Commons Report - Availability of Irish Channels in N.I. post DSO

The Cush

The House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee last Tuesday released a report on Television Broadcasting in Northern Ireland

The committee raised concerns about the availability of RTE channels in Northern Ireland following digital switchover in 2012 and urged the government to ensure that its discussions with the Irish government guarantee that there is no loss of service or amenity to the people of Northern Ireland.

Wilson concluded: "However any agreement reached between the two governments should not just focus on the availability of RTE in Northern Ireland, but should include all terrestrial broadcasters on the island to ensure BBC NI and UTV have reciprocal arrangements in the Republic of Ireland.

"UTV has written to the relevant regulators and government departments in both countries about this very issue to ensure an inclusive approach to the island of Ireland for all viewers," he said.

http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=105821

During the oral hearings (4 Nov) Sion Simon MP, Minister for Creative Industries said the following in reply to questions regarding the availability of the Irish channels north of the border and negotiations with the Irish Government.

Q123 Lady Hermon: It is very nice to see you before us this afternoon, Minister. I am going to change the subject slightly and I am going to move to digital switchover. As I am sure you can appreciate, Minister, Northern Ireland shares a land frontier here with another EU Member State, the Republic of Ireland. There is a significant amount of broadcasting in the Republic of Ireland. Could you just explain to us the negotiations which have taken place to date between the British Government and organisations in the Republic of Ireland to guarantee that there will be no loss of signal or broadcasting post the digital switchover?

MrSimon: There are lots of issues there. One of them is the range of very technical issues, which are about ensuring that having two jurisdictions broadcasting back-to-back, next to each other, the signals do not interfere and cancel each other out. That issue is being dealt with at a technical level and I do not pretend to know the technical details of how it is being dealt with, but I am assured that it is being dealt with and that the people dealing with it are confident that by the time Northern Ireland switches over nobody should be experiencing interference or signal problems, or any problems relating to being interfered with from the Republic that would not apply to any other part of the country that did not have an international border. As you say, these are problems which apply in the east coast of England and the south coast of England as well; there are issues with Holland and issues with France.

Q124 Lady Hermon: Yes. Could I push you a little further then? Are you actually guaranteeing to the people of Northern Ireland that by the time the digital switchover takes place, which is delayed in terms of Northern Ireland, there will be no loss of broadcasting, either radio or television broadcasting, from the Republic of Ireland?

Mr Simon: Now we are talking about the loss of incoming signals from the Republic of Ireland, which is a different question to the one I first answered. On that question, TG4 is guaranteed in the Belfast Agreement and currently reaches about 65% of Northern Ireland. After switchover it will be available to the full switched over percentage of the population, which will be 98%, or whatever, so its coverage will be greatly enhanced. In relation to RTE, there are discussions ongoing with the Irish Government about making RTE available digitally after switchover, which are ongoing and on which I cannot really say very much more now. I think it is fair to say that discussions are ongoing and we hope to announce some kind of preliminary conclusions fairly soon.

Lady Hermon: Excellent! I can see your offcial nodding his head.

Q125 Chairman: How soon is “fairly soon”?

Mr Simon: It is fairly soon.

Q126 Chairman: But is it before Christmas?

Mr Simon: I do not know. I do not think it is that
soon.

Q127 Chairman: Is it before the Election?

Mr Simon: Yes, we think so. I am not prevaricating, I genuinely do not know when it will be. It is not me personally who is doing the negotiations.

Q128 Chairman: But I think it would help very much if you could give us an idea. I do not want to press you too much, but is it likely to be in February or
March, or are we talking of April? When would you expect this to be?

Mr Simon: I would not expect it to be in the next couple of weeks, but –

Q129 Chairman: You have just said it would not be before Christmas?

Mr Simon: Probably not before Christmas, although possibly before Christmas, and hopefully not very long after Christmas if it is after Christmas.

Q130 Lady Hermon: Is there someone else within the Department you would like to nominate to come and give us evidence who would have responsibility?

Mr Simon: No, I do not think so. It is a negotiation with the foreign government. It is ongoing. I do not think we would want to give a running commentary on the negotiation, where it is going, what the terms are and when it will be concluded. It is happening, we are doing it, it will be done pretty soon, and whoever else was here nobody else would say any more than that, in fact I have probably said more than most other people would.

Q131 Lady Hermon: Thank you. Your offcial is nodding in agreement with that, so thank you very much.
...

