Whatever happened to RTE moving all sports coverage to RTE One ?

This was in their 2019 master plan but never happened. I wonder why?

dxhound2005

Maybe they couldn't get Ministerial Approval.

Jim_Hodge

Or maybe they realised, like many others did, that it's a cr@p idea.

icdg

I had always thought it was a cost saving measure - moving sport to RTE One would have meant more pre-emptions of news and other home produced programming. They never went ahead with it in any case.

RTE executives love using buzz phrases, they were also saying that RTE 2 was going to become a "window to the RTE player" 🙄

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120315583#Comment_120315583

Nobody really believes it will happen. Imagine what would happen if Six-One was delayed due to sports coverage. Besides, why leave viewers who rely solely on terrestrial TV with even less choice?!

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120496576#Comment_120496576

Still not sure what the big deal would be, they could air it live on the News Channel and repeat it straight after on ONE. The only issue is that RTÉ2 audience would be gone, it was a bizarre suggestion that made it into a document from RTÉ!

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120554749#Comment_120554749

If that happened then Six-One would get a much lower audience. After all, if a football match on BBC One goes into extra time, the BBC will still show the 10 o'clock news on BBC One at a later time after the match, even though the BBC has a news channel. Obviously, whoever made the suggestion of having all RTÉ sports coverage on RTÉ One is an idiot.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555497#Comment_120555497

I am not sure that would matter, largely speaking if you have a big sports programme the follow on programme gains some of an audience, I'd think Six One would maintain its audience if you include the early showing on the news channel, should they air it live.

It was never a runner, more so because women's sports, LOI games and other minor sports would almost always air on RTÉ2, in such a situation.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555497#Comment_120555497

Nine News got moved on Tuesday because of the Eurovision semi-final which aired on RTÉ ONE for the first time because it clashed with ... live sport. No Prime Time programme aired, with Nine news going out at 10:10.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120578524#Comment_120578524

That's not the same thing. The Nine News is referred to as 'the Main Evening News' but it isn't really that, is it?! After all, it hasn't been broadcast at all (not even a shorter version!) on the night of the Eurovision final for the past few years.

Usually, there is a short late bulletin at some time shortly or after 9 on Christmas Eve but that wasn't the case on at least one occasion during the pandemic - it was either in 2020 or 2021.

Six-One has never been displaced by another programme - there was one time when it started a few minutes late but that was because of a technical problem. Therefore, Six-One is the de facto main evening bulletin on RTÉ TV.

patmahe

Sounds like a silly idea even on the face of it, what happens when you have 2 major sporting events on the same day, which gets top billing and is placed on RTE one, are you slighting the other sporting organisation by putting them on RTE 2. Why even declare that, I don't see 1 or 2 as more prestigious than the other, if I don't like whats on one channel I'll try the other simple as that. Just decide where its best to make the gap in the schedule for the event people will find it.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584047#Comment_120584047

If you have all your major sports on one channel, and it is marketed as such should a clash happen and you are slighting the lesser of the two sports, yes you are slighted by being on the lesser channel.

RTÉ2 has always been the bridesmaid. TBH. except when it comes to sport.

TBH It was never a run but I think the news schedule has little to do with it.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120583928#Comment_120583928

NINE is as much the defacto your just pulling at straws, what happened Prime Time.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584119#Comment_120584119

Prime Time is not a news bulletin. A few years ago, it wasn't broadcast at all during the summer holidays, except for a special edition after the death of Albert Reynolds was announced. Six-One has never been cancelled or displaced from its slot.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584112#Comment_120584112

I doubt that the participants in any of those events give that a moment's thought.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584157#Comment_120584157

The sport itself may, I am sure most players in any sport are focused on the game not how it is perceived.

Six One can be move as much as any other programme.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584421#Comment_120584421

It never has been moved from its slot. So it's as good as set in stone.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584438#Comment_120584438

Newsnight, Network News, News 2, RTÉ NEWS on 2... may have had a permant slot but the show was pretty much set in stone AFAIAC... but sure.

AJB39

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584438#Comment_120584438

The only day it’s sometimes not shown at 6 is on Christmas Day. Otherwise I agree I don’t see RTÉ moving the Six One News for any reason anytime soon.

Strumms

Considering the sporting pedigree and interest that there is in Ireland… participation in sport pre pandemic was growing nicely and presumably still is…. I wonder about RTÉ Sport in time having a dedicated sports channel…ok it costs but…maybe it wouldn’t be free to air, maybe a small premium…

We have a growing population, growing youth population and I think it would be a positive thing to cover more sport. Not just soccer, horse racing, GAA and the very odd athletics meet…

Participation in sport was credited as being up 3%. The Irish Sports Monitor 2019 shows that participation rates had  grown by 3% since the publication of the 2017 edition… I don’t have more up to date figures but with more people living here…it’s wise to presume that the trend is continuing upwards.

also with RTE being a state broadcaster the money can be invested from the public coffers… as long of course as the government believes the money can be spared from other say more, non domestic giveaway / charitable donations…

There seems to be a little less sport on RTE then times gone by when especially on Saturdays there were dedicated programmes.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120584813#Comment_120584813

The difference is that RTÉ 1 is the main TV channel in this country. Furthermore, the late news on RTÉ 2 was only on from Monday to Thursday, with News Extra on RTÉ 1 after the Late Late Show.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120585453#Comment_120585453

RTÉ2 is a national public service broadcaster, can you imagine if Newsnight on BBC2 was drop, or if VMTV ONE dropped its news programme, or if TG4 dropped their 7pm news programme?

