RTÉ Two

RTÉ Two / RTÉ a Dó
Launched	2 November 1978 (SD)[1] 26 May 2011 (HD)
Owned by	Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Picture format	576i 16:9 (SDTV) 1080i 16:9 (HDTV)
Audience share	10.0% (31 December 2012, )
Slogan	Youthful, Vibrant and Innovative
Language	English Irish
Broadcast area	Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland Worldwide (online with restricted and unrestricted programming)
Headquarters	Donnybrook, Dublin
Formerly called	RTÉ 2 (1978–1988) Network 2 (1988–1995) Network Two (1995-1997) N2 (1997-2004) RTE Two (2004-2013)(analogue/digital) RTE TWO HD from 2011 (saorview-only)
Sister channel(s)	RTÉ One RTÉ News Now RTÉjr TRTÉ
Website	www.rte.ie/tv/rtetwo.html
Availability
Terrestrial
Saorview	Channel 2 (HD)
Freeview	Channel 53 (NI only)
Satellite
Saorsat	Ka-Sat 9A (9.0°E), TP 20185 L
SCTV Digital	Channel 102
Sky (Ireland)	Channel 102 (SD/HD) Channel 115 (SD/HD)
Sky (NI only)	Channel 162 (SD/HD) Channel 227 (SD/HD)
Cable
UPC Ireland	Channel 102 Channel 136 (HD)
Virgin Media	Channel 876 (NI only)
IPTV
Magnet Entertainment	Channel 102
Smart Vision	?
Streaming media
UPC Horizon	Watch live (Ireland only)
Aer TV	Watch live (Ireland only)
RTÉ Player	Watch live (available depending on rights)

RTÉ Two (Irish: RTÉ a Dó) is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout Ireland on the digital terrestrial service Saorview and via satellite television to subscribers of Sky. Cable providers, including UPC Ireland (in the Republic of Ireland) and Virgin Media (in Northern Ireland), also provide the channel and, in Northern Ireland, it is carried on the Freeview service. RTÉ Two HD, is a simulcast in high-definition (HD), launched on 27 May 2011.^[2]

History

In the 1970s the Irish government considered three options for the introduction of a second television service: the re-transmission of BBC1 Northern Ireland; authorization of an independent commercial service; or charging RTÉ with the establishment of a second national channel. It was the last of these that was finally chosen.^[3]

The channel, the Republic of Ireland's second, began transmissions on 2 November 1978 with an opening broadcast of a gala ceremony from Cork Opera House. Owing to a technical fault, audio from BBC2 was played during the countdown instead of the proper soundtrack, and when the channel commenced programmes, there was no audio for the initial 15 seconds or so. At first the new channel broadcast in the evenings only.

RTÉ 2 (1978–1988)

60% of the Republic of Ireland could receive UK channels via spillover or via cable. Cable in the republic was only permitted in areas of spillover up to the mid-1980s, to provide viewers with better reception of channels they could already receive over the air. Hence RTÉ Two was aimed at those that did not have the UK channels. To this end one of their main remits was the re-broadcasting of UK programming to Irish audiences, that would not otherwise be seen on RTÉ 1. Coronation Street aired on the channel simultaneously with ITV's broadcasts of the programme (this continued until 1992 when it was put on RTÉ 1 due to the Olympic Games coverage). It broadcast much live programming from the BBC and ITV. However the channel in its initial format was not considered a success.

The channel was also there for Irish speakers who were still looking for a television channel in the Irish language. Cursaí a current affair programme air on the channel until the mid-1990s. Other Irish language shows included the schools quiz Eureka and Scaoil Amach an Bobailín with Seán Bán Breathnach.

However by 1987 RTÉ 2 was beginning to rebrand, RTÉ had relaunch with a new logo and both RTÉ 1 and 2 this year had similar idents. While the rebrand was a small success for both channels it was felt that RTÉ 2 and RTÉ 1 needed more specific audiences, RTÉ 2 at this stage was becoming more and more associated with youth orientated programming and sports programming (especially as UK channels were becoming more and more available across the country). In 1988 the majority of sporting and children's programming was moved to Network 2, the new name for RTÉ 2.