Conclusions from the report

We welcome both the guarantee and increased reach of services from TG4 to viewers in Northern Ireland. As for RTE, however, the position is not as clear. The Minister also told us that discussions are ongoing with the Irish Government about making RTE available digitally after switchover. We are concerned, however, that continued access to RTE programming has not yet been guaranteed, although the Minister told us a decision was expected around Christmas. We attach fundamental importance to the continuity of
service and we therefore urge the UK Government to ensure that its discussions with the Government of the Republic of Ireland guarantee that there is no loss of service or amenity to the people of Northern Ireland. We ask for definitive assurance on this point before the end of this Parliament.

From UTV's written submission

3. Digital Switchover and Cross Border Issues

3.1. As part of UTV’s digital replacement license issued by Ofcom, we are committed to the promotion of a smooth transition for analogue to digital transmission.
3.2. However we have a significant concern about the discussions between the British and Irish Governments to allow RTE to be carried on digital multiplex in Northern Ireland.
3.3. While we welcome competition in the market, it has to be on an equitable basis and RTE which is partially advertising funded, should only be allowed carriage in Northern Ireland if UTV had “must carry” status on all platforms in the Republic.

...

4.6. We believe there should be reciprocity of carriage for UTV on digital platforms in the Republic of Ireland as part of any inter-Government agreement that RTE receives carriage on digital multiplex in Northern Ireland.

The spell check for RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) Radio Telefis Eirrean was a little out but close enough for the House of Commons.
Iris Robinson was on the Committee during the inquiry.

Apogee

Jaysus Cush, do you have a personal subscription to Hansard?

Another quote from the submission by RTÉ

RT&#201 wrote:

With regard to digital switchover in Northern Ireland, it is likely that RTE services in Northern Ireland will be lost to many viewers there who will be affected when the switchover happens in 2012. This will have a significant impact on the cultural diversity of the television landscape in Northern Ireland. For this reason RTE is interested to engage with the UK Government to see if some way of legitimately providing free-to-air RTE services in Northern Ireland could be considered for the future.

Given the emphasis in the overall report on Irish language broadcasting, it's surprising there was no submission by TG4. More so when TG4 are already broadcasted from a transmitter in a "foreign jurisdiction" - unique in the world AFAIK?

[edit]

Just reading up some more on the Ofcom report cited by RTÉ. Another strong statement of intent on making RTÉ as well as TG4 available in NI

RT&#201 wrote:

RTÉ certainly welcomes the commitment by the British Government to continue to support the Irish language through TG4 on DTT. However given TG4’s particular Irish language remit, we believe that this does not fully reflect broadcasting or indeed the culture of the whole island. Language is one part of a complex of identities. Therefore, the making available of TG4 in Northern Ireland, while desirable, will not by itself be a sufficient step towards the achievement of the objectives in the Belfast Agreement. And it will fall short of full compliance with the spirit of the Agreement.

quid pro quo:

In addition, the advent of the DTT platform in Britain and Northern Ireland, and soon in the Republic of Ireland, provides a unique opportunity for broadcasters to contribute to the further establishment of peace and reconciliation and play a part in supporting the normalisation of Northern Irish, and indeed Irish, society by allowing for the full expression of ‘all traditions and identities on the island’ free-to-air in both jurisdictions.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/psb2_1/responses/rte.pdf

Ofcom wrote:

Other issues to explore include:
9.101 Funding for indigenous language provision in Northern Ireland, the role of the BBC in
supporting production of both Irish language and Ulster Scots programming, obtaining secure and widespread distribution for TG4 in Northern Ireland and the prospects for similar distribution of RTÉ.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/psb2_1/consultation.pdf

The proposal to make TG4 available was made as far back as 2007, on a reorganised PSB mux in MPEG2.

On a related issue, there are no proposals for any MPEG4 SD channels (by necessity over DVB-T2) from Ofcom post ASO?

Mike 1972

I would think its safe to assume that once ASO is completed in both NI and ROI RTE will be more widely available in NI (via overspill from southern DTT transmitters) than it is now. The possible exception being any areas which currently have RTE1 and 2 on VHF but no/bad reception of TG4 (due to local terrain issues)

it's surprising there was no submission by TG4.

Perhaps TG4 assume its a foregone conclusion that they will be facilitated post ASO. Maybe theyre being too complacent in this ????

