RTÉ International
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This article contains information about a future television station, channel or network. The content may change dramatically as the channel or network launch approaches and more information becomes available. |
RTÉ International is the working title of an international television service, to be created by the national broadcaster of the Republic of Ireland, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ).
The channel is expected to offer programmes from RTÉ One, Two and TG4, including education, drama, comedy, music, news and current affairs. The Oireachtas (parliament) has passed legislation requiring that RTÉ supply international service to suit the needs of Irish citizens living abroad, along with other new digital RTÉ channels.
Launch in Great Britain is expected in March 2009. (RTÉ's domestic channels are already available on cable and Sky Digital in Northern Ireland, but not to the rest of the United Kingdom, owing to rights restrictions.) There are also plans to launch the channel in Central Europe and North America.
A similar service aired from 1996 until 2002 operated by a now-defunct cable and satellite channel, Tara Television. This channel was carried on Sky in the United Kingdom and on a small number of cable television services. The channel was 75% owned by UPC, RTÉ owned the remaining 25%. It was claimed by RTÉ that the channel could not pay royalty payments due to RTÉ for their programming. Despite a last minute deal between Setanta Sports and UPC, Tara closed down, leaving Irish viewers in Britain without access to Irish television.
Setanta then considered themselves creating a direct replacement channel carrying the best of RTÉ TV in Britain during 2004, but this did not materialise.
A Liberal Democrat councillor, of Irish extraction, Martin Curry, is seeking to have RTÉ International carried on the digital terrestrial television service, Freeview, if Sky removes its channels from Freeview, rather than allowing Sky to use the bandwidth for subscription television. However, this is unlikely to happen as limited capacity on Freeview generally prevents the broadcasting of minority channels during main daytime/peak time hours.
On Friday 25 May, BBC Parliament carried live coverage of RTÉ One's election programme, during the early evening. (This followed their carriage of France 2's French presidential election programme a week earlier.) This gave British Freeview viewers access to some of RTÉ's output.
On Monday 17th March 2008, Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan announced the launch of RTÉ International under the new working title of Diaspora TV.
[edit] External links
- RTE to launch expat service
- RTÉ
- Irish Post article (22 Aug 2007)
- RTÉ to launch Diaspora TV service in UK
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- RTÉ International: It’s coming soon!
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