Why cant Irish channels geo block programmes?

zeebre12

Why cant they do like in Canada where US shows on Canadian TV cant be viewed on US channels? Like Eastenders for example why cant it be blocked on BBC1 so that viewers will have to watch RTE1, like if you have BBC1 you are not going to watch Eastenders add free on BBC1. Should there be a law for this like in Canada? Also why do Channel 5 have exclusive rights to show Home & Away first in the UK/Ireland? Its a 100% British channel, its not like say Comedy Central/Sky Atlantic where they are both UK/Irish channels to serve both countries?

ThisRegard

Aren't you complaining on another thread about being forced to watch TG4, but you're now advocating forcing people to watch shows on Irish channels?

_Kaiser_

Why should it be? Why should Irish viewers who are paying subscriptions and/or license fees be restricted in what they can watch on channels that are otherwise available to them?

Is this is some sort of "support Irish"/Anti-British notion? If so, I think it's time to leave that whole thing in the past where it belongs... incidentally Sky Atlantic and the rest are still "100% British".. they just have Irish adverts.

zeebre12

ThisRegard wrote: »

Aren't you complaining on another thread about being forced to watch TG4, but you're now advocating forcing people to watch shows on Irish channels?

No I was asking why should big sporting events only available in Irish. Then sure you think all irish channels should have to be through irish as it our native language.

The Parish priest

I don't know why RTE One transmit Eastenders at all.

zeebre12

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

Why should it be? Why should Irish viewers who are paying subscriptions and/or license fees be restricted in what they can watch on channels that are otherwise available to them?

Is this is some sort of "support Irish"/Anti-British notion? If so, I think it's time to leave that whole thing in the past where it belongs... incidentally Sky Atlantic and the rest are still "100% British".. they just have Irish adverts.

No channels like MTV, Comedy Central, Disney Channel are made to serve both Ireland/UK, thus I would call them Irish and British channels. They have rights for both countries so they are 'owned' by both countries.

FanadMan

zeebre12 wrote: »

No I was asking why should big sporting events only available in Irish. Then sure you think all irish channels should have to be through irish as it our native language.

Because TG4 paid for the rights to those games, and being an Irish language station, they broadcast them in Irish. RTE wouldn't stump up the money for the games themselves.

icdg

zeebre12 wrote: »

Why cant they do like in Canada where US shows on Canadian TV cant be viewed on US channels? Like Eastenders for example why cant it be blocked on BBC1 so that viewers will have to watch RTE1, like if you have BBC1 you are not going to watch Eastenders add free on BBC1. Should there be a law for this like in Canada? Also why do Channel 5 have exclusive rights to show Home & Away first in the UK/Ireland? Its a 100% British channel, its not like say Comedy Central/Sky Atlantic where they are both UK/Irish channels to serve both countries?

What you are describing isn't geoblocking per se. It's a practice mandated in Canada by the CRTC called "simultaneous substitution". It basically states that, if the same episode of the same scripted series or the same sporting event is shown by a terrestrial television station in a particular market and a terrestrial television station that is from a different market but carried by cable companies in the first stations market, then the first station can request cable operators to substitute the signal of the second station with that of the first for the duration of the broadcast. It is used typically by Canadian stations to have their signal replace that of US stations when they are carrying the same programme. There are a few limits - it must be requested in advance and only (in principle) works for terrestrial stations against other (out of market) stations. It is also a source of mass annoyance for Canadians particularly when it comes to the Super Bowl, when Canadians don't get the famed Super Bowl ads because of it.

It wouldn't be a runner here, because the EU audio visual directive allows a station based in another EU jurisdiction to broadcast into Ireland if it wants.

lertsnim

Best of luck trying to block a FTA channel on satellite.

Channel 5 have the first run rights for Home & Away because they paid for them.

icdg

Indeed.

I missed out a particular key feature of simultaneous substitution as implemented in Canada - it can only be invoked if the programmes are actually airing in the exact same time slot.

It has also had some quite perverse effects which I'm pretty sure the powers that be didn't intend - in particular it has ended up with the NFL airing on free to air CTV (which can invoke simsubbing) rather than TSN, which cannot. So the NFL has a FTA contract in Canada but the CFL doesn't. Also it means that CTV and Global organise their entire prime time schedules to so affiliates can avail of the maximum amount of simsubbing - so prime time US shows air in the exact same time slots as they do in the US. This had impacts for when they can schedule Canadian shows.

political analyst

icdg wrote: »

What you are describing isn't geoblocking per se. It's a practice mandated in Canada by the CRTC called "simultaneous substitution". It basically states that, if the same episode of the same scripted series or the same sporting event is shown by a terrestrial television station in a particular market and a terrestrial television station that is from a different market but carried by cable companies in the first stations market, then the first station can request cable operators to substitute the signal of the second station with that of the first for the duration of the broadcast. It is used typically by Canadian stations to have their signal replace that of US stations when they are carrying the same programme. There are a few limits - it must be requested in advance and only (in principle) works for terrestrial stations against other (out of market) stations. It is also a source of mass annoyance for Canadians particularly when it comes to the Super Bowl, when Canadians don't get the famed Super Bowl ads because of it.