Network 2 (1988–1997)

In September 1988, RTÉ2 was given a major revamp and became Network 2. In addition to the launch of a new vivid red, blue, and green logo, the channel now came on air at 14:30. The Den was moved to the channel, along with most youth and children's programming. Jo Maxi was launched as the youth strand. Sports Stadium took up the entire Saturday afternoon schedule, and all sports programming was aired on the channel, along with Irish language programming. A late night news bulletin, Network News, which was followed by the controversial chat show come soap opera Nighthawks presented by Shay Healy.

This relaunch was a big success, and Network 2 remained stable until the mid-1990s. A new logo—referring to the channel as RTÉ Network Two (though the "RTÉ" part was not referred to by announcers)—was launched with the new RTÉ logo in 1995. By this time, RTÉ Network Two broadcast from mid-morning onwards, with educational programmes during the day. Also during this era, the channel experimented with late night broadcasts at weekends, under the The End brand, anchored by Barry Murphy and Sean Moncrieff.

N2 (1997–2004)

There was another major revamp in 1997, the channel was visually rebranded as "N2", though announcers continued to refer to "Network 2". N2 brought about perhaps as big a change as the original relaunch, RTÉ branding was dropped from the station almost completely, with home produced programmes now being referred to as "N2 Productions" (foreign imports were "N2 Presentations"). A futuristic logo along with a series of unusual graphical idents were developed. In-vision announcing returned. More importantly, the channel's line-up was completely refreshed. The late night schedule was completely revamped, with the launch of News 2—a tailored bulletin for young people—followed by a talk show, Later On 2. Monday nights became comedy nights, with the launch of home-produced comedy such as Don't Feed The Gondolas. Elsewhere theme nights became a regular fixture, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays. The Den was now broadcast all day until 18:00 and was renamed Den 2.

Not all the changes were universally welcomed, with the "N2" era, RTÉ cancelled its long running Saturday sports programme, Sports Stadium in 1997. Since then, RTÉ has not regularly aired live sports (or at least, as part of a regular schedule) on Saturday afternoons, though major events are still covered.

Many of the innovations of the N2 era had faded out by 2003. The idents had been replaced by simpler creations, the in-vision continuity had been scrapped again. Later On 2 had more-or-less ended (one of the strands continues as The View on RTÉ One). In September 2003, News 2 reverted to the regular RTÉ News format (as RTÉ News on Two).

From September 2003, continuity announcers and trailers began to refer to the channel by the fuller title of "RTÉ Network Two", in line with a new RTÉ initiative to promote the corporate branding. The main channel idents never changed, and said merely "N2" (although a newly introduced on-screen DOG said "RTÉ N2".). And finally in 2004 Network 2 was relaunched as RTÉ Two, in line with its sister channel RTÉ One.

RTÉ Two (2004- )

RTÉ decided that the channel needed another revamp to keep it fresh. The channel's name reverted to RTÉ Two on the morning of 2 October 2004, with a themed evening of programmes called "Farewell Network 2" beginning at 20:00, featuring Podge and Rodge (see The Den). The new logo is similar in style to the current RTÉ One logo. The new branding is designed to promote the Irishness of the station, green is the dominant colour. New strands were developed. In particular, the number of Irish made programmes has increased, though some of this is made up of a new strand of early evening repeats. The idents from this time were based on a Green Room theme.

The latest change has been a complete rebrand and relaunch of The Den, on Saturday 17 September 2005, with the id Two strand becoming TTV on the following Monday. In September 2009 TTV relaunched as Two Tube.

RTÉ Two got a new look on 17 September 2009. The new idents were created by RTÉ Graphic Design.^[4]

Continuing with the corporate branding of RTÉ radio and Television stations RTÉ TWO's iconic children's brand The Den ended on the 20 of September 2010. The Den was replaced by TRTÉ, while Den Tots was replaced by RTÉjr, this was due mainly to the on set of digital TV on which RTÉjr is available as a separate channel. Two Tube remains as the teenage block of programming. RTÉ Two continues to air a block of programming from RTÉjr.