More so when TG4 are already broadcasted (sic) from a transmitter in a "foreign jurisdiction" - unique in the world AFAIK?

Actually there is nothing particularly unique in this. It goes on in a lot of countries. The relays of German/Austrian TV in the South Tyrol province in Northern Italy or the relays of Russian TV in some former Soviet countries would be just two examples.

If one wants to strech the analogy a bit one could include the relays of UK television in the Isle of Man and Channel Islands (not quite in the UK but not quite foreign)

Of course it the channels concerned are available FTA on satellite the relays become somewhat redundant.

Antenna

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Actually there is nothing particularly unique in this. It goes on in a lot of countries. The relays of German/Austrian TV in the South Tyrol province in Northern Italy or the relays of Russian TV in some former Soviet countries would be just two examples.

And of course not to mention - in this country the rebroadcasts of UK channels by "deflector" groups

STB

UTV obvously have concerns about the commercial factor.

If I was a betting man I would imagine that you may indeed see RTE1 and Tg4 on the Freeview platform in NI. TG4 is a given under the Good Friday.

Digifriendly

STB wrote: »

UTV obvously have concerns about the commercial factor.

If I was a betting man I would imagine that you may indeed see RTE1 and Tg4 on the Freeview platform in NI. TG4 is a given under the Good Friday.

Let's hope RTE2 also for the sport!

The Cush

I think the most interesting and revealing part of this report is the q&a between Sylvia Hermon and the Minister is the fact the the two governments are in discussions about the provision of the Irish channels north of the border, probably on a freeview multiplex. His comment "It is happening, we are doing it, it will be done pretty soon, and whoever else was here nobody else would say any more than that, in fact I have probably said more than most other people would" is interesting.

At the moment the Irish channels can be received by approx 50-55% of the population thru overspill, but as was said in the report the two part of the country will be using different systems which will mean a loss of the Irish channels to those who do not have an MPEG-4 receiver and also the problem that the channels if received will not be easily accessible in the epg (800's - non UK origin).

As part of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement of 1998 the UK Government agreed to “explore the scope for achieving more widespread availability of Telifís na Gaeilge (TG4) in Northern Ireland". Since March 2005, TG4 has been broadcast from the Divis transmitter overlooking Belfast which makes the channel available to an estimated 200,000 homes in the Belfast area. TG4 has been guaranteed a slot in Multiplex 2 (PSB2/D3-4). Capacity on this freeview mux was proposed in Nov 2007 in the Ofcom consultation The Future of Digital Terrestrial Television, at the same time minority language channels S4C (Wales) and the Scottish Gaelic channel were proposed similar capacity on a PSB mux. TG4 will probably replace an ITV channel under current proposals.

Respondents to various Ofcom consultations in the past have expressed concerns about the loss of Irish channels post DSO and Ofcom's response has been "we do not have the remit to take a view on this matter and have referred the matter to Government for further consideration". So it would appear these concerns have been taken on board and the two governments have been in discussions with some sort of announcement due before the UK General Election (probably May).

If RTÉ were allowed to be carried on NI transmitters the problem is there is no capacity on the current PSB multiplexes. An option might be to make available a new multiplex to carry at least the RTÉ channels and TG4, possibly in the Digital Dividend Channels 31-37.

Could UTV become a must-carry on our PSB multiplex as part of any deal?

Another piece of information that came through in the q&a was that NI would probably DSO in one day in 2012 (similar to the Channel Islands in Nov) unlike the two stage / four week process today, due to the take up of Digital TV (cable/sat/freeview) 89% Q1/2009 across N.I. (freeview 58%).

Mike 1972

The Cush wrote: »

At the moment the Irish channels can be received by approx 50-55% of the population thru overspill,

I thought the figure was nearer 70% (although maybe only 50% bother with the necessary aerials)

And of course its available on $ky and NTL (except TV3)

The Cush

Mike 1972 wrote: »

I thought the figure was nearer 70% (although maybe only 50% bother with the necessary aerials)

And of course its available on $ky and NTL (except TV3)

70-75% of the population in Northern Ireland can receive RTÉ (cable/sat/aerial), including 50-55% who can receive it thru overspill.

