RTÉ Television

While Ireland had been one of the first countries in Europe to go into radio, it was a relative latecomer to television. The state operated on a shoestring budget for much of the time after its formation in 1922, and the Department of Finance would not approve of anything it deemed to be a 'luxury' that the people could do without; television fell into this category, though this did not mean that television was completely absent, south of Northern Ireland. When the BBC activated its Divis transmitter in July 1955, it was strong enough to be seen in much of Ireland, roughly north of a line from Sligo, running down to Wicklow. Ulster Television, the Northern Ireland contractor for ITV, followed in October 1959; however, the picture quality was considerably lower for viewers in the Republic than it was for those in Northern Ireland.

Channels

* RTÉ One (launched in 1961 as Telefís Éireann, or simply RTÉ when there was just one station)
* RTÉ Two (known from 1988 to 2004 as Network 2)
* TG4 (formerly called "Teilifís na Gaeilge")
"Forthcoming Channels"
* RTÉ International (launching late 2008/early 2009)
* RTÉ Three (launching 2009)
* RTÉ One+1(launching 2009)
* RTÉ HD (launching 2009)

History

In the late 1950s, a Television Committee was formed; their goal was to set up an Irish television service with as little financial commitment from Dublin as possible. It initially recommended setting up a service along the lines of ITV, plus five mountain tops as transmission sites, which were also equipped for FM radio transmission. However, since Éamon de Valera was somewhat wary of television, nothing more of consequence was done until Seán Lemass succeeded him as Taoiseach in 1959. A year later, Radio Éireann was converted from an arm of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs into a semi-state body and given responsibility for television. Eamonn Andrews was appointed as the new chairman.

Telefís Éireann began broadcasting at 19:00 on New Year's Eve, 1961. (It was originally supposed to go on the air on Christmas of that year, but Andrews gave the 'Radio Éireann' staff time off for Christmas.) The opening address by President de Valera described the benefits and disadvantages of the new medium; he went on to say that 'Like atomic energy, it can be used for incalculable good, but it can also do irreparable harm.' There were other messages from Cardinal d'Alton and Lemass; following this, a live concert was broadcast from the Gresham Hotel in Dublin. The show, which was a countdown to the New Year, was hosted by Andrews, with appearances by Patrick O'Hagan, the Artane Boys' Band and Michael O'Hehir.

Television opened up a completely new world to the Irish people. Topics which were hitherto not discussed in Ireland, such as abortion, contraception and various other controversial topics, were now being openly discussed in television studios; "The Late Late Show", which began in July 1962 and is still running as of 2007, and its original host, Gay Byrne, pioneered many of these discussions, and has been credited with being a major influence in the changing social structure of Ireland.RTÉ was the first broadcaster to have public System I 625-line transmissions in 1962, two years before the launch of BBC Two in that format. The broadcaster made its first official colour transmissions in 1969 – although a mistake in standards conversion may have transmitted the 1968 Wimbledon Men's Finals in colour. The first programme made in colour by RTÉ was the documentary special "John Hume's Derry", under the "7 Days" banner. Since 1969 RTÉ could transmit programmes made in colour which were imported from UK & US which were shown on RTÉ Television. The next phase was outside-broadcasts in colour, and the first was Ireland's hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 & Railway Cup Finals 1971, the first of many such productions by RTE. The first studios at RTÉ's headquarters in Donnybrook went into colour in 1972. This was followed by the news studios in 1974. All of RTÉ's studios at Donnybrook, Dublin were equipped for colour broadcasts by 1976. The last studio in RTÉ to go into colour was Studio 1 the then-home of Ireland's flagship talkshow The Late Late Show.

In 1977, a new Fianna Fáil government came to power, and as one of its many promises, the government quickly authorised a second channel to be run by RTÉ. RTÉ 2's remit was to provide alternative television. As a consequence, the original RTÉ 2 schedule had many live relays of British programmes; however, there was also some original RTÉ 2 programming. The new television channel went on the air on November 2, 1978, and the opening night featured a gala variety show from the Cork Opera House.

In 1987, RTÉ 2 was renamed Network 2, with the revamp intended to revive flagging viewership ratings, with many preferring to watch BBC Northern Ireland or UTV, both accessible within much of the Republic. All sports coverage was transferred to the newly renamed channel, along with all children's programmes. The few Irish-language programmes provided by RTÉ were now broadcast on Network 2, although RTÉ One now also broadcasts Irish-language programmes.

Although Irish language programmes, such as news bulletins ("Nuacht") and the long-running documentary series "Léargas" ('insight'), have been an integral part of the schedule, a new Irish-language TV service, Teilifís na Gaeilge (now TG4), began broadcasting in 1996.

Studios

RTÉ developed its only major studio complex outside Dublin in Cork. RTÉ Cork, opened in 1995 and became a huge success. It also became a large contributor to network output on both Radio One and RTÉ One.

Scheduling

Presently, both RTÉ One and RTÉ Two provide round-the-clock broadcasts seven days a week, providing comprehensive coverage of news, current affairs, sport, music, drama and entertainment. Most of the broadcasts are in English, including programming imported from the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand.