RTÉ Two HD

RTÉ Two HD launched on Saorview on 27 May 2011.^[5] The service broadcasts sporting programming from national to international events, documentaries, movies and USA & Canada & Australian programming in high-definition 1080i. Gradually, the channel airs Irish programming in high-definition where available. The channel launched with special HD sporting content between Saturday 28 May and Sunday 29 May 2011. On 15 March 2012, RTÉ Two HD was added to UPC Ireland channel 135.^[6] RTÉ Two HD was scheduled to be added to Sky on 14 May 2012 but was delayed due to technical problems.^[7] On 16 May 2012, RTÉ Two HD was added to the Sky EPG on channel 294 before moving to 227 in July 2012, it swaps with the standard definition channel on channel 102 in Ireland and channel 162 in Northern Ireland for HD customers. As of 20 August 2012, RTÉ Two HD is located at channel 115 for non HD customers or RTÉ Two SD for HD customers. There is only one broadcast version of RTÉ Two on Saorview as all STBs and iDTVs have access to RTÉ Two HD regardless of the TV's HD capacity, although during testing Saorview also carried RTÉ Two in SD on channel 7.^[8]

Format

• The channel simulcasts content from RTÉ Two SD and upscales SD content into HD.^[9] All other content on the channel will be made available entirely in HD this includes Gaelic Athletic Association, Champions League, World Cup, Olympic Games, Magners League sporting content, USA television series and movies. Additional Irish HD content will air from late 2011 onwards.

Budget

References

The following figures were issued by RTÉ as part of their Annual reports 2008^[10] and 2012^[11]

Income

Income Type	2008	2012
Licence Fee	€49,126,000	€53,456,000
Commerical Income	€48,791,000	€30,007,000
Total Income	€97,917,000	€83,463,000

Total Costs

Cost Type	2008	2012
Network and other related costs	€17,776,000	€14,193,000
Sales Costs	€2,271,000	not given
Acquired Programming	€11,172,000	€11,116,000
Irish Productions	€88,673,000	€66,004,000
Total Costs	€119,892,000	€91,313,000

Profit and Loss

2008	2012
(€21,975,000)	(€7,850,000)

Breakdown of Irish Productions

Production House	2008	2012
RTÉ	€70,226,000	€56,626,000
Independent Producers	€18,447,000	€9,378,000
Total	€88,673,000	€66,004,000

The table below outlines RTÉ Two's total in-house and commissioned programming by genre in 2008 and 2012:

Genre	2008	2012
Factual	€2,082,000	€2,332,000
Drama	€4,739,000	€102,000
Entertainment	€8,698,000	€7,033,000
Music	€1,000,000	€1,375,000
News,Current Affairs and Weather	€3,024,000	€2,294,000
Sport	€53,820,000	€46,461,000
Young Peoples Programming	€14,935,000	€7,527,000
Total	€88,673,000	€66,004,000

Programming

RTÉ Two's main emphasis is on programmes for children and young people together with sports and acquired imported programmes. The channel's children's strand is called RTÉjr/TRTÉ, known from 1986 to 2010 as The Den, runs from 06:00 to 17:30 each weekday, followed by its youth strand, Two Tube (formerly TTV and iD Two) from 17:30 to 19:00. RTÉ News on Two airs each weekday after 22:45. Much of RTÉ's programming for 2 - 6 year olds will move to a separtate channel RTÉjr, while it is expected that TRTÉ will replace RTÉjr's hours on RTÉ Two on Saorview when Analogue signals are replaced by Digital Terrestrial Television DTT in 2012.

The channel also has a number of other strands, including Two Wild, Two Extreme, and RTÉ Sport on Two. Films are also regularly aired on the channel especially European cinema and International cinema.