Mike 1972

Still think 55% sounds too low

Most of Belfast has it so youre almost up to 30%

almost all of L/Derry, Newry, Armagh, Enniskillen, Omagh Strabane would have it (albeit on VHF for RTE1/2 in some of these places)

A sizebale part (at least two thirds) of Antrim, Limavady and at least half of Ballymena have it also a good chunk of Carrickfergus and Bangor have it (but not much further North than that

Not sure about Coleraine and I dont think Larne would have it (Ive seen some large Band 3 aerials in Larne but Im not sure what theyre for)

Where else is there really ?

Digifriendly

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Still think 55% sounds too low

Most of Belfast has it so youre almost up to 30%

almost all of L/Derry, Newry, Armagh, Enniskillen, Omagh Strabane would have it (albeit on VHF for RTE1/2 in some of these places)

A sizebale part (at least two thirds) of Antrim, Limavady and at least half of Ballymena have it also a good chunk of Carrickfergus and Bangor have it (but not much further North than that

Not sure about Coleraine and I dont think Larne would have it (Ive seen some large Band 3 aerials in Larne but Im not sure what theyre for)

Where else is there really ?

Not many RTE aerials in Bangor (more for Scotland) as there is still co-channel interference from Whitehead transmitter on RTE1/2. But you're correct about Larne - it's in a bit of a basin. Coleraine like most of areas in North coast can pick up Moville (no TV3) and I've seen aerials for Holywell Hill in Ballymoney. I've even seen an aerial for Clermont Carn just south of Armoy!
I agree with you - overspill surely is higher than 50-55% given amount of RTE aerials dominating the skyline especially in towns and cities - remember Newry/Lisburn/Armagh (RTE easily receivable in all 3 of these) have all city status now.

The Cush

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Still think 55% sounds too low

Most of Belfast has it so youre almost up to 30%

almost all of L/Derry, Newry, Armagh, Enniskillen, Omagh Strabane would have it (albeit on VHF for RTE1/2 in some of these places)

A sizebale part (at least two thirds) of Antrim, Limavady and at least half of Ballymena have it also a good chunk of Carrickfergus and Bangor have it (but not much further North than that

Not sure about Coleraine and I dont think Larne would have it (Ive seen some large Band 3 aerials in Larne but Im not sure what theyre for)

Where else is there really ?

The figures I quoted come from an Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland document late 2007/early 2008.

Specifically one issue which is not raised in the consultation, but which Ofcom may wish to consider in the context of DSO, is the likely effect of DSO on the availability of free-to-air Republic of Ireland channels in Northern Ireland. At present, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) channels are available in Northern Ireland via cable, satellite, and analogue spill-over from terrestrial transmitters in the Republic. We understand that an estimated 70-75% of the population in Northern Ireland can receive RTÉ, including 50-55% who can receive it off-air. While spill-over will continue in the digital environment, it will not be able to reach as many homes as now. We understand that Ofcom NI staff have been apprised of concerns about the possibility of RTÉ not being as widely available post-DSO as it is now, by politicians from across the political spectrum.

This from Ofcom 2008

71% of viewers receive channels from the Republic of Ireland

Seventy one percent of viewers in Northern Ireland can receive channels broadcast from the Republic of Ireland, whose channels are also distributed over the cable and satellite platforms. According to Ofcom’s research, those in the border (92%), western rural (90%) and western (89%) regions were more likely to report receiving channels from the Republic than those in the eastern rural (53%), eastern (61%) and eastern urban (64%) regions. As a result many analogue viewers can receive RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2, TV3 and TG4 (an Irish language service) alongside the UK’s five PSB channels.

Nearly one-third of respondents reported watching RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 on a daily basis with almost another 40% watching at least once a week. Viewing of TV3 and TG4 was lower, with around 40% of viewers stating that they watched these channels ‘every day’ or ‘at least weekly’.

In line with the characteristics of analogue ‘spill-over’, viewing was higher in the border region and in the west generally than it was in the east. For instance, 44% of people reported watching RTÉ 1 every day in the border area, compared to 9% in Belfast.

The obligation to extend the Irish language channel TG4 to audiences in Northern Ireland formed part of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Ofcom has put forward a proposal whereby space would be made available to carry this channel on one of the DTT PSB multiplexes, in common with similar carriage provision for S4C in Wales and the Gaelic Digital Service in Scotland. RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 are currently available on digital satellite and cable platforms in Northern Ireland (along with TG4). Neither they nor TV3 are currently set to be available on DTT after digital switchover in 2012.