It wouldn't be a runner here, because the EU audio visual directive allows a station based in another EU jurisdiction to broadcast into Ireland if it wants.

It might be a runner here once Brexit takes place.

FanadMan

political analyst wrote: »

It might be a runner here once Brexit takes place.

I remember Channel 4s Sunday afternoon broadcasts of The Simpsons being "Not available in your region". Think channels can block stuff if they want but with the large footprint that the Sky satellites have and so much being broadcast FTA, it would be very costly to geoblock everything.

icdg

The ROI version of Channel 4 is not free to air largely for this reason. Doesn't take a lot to circumvent though.

Of course pay-TV channels have always had the facility to have their own programmes blocked in Ireland (or indeed the UK - the latter availed of by both RTE and eir Sport 2/Premier Sports).

But what the OP is looking for is a formal process for Irish channels to request blocking of UK channels. I think it would have the effect of driving people to satellite, where there is no possibility of a FTA channel being blocked.

I don't really want to get into Brexit here, because it's not really the place to debate it, and because it (to use that old chestnut) depends on the type of Brexit there will be, which nobody seems to know.

FRIENDO

zeebre12 wrote:

Why cant they do like in Canada where US shows on Canadian TV cant be viewed on US channels? Like Eastenders for example why cant it be blocked on BBC1 so that viewers will have to watch RTE1, like if you have BBC1 you are not going to watch Eastenders add free on BBC1. Should there be a law for this like in Canada? Also why do Channel 5 have exclusive rights to show Home & Away first in the UK/Ireland? Its a 100% British channel, its not like say Comedy Central/Sky Atlantic where they are both UK/Irish channels to serve both countries?

It already happens, RTE 2 HD on Saorsat block Champions league Football, and it's a pain in the arse.

Why would anybody want more of this?

political analyst

FRIENDO wrote: »

It already happens, RTE 2 HD on Saorsat block Champions league Football, and it's a pain in the arse.

Why would anybody want more of this?

Ah, sure, Champions League football isn't a component of core PSB. After all, ITV doesn't have UK rights to it anymore.

By the way, what's the story with Olympics and Euro and World Cup football on RTÉ on Saorsat - are they blocked?

FRIENDO

political analyst wrote:

Ah, sure, Champions League football isn't a component of core PSB. After all, ITV doesn't have UK rights to it anymore.

Its prime time viewing blocked on RTE2 Saorsat in the State.

political analyst wrote:

By the way, what's the story with Olympics and Euro and World Cup football on RTÉ on Saorsat - are they blocked?

No, thankfully

Champions league Football is the only program blocked

Capt'n Midnight

Saorsat is pretty geoblocked as is Saorview and Freeview.

Freesat isn't geoblocked, for now. Yes it's technically possible to use shaped cones on satellites to change the pattern but SKY sell here and besides SKY don't own the satellites.

Pay TV is one way of bypassing geoblocks, there's no way vodafone/eir/SKY/Virgin would agree to block UK channels without going bleedin' mental.

Which reminds me - now that the £ is worth 20% less , have the UK networks passed on the savings ???



And at the end of the day we are all in the EU and free movement of goods and services so it's not like US/Canada.

Of course Brexit might change things.

FRIENDO

political analyst wrote:

Ah, sure, Champions League football isn't a component of core PSB. After all, ITV doesn't have UK rights to it anymore.

Hi Political analyst, just a thought on that.

After ITV lost fta viewing rights to Champions league and Europa league, BT Showcase was created, basically to show fta games.

Its possibly that the footballing body does require some of its football to be free to air!

Jpmarn

The main British channels have several versions each on satellite in order that you get regional variations and advertising. There is 19 versions of BBC One in SD alone plus about another 6 in HD. Channel 4 has a dedicated version for the Republic of Ireland. Programming used to be blocked but I am not aware that this is happening anymore. It just carrying commercials for Ireland.

eamonpk

Hi

Can I go back to the World Cup 2018 on RTE - I am really keen to wastch WC 2018 on RTE but wonder will it be blocked - can I ask...

Will it be available on Saorsat?
Will it be available on Freeview NI?
Will it be available on Sky NI?

icdg

We don’t drag up old threads, particularly to change the topic completely.The question you ask was asked in a more recent thread over on Satellite and you can continue the discussion there