After 19:00, RTÉ Two airs its primetime lineup. This includes such imported shows as Homeland, Generation War, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Neighbours, Under The Dome, Doctors etc., and such home-produced shows as The Republic Of Telly, Fade Street, The Model Scouts, The Savage Eye and Don't Tell The Bride. RTÉ Two also airs premier movies under the name SCREEN TWO and has first run rights to Irish rugby and Irish soccer. The channel has a reputation for airing many US shows such as before any other networks in Europe.^[12][13]

Commissioning editor

During the time of the 1997 rebrand of the channel as N2 they had placed the Head of Schedule as "controller" of the channel. Up to then channel was run side by side RTÉ One under RTÉ Television. Andrew Burns was head hunted from Border Television^[14] where he had successful moved from continuity announcing to TV management in 1996. N2 was a successful relaunched of the channel in the late 1990s however due to allegations of bullying by Andrew Burns towards one of the channels continuity announcers he was forced to resign from his position.^[15] Andrew Fitzpatrick was then poached to take control of RTÉ scheduling from TV3 however N2 pretty much reverted to being part of the overall RTÉ Television structure.^[16] In May 2011 it was announced by RTÉ that Eddie Doyle was given the position of commissioning editor at RTÉ Two. Eddie Doyle was RTÉ Commission Editor of Entertainment.^[17]

Imported programming

1978–1988

RTÉ Two was original set up to provide Irish viewers with retransmission of BBC and ITV programming. In 1978 it introduced a simulcast of many British programmes including Top of the Pops. Other UK shows included Coronation Street (which began simulcasting from 1983), Porridge, Mastermind,Never the Twain, Treasure Hunt and Wogan and American shows such as The Dick Cavett Show, Tales of the Unexpected, My Friend Rabbit, Crazy Like a Fox and The Tracey Ullman Show. They also broadcast the Australian soap opera A Country Practice. In 1988 RTÉ did a major revamp of the service, focusing more on Sports, Children's TV, Irish Programming as RTÉ 2 was still behind both UTV and BBC One NI in the ratings.^[18]

1988–1993

As Network 2 the service still focused strongly on imported programming, RTÉ would now look to have first runs of US programming before other European networks. In the early years Network 2 broadcast US sit-coms Monday to Friday at 21:00 such as The Golden Girls, Cheers, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Check It Out and Murphy Brown. They also broadcast Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. They also began broadcasting the long running Australian soap opera Home and Away, while A Country Practice moved to RTÉ One. In 1992 Coronation Street moved to RTÉ One. Other US shows at this time included Head of the Class, Ferris Bueller and Eerie Indiana.^[19]

1993–1997

During the 1990s Network 2 began to expand it schedule to cover morning and late night television. Imports still played a major part of the schedule with first showings of popular 1990s TV such as Friends, The X Files, Nowhere Man, My So-Called Life, but also Late Night and Daytime repeats of Yes Minister, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Cheers, The Beverly Hillbillies, Peyton Place, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, MacGyver and also the morning strand of Open University. At 18:00 they began show many US teen sit-coms such as California Dreams, Saved by the Bell and Harry and the Hendersons. The Fashion Show

1997–2004

During the late 1990s the schedules began to increase in size again. All of the daytime repeat programmes were replaced by Children's television while Late Night TV was extended until 2am each morning with shows like, Profiler, Millennium, Star Trek: Voyager, Stargate SG1 and some Australian serials including Water Rats and Murder Call. In 2001 they began broadcasting the Australian teen soap Neighbours. Popular prime time US programmes included Friends, Ally McBeal, 24, Dawson's Creek, Smallville, Jessie, Frasier and Boston Public. In 2000 Network 2 broadcast all episodes of the cult favourite Freaks and Geeks and finished the series before NBC did in the US. During this time they also began airing The Simpsons which had not be seen on the channel since The Tracey Ullman Show in the late 1980s.

