Radio Telefís Éireann Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; English: Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national state broadcaster in the Republic of Ireland. The radio service began on January 1 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Further reading 3 See also 4 External link |
Colour television started in 1972, and in 1978 Ireland's second television channel, RTÉ Two, known for many years as Network 2, began broadcasting. 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 Britain, the United States and Australia. However Irish language programmes, such as Nuacht (the news) and Léargas (insight) have been an integral part of the schedule. In 1996 a new Irish language TV service, Teilifís na Gaeilge, since renamed TG4, began broadcasting for the first time though much of its programming is English movies and sport which are often unrelated to the language or Ireland for that matter. TG4 is part of RTÉ, but will become a separate public body during 2004, although RTÉ will continue to provide it with programming which comes essentially in the form of a subsidy. RTÉ's monopoly on TV broadcasting in the Republic only ended in 1998, with the launch of the commercial channel TV3.
RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and TG4 are also available in Northern Ireland (coverage and inclusion on cable systems varies), and from 1995 to 2002, there was also a channel in Great Britain Tara Television, which carried RTÉ programming, though not Irish sport coverage like the highly GAA or Gaelic games, as broadcasting rights had already been licensed to another channel, Setanta. Tara closed due to disagreements between RTÉ and the other companies. Ironically, RTÉ One, Network 2 and TG4 are available throughout Great Britain and Ireland via satellite on Sky Digital, although these are encrypted (for rights reasons, according to RTÉ), and anyone wishing to view the channels needs to obtain a Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland subscription (Family Pack or higher). There has been criticism that RTÉ is not available free on Sky Digital in the Republic (there is no use of "free to view", a non-subscription viewing card, as was used by the BBC).
From the outset, RTÉ had faced competition from British TV channels such as those of the BBC and UTV, broadcasting from Northern Ireland, whose signal 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 as Cablelink, although it later sold its stake in the company, which is now known as NTL Ireland. In the late 1980s, more competition came from satellite television, especially from Sky based in the UK.
In 2003, RTÉ's reality TV show Cabin Fever made international news when the ship, on which contestants where scheduled to remain for eight weeks, with one person voted off each week by viewers and forced literally to "walk the plank" was thrown into chaos when the sailing ship on which the show was taking place hits rocks near Tory Island, off the Irish coast, and later sank. All the contestants escaped unharmed.
Three personalities have worked with and continue to work with RTÉ since 1962:
Principal stations
Television
See also: List of RTÉ television programming
Radio
The first voice broadcast of 2RN, the original radio callsign for Radio 1, took place on November 14, 1925 when an announcer said, "Seo Raidió 2RN, Baile Átha Cliath ag tástáil", meaning "This is Radio 2RN, Dublin testing". Regular Irish radio broadcasting began on January 1, 1926. 2RN later became known as Radio Éireann. Now, RTÉ has a nationwide commnications network with an increasing emphasis on regional news-gathering and input. Broadcasting on Radio 1 provides comprehensive coverage of news, current affairs, music, drama and variety features, agriculture, education, religion and sport, mostly in English but also some Irish. RTÉ 2FM is a popular music and chat channel, while RTÉ Lyric FM serves the interests of classical music and the arts. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, an exclusively Irish language service, first began broadcasting in 1972.
Formerly RTÉ operated a radio station in Cork - RTÉ Radio Cork - as an opt-out of RTÉ Radio 1, but this was closed down in the early 2000s due to low listenership figures. A slightly adapted version of Radio One is broadcast on longwave and Sky Digital as RTÉ Europe.
This is an Article on Radio Telefís Éireann. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Radio Telefís Éireann Further reading
Jack Dowling, Lelia Doolin, Bob Quinn, Sit Down and Be Counted: the cultural evolution of a television station, Wellington Publishers Ltd., Dublin, 1969. See also
External link