We asked respondents how they would react to not having access to channels from the Republic of Ireland. Around two-fifths said that losing RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2, TV3 and TG4 would be ‘a major problem’ and that they would be ‘very unhappy’, while roughly another third said that it would not be a major problem, although they would prefer not to lose them. The remaining proportion of respondents said that it would not be an issue.

By channel, the loss of RTÉ1 would be a major problem for 28% of respondents, rising to 49% in the border region. Corresponding figures for the other channels for Northern Ireland as a whole and for the border region were: 26% and 47% for RTÉ2, 16% and 35% for TV3 and 15% and 34% for TG4.

The Communications Market 2008: Nations and Regions - Northern Ireland

Some other figures from Ofcom

RTÉ viewing in Northern Ireland (Combined share of RTÉ1 and RTÉ2 in Northern Ireland end 2008) - Analogue 7.9%, Multi-Channel 2.2%
(Other Multi-channel BBC 24%, UTV 18%, C4 7%, C5 4%)

Apogee

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Perhaps TG4 assume its a foregone conclusion that they will be facilitated post ASO. Maybe theyre being too complacent in this ????

Indeed, if/when they are available to all of NI after ASO, they could potentially tap into UK government funding. Perhaps they weren't aware of the hearings or someone somewhere assumed RTÉ spoke on their behalf.

Mike 1972 wrote:

Actually there is nothing particularly unique in this.(sic) It goes on in a lot of countries. The relays of German/Austrian TV in the South Tyrol province in Northern Italy or the relays of Russian TV in some former Soviet countries would be just two examples.

I had only heard of this sort of thing in relation to radio stations (e.g. RFI on FM in Africa). Do the German/Russian TV stations fund the relays or is it done by the target countries e.g. like the deflector groups here?

The Cush wrote: »

I think the most interesting and revealing part of this report is the q&a between Sylvia Hermon and the Minister is the fact the the two governments are in discussions about the provision of the Irish channels north of the border, probably on a freeview multiplex.

Yes, especially as I don't recall any mention of this from RTÉ or any reports in the papers. A quick search on the Dáil record produced the following from Paschal Mooney during a debate on the Broadcasting Bill in 2007:

Paschal Mooney wrote:

All of us who have been following this issue are aware that there is some resistance on the British side to allowing access to RTE television within Northern Ireland.

I also get the impression from the RTÉ submission above that they are at least open to the idea of a reciprocal arrangement for some of the UK channels to be available FTA in ROI.

The Cush wrote:

Could UTV become a must-carry on our PSB multiplex as part of any deal?

TV3 would most likely seek to block this.

Mike 1972

The Cush wrote: »

The figures I quoted come from an Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland document late 2007/early 2008.

Perhaps their definition of "coverage" was based on the "standard 18 element aerial 10 metres above ground without amplification" definition but doesnt account for high gain aerials/tall poles/boosters ?

Apogee wrote: »

I had only heard of this sort of thing in relation to radio stations (e.g. RFI on FM in Africa). Do the German/Russian TV stations fund the relays or is it done by the target countries e.g. like the deflector groups here?

No idea but If pushed to hazard a guess Id say the Russians fund the relays in the former USSR states and the regional Government funds the relays in Italy.
IIRC Turkey also have some overseas TRT relays for Turkish/Turkomen minorities in other countries (Main one being Cyprus)

The Cush

Apogee wrote: »

The Cush wrote: »

I think the most interesting and revealing part of this report is the q&a between Sylvia Hermon and the Minister is the fact the the two governments are in discussions about the provision of the Irish channels north of the border, probably on a freeview multiplex.

Yes, especially as I don't recall any mention of this from RTÉ or any reports in the papers. A quick search on the Dáil record produced the following from Paschal Mooney during a debate on the Broadcasting Bill in 2007:

I would guess the discussions are between the Dept of Comms and their UK equivalent and do not directly include RTÉ. I've not heard Eamon Ryan speak of this inside or outside of the Dáil but as the UK Minister said in reply "and whoever else was here nobody else would say any more than that, in fact I have probably said more than most other people would". It appears the discussions were kept fairly low key, possibly in case of failure to reach an agreement.

It seems that the discussions were positive up to the time of the q&a (4 Nov) at least, based on the Ministers comment "I think it is fair to say that discussions are ongoing and we hope to announce some kind of preliminary conclusions fairly soon".

