The 42 revealed last week that RTÉ have lost the rights to show League of Ireland matches to Virgin Media - despite an early-year press release in which RTÉ appeared to assume they would be showing the games in 2025.

On this week's episode, Sinéad and Gavin dig into this story - why did RTE and the LOI prove to be such a loveless marriage? Were RTÉ neglecting their public service remit by not screening LOI games more often, or were they right not to do so from a commercial perspective?

They explore the eternal paradox of RTÉ's public service and commercial remits, discuss more broadly the role sport plays at RTÉ, and interrogate the role sport should play at RTÉ.

Why is there such little clarity on how much money RTÉ makes from their live sport coverage? Is it appropriate for RTÉ to have so many sports rights, and is it time they launched a sport-specific channel on which to show the many sports they have?

They also discuss why RTÉ's coverage been made so much more bland than it used to be, and whether they have erred in diminishing the role of 'personality pundits?'

Plus, why is everyone so unhappy with The Sunday Game, and are RTÉ right to sell their share of GAAGO?

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This week’s episode of The 42FM is brought to you by An Post Money. 

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