Since 2004

Renamed in 2004 as RTÉ Two, the channel still has a heavy emphasis on imported programming. Its late night schedule completely filled with imports from Rules of Engagement to 24, from Rescue Me to Smallville. Their 19:00 to 21:00 schedule consists of many BBC natural history programmes including David Attenborough Life and Horizons. The channel currently shows first time showings of Cougar Town, Flash Forward, Lost, The Good Wife, CSI, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Sons of Anarchy. Life with Boys and Mr. Young

RTÉ Two also airs American programmes such as The Simpsons (currently airing Season 20 weekdays at 18:00), 90210, Revenge (TV series) Law & Order, Criminal Minds, The Big Bang Theory, Greys Anatomy, Worst Week and Private Practice. Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away air along with Irish programmes such as Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen, The Podge and Rodge Show. Other well known US shows on RTÉ Two include Lost, Ugly Betty, Prison Break, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY and Desperate Housewives. It also airs Smallville, Sons of Anarchy, Eli Stone, Mr. Sunshine after midnight on weekends. British shows such as Shameless and The Thick of It.

It has also aired Seasons 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of NCIS (TV series) and also Season 2 of Hawaii Five-0.

Irish-produced programming

Reality TV

During the last decade like many other TV channels RTÉ Two have had several reality based TV shows.

In 2003 Network 2 set out to find their news TV presenter in a reality show called The Selection Box, the eventual winner was Caroline Morahan. In more recent years they have produced a similar children's series for The Den called It's My Show.

RTÉ Two also produced two series of the employment reality show No Experience Required, three prospective candidates are evaluated over the course of a week for a vacant position in a top company, the show follows them through interview stages and tasks set out by their prospective employees. A spin off series entitled No Experience Require transition years was produced for a younger school going audiences.^[20]

In 2008 RTÉ Two broadcast Hollywood Trials. It follow a group of young actors traveling to make it big in LA. The actors where selected by Hollywood acting guru Margie Haber. Those selected to travel with Margie to LA included Chris Newman from the RTÉ Two drama Love is the Drug, George McMahon from RTÉ One soap opera Fair City and Michael Graham of Boyzone fame.^[21] Nelvana

Hollywood Trials was then followed by The Model Agent. The model agent in question was Ellis and with help of Erin O'Connor as the girls mentor she picked Carrie-Anne Burton for a contract with Independent Models, one of the world's leading modeling agencies and a cover for Image magazine, one of the Ireland's most high profile and respected fashion titles.^[22] A similar series called The Model Scouts is currently in production.

Do the Right Thing is a reality series which began in September 2010 and is hosted by Lucy Kennedy and Baz Ashmawy, in search of the Ireland's ultimate volunteer.

In 2011 Masterchef Ireland began airing on the channel two nights a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 21:30.

RTÉ Two also ran spin off serials to RTÉ One's reality shows, such as You're A Star Uncut, Cabin Fever, and Treasure Island Uncovered.

Drama

In the first two decades of RTÉ Two little original drama was produce for the channel; often RTÉ would just repeat their dramas on the channel such as Fair City and Glenroe. RTÉ did place some emphasis on short film in the RTÉ Two series Short Cuts. Short Films remain on RTÉ Two most Monday nights at 11:30; these shorts are not just taken from RTÉ co-financed productions but also from independent producers around the world.

RTÉ Two's most successful drama was a drama/comedy/chat show entitled Nighthawks presented by Shay Healy. This was produced as a pseudo-documentary about the behind the scenes of the television production, it featured many well known Irish comedians, however unlike the mockumentary The Larry Sanders Show, Nighthawks featured real interviews and was created by David Blake Knox, who went on to be controller of Network 2 until 1998. Gerry Ryan had a similar format show called Gerry Ryan Tonight during the 1990s.

Drama 2000-2008

From 2000 to 2008 RTÉ were committed to providing new and original drama on RTÉ Two each Monday night each autumn. The dramas had mixed reviews but they included Paths to Freedom (2000), Bachelors Walk (2001–2003), The Big Bow Wow (2003), Pure Mule (2004), Love is the Drug (2004) and Prosperity (2007). Raw was RTÉ Two's last Monday night drama; it received mixed reviews but it reached on average 250,000 viewers each week against RTÉ One's Prime Time Investigates and TV3'sThe Apprentice; Raw's second series ran on RTÉ One. Most of RTÉ Two's drama output was aimed at a younger audience than that of RTÉ One's and it often contained bad language and sex scenes.^[23][24]

RTÉ ended their RTÉ Two drama's in 2008 with the first season of Raw, choosing to air its second season on RTÉ One. RTÉ are not currently looking for drama specifically for RTÉ Two which brings to an end a significant amount of work brought to the channel from RTÉ's drama department and independent producers. Many of the dramas of this era on RTÉ Two were seen as experimental but also highly modern and innovative.