The discussions were ongoing prior to May 09, as UTV said in their written submission of 01 May "3.2. However we have a significant concern about the discussions between the British and Irish Governments to allow RTE to be carried on digital multiplex in Northern Ireland" and "4.6. We believe there should be reciprocity of carriage for UTV on digital platforms in the Republic of Ireland as part of any inter-Government agreement that RTE receives carriage on digital multiplex in Northern Ireland".

RTÉ said in their submission of the 18 Dec 09 "For this reason RTE´ is interested to engage with the UK Government to see if some way of legitimately providing free-to-air RTE services in Northern Ireland could be considered for the future". Did they not know the discussions were ongoing, had the discussion failed by the 18 Dec or simply keeping their mouths shut?

mrdtv2010

There are a number of issues with these proposals:

a) Who would pay for carriage of Irish PSB services via the three main NI stations, and the string of relay stations to be used after DSO.

b) The lack of available spectrum. See:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/ddrinterleaved/reports/arqiva.pdf

c) Ofcom's expressed intention to auction DDR spectrum although this seems to be delayed and Ofcom is likely to be axed by an incoming Conservative Government.

d) Rights issues are problematic as like cable and satellite some programmes will have to be blacked out.

e) UTV will lobby for reciprocity and TV3 will oppose this.

f) It seems unlikely that MPEG2 would be used because of the capacity shortage in NI. The MPEG4 standard there is T2 and by that time the boxes will be a lot cheaper than today (now in the Argos catalogue and on the Richersounds web site). This makes more sense if extra spectrum is available as T2 offers 40Mb/s and 4 HD channels will broadcast from NI in 2012.

For the above reasons I think this proposal may not take off. On the other hand overspill is likely to continue (recall the maps in the various Irish DTT bids eg those submitted by BT) and the quality of the overspill will be much better: if you got a noisey or multipathed RTE signal you should get perfect DTT. Of course you'll need some sort of MPEG4 box then. This assumes the HRP patterns of the analogue conversions at the Irish sites are mirrored by their digital successors. The main problem with spectrum availability is in Antrim & Down since the Scottish, N Wales, IOM and Cumbria stations can be received there.

It is interesting to note how poorly informed some of the NI parties (including Ofcom) were about the technical options and easy solutions such as cheap MPEG4 boxes. I think the longer Irish DTT is delayed the more attractive the T2 solution will be as the economics will be right (btw the 2010 Sony and Panasonic models are about to feature more and more T2 receivers.) So for NI the solution may well be T2 as there is no capacity on the existing MPEG2 Freeview system, spectrum is scarce there, and T2 will be commercially mature by 2012.

On a related matter the second mast is going to go up later this year, as the civils will finish in May. This may well lead to big interim reception problems from Divis as has happened at Sutton Coldfield and other UK sites where a second mast had to be built: this will particularly impact those on the fringe. Works are also in progress at Limavady and Brougher Mountain.

Ninjakettle

Article here on signing (via siliconrepublic.com) -

"Irish and UK Governments sign digital TV switchover pact"

The Cush

Now that an MoU between the two governments has been signed and the discussion continued over in a new thread I will post the links for posterity.

New thread Government agreement: Free-To-Air RTE in NI, BBC in RoI on DTT platform

Department of Communications Press Release

UK Dept. of Culture, Media and Sport Press Release

Memorandum of Understanding Link

Apogee

Rarely has a thread on this forum been superseded by events so quickly!

scath

Apogee wrote: »

Rarely has a thread on this forum been superseded by events so quickly!

Now you said it Apogee!:D

petronius

I think it is great news that there is a pact between the Irish and UK governments over DTT access to RTE & TG4 in the north(implements the clause in the Belfast Agreement), and I think it is beneficial that there will be access to UTV and BBC NI in the republic.

Just a funny observation is that will RTE and TG4 be available via DTT using mpeg2 from the NI freeview transmitters? and not mpeg4... so will RTE NL be relaying them in both.

The Cush

petronius wrote: »

I think it is great news that there is a pact between the Irish and UK governments over DTT access to RTE & TG4 in the north(implements the clause in the Belfast Agreement), and I think it is beneficial that there will be access to UTV and BBC NI in the republic.

Just a funny observation is that will RTE and TG4 be available via DTT using mpeg2 from the NI freeview transmitters? and not mpeg4... so will RTE NL be relaying them in both.

That debate continues in another thread Government agreement: Free-To-Air RTE in NI, BBC in RoI on DTT platform