National broadcaster, but to no avail. 

It has been a disappointment that these thrilling games have not been showcased to a wider Irish audience; the drama of a last minute penalty miss in our first home tie advancing the team to UCL QR2, 9,500 fans packed into Tallaght Stadium for a great match against Sparta Prague game and, finally, the turnaround from an away first leg loss to beat Celje in extra time to make the UECL League phase (at a minimum). And now, the visit of PAOK will not be broadcast on terrestrial Irish TV.

The club is considering if it will facilitate any future requests from the National broadcaster to show SSE Airtricity Premier Division fixtures from Tallaght Stadium in 2024.

Both the first and second legs will now be available on LOITV for purchase with Con Murphy and Barry Murphy on match commentary.

RTÉ have not shown a League of Ireland match live since May and on Thursday night when the match is kicking off will be showing ‘Home and Away’ and when the match concludes ‘George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations’ (George meets Stuart and Theresa, who were looking to downsize ready for retirment until they saw a huge and cavernous village hall for sale). 

TG4 has a repeat of the Wonder Years at 6.30pm (Kevin’s mother finds it hard to loosen the apron strings) with Mná na Talún at 7.3pm (Four female farmers faces the challenges posed by the summer).

Virigin Media Two will cover the Swiss Diamond League in Luasanne where Rhasidat Adeleke may be in action (the entry list had not been confirmed on Monday).          

The TV rights for the league stages of the revamped Europa League and Conference League are held by Premier Sports under a new three year deal.

When Rovers qualified for the Europa Conference League in 2022 the matches were shown on BT Sport (now TNT Sport) but they have lost the rights for the next three years.

Who are Shamrock Rovers’ Europa League play-off opponents PAOK? https://t.co/9bnVuj4Cdxpic.twitter.com/mlz6BJEJmW

— extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) August 19, 2024