Comedy

Monday night has been comedy night on RTÉ Two since its 1997 re-launch. Many US sitcoms were intermixed with live Irish comedy such as Don't Feed The Gondalas (DFTG), The Panel, The Podge and Rodge Show, A Scare at Bedtime with Podge and Rodge, @LastTV, The Liffey Laughs, The Blizzard of Odd, The Byrne Ultimatum and Night Live.

RTÉ Young Peoples

RTÉ Young Peoples' department oversees programming for Under 5s, 5 to 12 year olds and teenage audiences. As part RTÉ Two's redevelopment in 1988 as Network 2, most of RTÉ's young peoples' programming moved from RTÉ One to Network 2.

Children's television

Dempsey's Den was hosted by Ian Dempsey, Zig and Zag and Zuppy the Dog. It moved to Network 2 from RTÉ One, and broadcasting for an extra hour from 15:00 to 18:00. Network 2 would start the day 14:30 with Bosco a pre-school television show. All children's television moved to Network 2 when it rebranded in 1988. When Ian Dempsey left Dempsey's Den the show was renamed The Den with new presenter Ray D'Arcy. Ray presented the show from 1990 to 1997 when the strand began to expand it schedule into the early hours of the morning. From 1997 to 2010 The Den ran for 10 hours a day starting at 07:00 to 17:00 followed by teenage strands iD, TTV and Two Tube. RTÉ choose to rebrand their children's strands in 2010 effectively axing Ireland's longest running children's TV show. TRTÉ and RTÉjr will begin airing from 20 September 2010.

Saturday programming came from RTÉ Cork in form the mid-1990s to the late-2000s, starting with The Swamp which took the place of classic Irish Children's TV such as Pajo's Junkbox, Scratch Saturday and Anything Goes (which broadcast on RTÉ One). Satitude was RTÉ Cork's main TV show for children and was broadcast on The Den on RTÉ Two on Saturday mornings. Satitude was cancelled in 2009.

Den Tots was The Den's pre-school strand it is replaced by RTÉjr, RTÉ do not advertise during these selected hours.

Teenage television

Shows for young people in the 1970s and 1980s included

• MTV USA a pop video music programming presented from New York by pioneering Irish radio DJ and television presenter Vincent Hanley
• Youthline a series which looked at new and upcoming artists such as U2.

In the late 1980s RTÉ began simulcasting The Beatbox with 2FM as a replacement for MTV USA. Presenters included Barry Lang, Electric Eddie (Doug Murray), Simon Young, Peter Collins, Ian Dempsey. It was replaced in 1995 with Dave Fanning's 2TV. 2TV spawned several spin offs late night videos hosted by Jon Slattery and RTÉ's only attempt at a morning show in 1999 with Bianka Luykx.

In 1988 Jo Maxi appeared for the first time until 1993, a daily teen show airing at 18:00, which was later replaced by Echo Island and in the early 2000s by ID, followed by ID2, TTV and now Two Tube.

News and Current Affairs

Since 1978 RTÉ Two have provide a late night news. The first such news programme was called NewsNight.^[25] The programme was a wide international news service which provided news stories from US and UK broadcasters the show also included a national news bulletin.

With the relaunch of RTÉ Two as Network 2 the news was renamed Network News.^[26] The news was now similar in style to the newly launched Six One news and Nine News on RTÉ One.