Availability

RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and TG4 are also available in much of Northern Ireland via terrestrial overspill or on cable (coverage and inclusion on cable systems varies). Since 23 April 2002, (18 April 2005 in Northern Ireland) the channels have also been available via satellite on Sky Digital, although these are encrypted and anyone wishing to view the channels needs to obtain a Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland subscription (they are part of the Variety Mix under the new pricing system, or the Family Pack in the pre-2005 system). In addition, some sports programmes are blocked to NI viewers due to rights issues which conflict with the UK.

RTÉ's TV channels are not available to Sky subscribers in Great Britain, as owing to rights issues, it would be difficult and costly for RTÉ to broadcast its channels in the whole of the UK. However, between 1997 and 2002, Tara Television carried a mix of RTÉ One and Two programmes before disputes with RTÉ over payment led to its closure. [RTÉ News: [http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/0319/taratv.html Tara Television wound up in High Court] 19 March 2002]

While both the Irish government and RTÉ have expressed an interest in launching a similar service to Tara, no serious attempt has been made to establish one. In the meantime, a thriving grey market in Irish-registered Sky Digital receivers means that Irish people in Britain and much of Europe are able to watch RTÉ and the other Irish channels, provided they import an Irish-registered Sky Digital box. In January 2007, RTÉ announced plans to launch a channel, with the working title of RTÉ International, which would offer programmes from RTÉ One and Two as well as TG4. [The Sunday Times: [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2546385,00.html RTÉ to launch expat service] 14 January 2007] It would be initially available in Britain, before expanding into the rest of Europe, North America and Australia. The Irish government, while supporting the initiative by proposing new legislation, stated that no extra funds would be available.

In the meantime, all RTÉ News and Current Affairs programmes, as well as specials like the St. Patrick's Day parade and Easter mass, started to stream live free around the world on March 17, 2007 at http://www.rte.ie/live/.

From the outset, RTÉ had faced competition from British TV channels such as those of the BBC and ITV, broadcasting from Northern Ireland, whose signals spilt over into the Republic. RTÉ's approach was pragmatic, as it introduced cable television in the 1970s, initially known as RTÉ Relays, and subsequently (following mergers with other companies) as "Cablelink", although it later sold its stake in the company, to NTL Ireland which has now become UPC. In the 1990s, more competition came from satellite television, especially from Sky based in the UK. British terrestrial TV channels are now commonly available throughout the Republic, but the number of channels received varies depending on the region. Despite this availability RTÉ still manages to achieve over 50% of the total TV audience for all channels.

Programming

RTÉ carried the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games opening and closing ceremonies live for the first time in the history of the games, together with daily radio and television coverage of the events.

Presentation

RTÉ introduced digital on-screen graphics for both RTÉ One and RTÉ Two in 2004 a move which has proven somewhat controversial despite TV3 and TG4 using them from the outset."In late 2004, RTÉ produced the third series of the talent show 'You're a Star' in widescreen (i.e. the aspect ratio of 16:9). This was RTÉ's first official 16:9 production but the programme wasn't actually available to viewers in 16:9 format even on digital platforms. Instead, it was broadcast like all other 16:9 programmes in the 14:9 'letterbox' aspect ratio. It was not until March of 2005 that RTÉ One and RTÉ Two began broadcasting some programmes in true 16:9 format on digital platforms. This was followed by a complete switchover to 16:9 output on both television channels in May 2005 with the exception of a few programmes. This did not require a make-over of the on-screen identity of the two channels because all of the idents and other presentation output had already been created in 16:9 (as far back as September 2003 for RTÉ One and October 2004 for RTÉ Two) in anticipation of such a switchover. RTÉ's news bulletins (and the rest of the news and current affairs programming) were not broadcast in 16:9 until August 28, 2006 when RTÉ's news output was given a new look. TG4 began broadcasting in 16:9 in late 2006.

RTÉ television genres

Since 2003, RTÉ has branded its television programmes under a number of different genres. Each genre operates broadly under a Commissioning Editor, except for RTÉ News and Current Affairs which are separately structured and controlled. The genres are;

* RTÉ Arts – producing cultural shows and documentaries.
* RTÉ Diversity – producing disability, Irish language and minority programming.
* RTÉ Religious – producing religious programming.
* RTÉ Drama – producing soap operas and other drama series and shows.
* RTÉ Education – producing educational programming aimed at both children and adults.
* RTÉ Entertainment – producing chatshows, comedy shows and reality shows..
* RTÉ Factual – producing present-day documentaries, nature documentaries and scientific programming.
* RTÉ History – producing historical documentaries.
* RTÉ Music – producing shows on all types of music, including Classical, traditional Irish and pop/rock.
* RTÉ News and Current Affairs – producing all of RTÉ's news and current affairs programming.
* RTÉ Sport – covering both Irish and international sporting events.
* RTÉ Young People's Programmes – producing shows for children and teenagers.

References

ee also

*RTÉ

External links

* [http://www.rte.ie/television RTÉ Television]