That tends to leave me a bit frustrated when there's something really worth watching on the analogue-only station. In fact, sometimes I'd be deterred from watching TV3 simply because the quality of the picture is not as good as the rest. So I immediately wondered how much my enjoyment of some of the championship matches will be affected this summer by the first involvement of the rookie channel in coverage of the sport's top attraction.
That was the first thought that entered my head when I received the following press release last Wednesday.
'TV3 is delighted to announce its ten exclusive live GAA Championship matches.
Opening with a classic Munster Hurling clash on June 1, TV3 cameras will be at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick as Clare and Waterford battle it out in the first round.
Then it's on to Croke Park for Dublin's Leinster Football opener against Louth on June 8, followed by back-to-back Leinster Football semi-finals, exclusive to TV3 on June 22 and June 29.
With three live provincial finals in July, TV3 will be there when the first silverware is handed out. The Leinster Hurling, the Connacht Football and the Ulster Football Finals will be live over consecutive weeks.
TV3 will also show live and exclusive coverage of the Football Qualifiers with "first pick" rights to all three qualifying rounds. This promises to throw up some compelling encounters as the qualifiying system continues to add extra excitement to the season.
TV3 also announced today the appointment of Motive Television-Asgard Media as TV3's production partners for all live match coverage.
Motive Television-Asgard Media have extensive GAA television production experience including the hugely popular series, Breaking Ball. Ciarán Ó hEadhra from Asgard Media has been appointed Series Producer for all live matches. Further appointments will be announced over the coming weeks.'

TV3 Championship Schedule
June 1 - Clare v Waterford
June 8 - Dublin v Louth
June 22 - LSFC S/F
June 29 - LSFC S/F
July 7 - Leinster Hurling Final
July 13 - Connacht Football Final
July 19 - Round 1 Qualifiers
July 20 - Ulster Football Final
July 26 - Round 2 Qualifiers
August 2 - Round 3 Qualifiers

To try and ascertain whether I'll be watching a snowy picture as Tyrone take on Down etc, I contacted BBC's head of sport for clarification. This is his reply: 'At the moment, we're still not altogether sure. We think at least five games live, but more probably seven live; and, for the remaining match, a deferred showing of the entire game - which won't have been on anywhere else.'
So Orla Bannon's report in the Daily Mirror on Saturday, saying all eight games are live on BBC is not quite up to the mark. But it still sounds good to me!