In 1997 with the possibility of competition from a new local broadcaster Network 2 relaunch again known on screen as N2. Late night news was renamed News2 and was hosted by Sharon Ní Bheoláin and Anthony Murnane and aimed at a much younger audience. Its content was customised for a younger audience, and presenters and journalists tend to use more informal language on the programme.^[27]

RTÉ News on Two is RTÉ's late evening news programme. The program is broadcast Monday-Thursday on the channel. It does not have a regular time slot, but is usually broadcast at some point between 22:45 and 23:30. Since October 2006 the bulletin has been presented by Eileen Whelan, following the departure of Anthony Murnane who was with the programme from the beginning. John O'Driscoll is the programme Editor. Since the launch of RTÉ's Morning Edition on RTÉ One RTÉ News on Two has been reduced to a 10 minute bulletin.

Since March 2007 RTÉ News on Two is available streamed live on the internet and archive shows are available to view through the RTÉ website. On Fridays an extended late summary on RTÉ One is broadcast instead of RTÉ News on Two. There are no weekend news programmes on RTÉ Two other than summaries.

They also provide children's news each weekday called News2day.

Current Affair's programming on the channel included Market Place a business news show and Later On 2, RTÉ Two no long covers current affairs. On Budget Day RTÉ broadcast Opposition speeches on RTÉ Two, while both RTÉ One and RTÉ News Now cover analysis of the Budget.

Sport

RTÉ Two broadcast the majority of RTÉ's sports content. Since RTÉ own rights to several competitions any fixtures clashing with RTÉ Two's schedule will often be provided on RTÉ One, however RTÉ One rarely provides sporting events on weekdays hence most Soccer matches are shown on RTÉ Two. These include UEFA Champions league and the League of Ireland. George Hamilton is the station's main sports commentator. RTÉ Two also covers some smaller sports such as Athletics, Australian rules football, Baseball, Basketball, Combat sports, Cricket, Cycling, Extreme sports, Golf, Hockey, Racquet sports, Scuba diving, Snooker, pool, Target shooting, Triathlon, and Water sports. RTÉ Two also covers the Olympic Games and the annual International Rules Series between Ireland and Australia.

RTÉ Two's sports coverage is its most popular programming strand, it often tops RTÉ Two's most watch shows, significantly out doing other all other programming. RTÉ plan to provide most sporting events in High Definition on RTÉ Two.^[2]

GAA

RTÉ Two provides most of the GAA Championship coverage for Hurling and Football, in 2008 RTÉ lost its monopoly on the championship games as TV3 for the first time in its 10 year history took an interest in the games having mainly bought in Soccer and bought live rights for 10 of the matches for 3 seasons.

The main GAA show is called The Sunday Game it is a review of the weekends action and it is presented by Michael Lyster and Des Cahill, The Sunday Game Live is broadcast earlier in the day. While The Saturday Game Live only provides live coverage of the games. Setanta Sports also holds rights for the GAA Championships however these are delayed rights as Setanta Sports is a pay television service. RTÉ Two also provides live coverage of the Camogie All-Ireland finals. RTÉ was one of three sponsors for the Hurling Championships.

Soccer

League of Ireland rights are owned by RTÉ and Setanta Sports. They each take turns on showing live matches each Friday night.RTE also show FAI CUP games and the final in HD. Every Monday at 7.00 pm RTE produce a domestic soccer show called Monday Night Soccer (MNS) presented by Peter Collins which provides a round up of the weekend of League of Ireland and international team news with regular guests. RTÉ have held rights to the 15:30 FA Premiership match from the English league, however these are now owned by Setanta Sports. In June 2013, RTÉ decided not to renew their highlights package for the Premier League as part of cost-cutting measures and to concentrate on national sporting interests. This package has been since taken up by Setanta Sports. The currently have the rights to the 2016 European championships and 2018 FIFA World Cup . They currently hold the rights to Wednesday Nights soccer from UEFA Champions League with both Setanta and TV3 all other hold rights. They also broadcast games of the Republic of Ireland national football team, though the games were formerly broadcast by RTÉ One.

World Cup Coverage

RTÉ have had exclusive rights to the World Cup tournament, coverage is on RTÉ Two while rte.ie provides coverage of clashing games. Having been the only national service until the arrival of TG4 and TV3 in the mid-1990s. In 1990 RTÉ made a major investment into the coverage of the tournament which coincided with Ireland's successful campaign under the management of Jack Charlton. The main panel of pundits appeared for the first time conisisting of presenter Bill O'Herlihy and pundits John Giles and Eamon Dunphy. For their coverage of 1994 World Cup RTÉ introduced the comedy Apres Match, a mock of the panel of pundits. The Apres Match pundits first appeared on RTÉ's late night comedy show The End with Barry Murphy. In 1998 the Apres Match pundits for the first time took control of the punditry of the third place play-off and in 2006 surprised themselves and audiences when Barry Murphy playing the part of Liam Brady accurately guess the result - Germany 3 and Portugal 1.^[28] In 2006 RTÉ also introduced Graeme Souness as a panelist. Other panelist include Ronnie Whelan, Richie Sadlier, Liam Brady and Denis Irwin. In 2010 Ossie Ardiles, Dietmar (Didi) Hamann and Kevin Kilbane joined the team of panelists. Darragh Maloney, Peter Collins and Con Murphy also present live matches and highlights of the games each night. The matches commentary is provided by George Hamilton, Ray Houghton, Gabriel Egan, Trevor Steven, Stephen Alkin, Damian Richardson, Adrian Eames, Matt Holland and Jimmy Magee.^[29]

Rugby

RTÉ holds the rights to highlights of the Heineken Cup, full coverage of the Six Nations Rugby, while lost out to Setanta and TV3 for the Rugby World Cup 2007. Their main Rugby team consists of George Hook and Ryle Nugent.

Entertainment

RTÉ Two's entertainment content is generally aimed at a young audience to that of its sister channel RTÉ One. Since 1988 RTÉ Two has been successful with a number of entertainment shows aimed at the 15 to 35 year old age group.

In the early years of RTÉ Two music shows on the channel consisted of Music TV USA every Friday night, which was then repeated on Sunday afternoons at 3pm. In the mid-1980s this was replaced by The Beatbox presented by Ian Dempsey. From 1995, Dave Fanning presented a near identical programme under the new name of 2TV. The Beat Box and 2TV were both broadcast on 2FM RTÉ's popular music radio station.

No Disco was an alternative music show for late night TV from 1993 to 2003, it was hosted by initially by Donal Dineen who left to present radio on Radio Ireland in 1997. Uaneen Fitzsimons took his place on the show, seen as a major upcoming television talent, Uaneen died in a road accident in 2000. She had made a significant name for herself on the show, her knowledge of the music industry, her love of the music and her respect for her guests was apparent throughout the show. When Under Ether is a music magazine show launched in 2009 and focuses on alternative, indie and electronica music.

In 1997 Later On 2, Tuesday nights was the Arts review show presented by John Kelly who now presents a similar show on RTÉ One called The View (RTE). Also in 1997 RTÉ introduced a set of comedy television shows on the newly re-launched N2 service. Don't Feed The Gondolas or DFTG was presented by Sean Moncreiff and later by Brendan O'Connor. In the initial years Brendan O'Connor was one of the main team captains, during the final season Brendan O'Connor became the main host with only 3 guests. Other shows to begin that year included Rodge and Podge:A Scare at Bedtime and @LastTV a fast paced review show with interviews, comedy sketches and music.

In 2009 RTÉ Two revamped its Entertainment season with critics and fans still undecided about new titles which included The Byrne Ultimatum, Meave Higgan's Fancy Vittles, The Republic of Telly and Podge & Rodge's Stickit Inn.

RTÉ Two's schedule is carefully made so as to maximise the viewing figures for RTÉ Two but not at the expense of its sister channel, RTÉ One.

References in media

• Saturday Night Live has mentioned this station on two occasions:
  • The recurring sketch "Top O'The Morning" hosted by two barflies Patrick Fitzwilliam (Jimmy Fallon) and William Fitzpatrick (Seth Meyers) is said to be broadcast on RTÉ Two.
  • A one-off sketch parodying reality shows that focus on remodeling houses called "You Call This A House, Do Ya?" is also said to have broadcast on RTÉ Two

See also

• List of programmes broadcast by RTÉ
• RTÉ One

References

External links

• RTÉ Two

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