No but not only can RTÉ drop RTÉ2's News On 2, but it can drop any replacement late night news over on one and all of RTÉ ONE's late night news bulletins with out rhyme or reason.

If RTÉ could it would drop the 1pm news from RTÉ ONE tomorrow.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120585301#Comment_120585301

I think RTÉ NEWS should become RTÉ NEWS & SPORT (RTÉNS) and should replace RTÉ2 and have it be a HD channel. RTÉ have enough filler content for such a channel that could be properly produced, while it is schedule around LIVE sporting events.

RTÉ2 should move to SD and it should be a repeat / archive channel lessening its dependency on imported programming bar a few films and high quality international programmes. It should split it service between TRTÉ from 7am to 5:30 and then RTÉ2 from 5:30 to late.

Not sure what to do with the +1 service. Any clashing sport should appear on RTÉ ONE as RTÉ2 is no longer HD.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120586490#Comment_120586490

RTÉ TV doesn't have late night news summaries anymore. There is no lunchtime bulletin on RTÉ TV on Christmas Day. The shorter one o'clock bulletin was also dropped on some days during the Christmas period of 2021 because of staff shortages due to the pandemic.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120586560#Comment_120586560

RTÉ uses its news channel for sporting events it has the rights to but can't show on RTÉ 2 because of an event already on 2, e.g. GAA, Euro and World Cup soccer. Why would RTÉ bother to bring the SD version of RTÉ 2 back to terrestrial TV?! After all, the BBC has removed its SD channels from satellite - and I'm not sure if has done the same on terrestrial TV in the UK yet.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120588944#Comment_120588944

No that is my point if RTÉ could drop 1pm news, and you ignore that TG4 and VMTV ONE could not drop news programming from their schedules as RTÉ2.

They do use RTÉ News for some sports programming ... general the lesser sports programmes ... oh that was my other point wasn't it.

Why would RTÉ NEWS and SPORT become a channel in its own right and air in HD ... because sports programming needs HD.

Why would RTÉ2 go SD ... because of space or you could drop RTÉ2 +1 and RTÉ ONE +1 and have a stronger RTÉ2 channel in HD that could cover those clashing sports events.

Image RTÉ actually gave you a plan you don't like, and that this poster agrees with you on that it was never something that had potential, image the heads of RTÉ think differently to you and I.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120589251#Comment_120589251

VMTV has never been subject to as stringent public-service obligations as RTÉ is. After all, in 2008 or 2009, VMTV (TV3 as it was at the time), axed its news bulletin on weekends and bank holidays - it has been reinstated in recent years. By the way, there always has been, in living memory, an early evening news bulletin on RTÉ 1 at 6:01 - except at a slightly later time on Christmas Day.

I don't watch Nuacht TG4 but TG4 has greater obligations on it and so it would still have to have Nuacht every day, but in a different slot if there is a sporting event on.

Obviously, whichever person at RTÉ thought that the idea of moving all sporting events to RTÉ 1 was out of touch with reality and, hopefully, has since been disabused of the idea.

AJB39

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120589844#Comment_120589844

A Wikipedia search tells me that the Six One News launched on the 3rd of October 1988 and it has been in that slot ever since with the exception of Christmas Day.

Count Dracula

I stream every sport in the planet, well over 200 channels of live sport into my lair in HD for a little over € 100 a year from a web provider in South East Asia.

It works fine and worth every penny.

Even PPV is free, not that I watch it, too busy watching real porn at 4.30 on a Sunday morning, as opposed to grown men mauling each other sweating on the floor in a cage. That happens you know.

icdg

Count Dracula takes a warning for blatant trolling.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120589844#Comment_120589844

They (TV3) had to get permission from the BAI to axe those bulletins and programmes, TV3 advised the BCI that Xpose would promote Irish arts, film and music as part of the agreement, that was back in 2006 when axing the 6:30 news, and TV3 would have had to have put forward a plan to the BAI in 2009 for those changes also. BAI/BCI agreed to those changes. RTÉ just cut all of its news bulletins on RTÉ ONE and 2FM, while axing News on 2/newsfeed.

All independent radio and TV broadcasters would have to get an agreement from CnaM to remove current news programming from their line up, RTÉ does not have to get such agreements.

@AJB39 correct Six One was part of a reform of RTÉ in 1988, which included lunch time news at 1pm, six one, nine news, network news along with the introduction of Marketplace on RTÉ 2 (The then renamed NETWORK 2).

This moved the majority of sporting events over to NETWORK2, along with children's TV and Irish language programming.

Nuacht TG4 has moved over the years but has largely settled on 7pm with weekends varying in time.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120590615#Comment_120590615

Around the time TV3 axed their weekend news bulletins, RTÉ's news bulletins on RTÉ One stayed as they were.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120594563#Comment_120594563

No problem, the point is that RTÉ axed RTÉ News on 2/Newsfeed along with numerous news bulletins across Radio and TV. RTÉ did not need permission to remove these programmes from their schedules. On the other hand when TV3 axed their weekend news programmes they would have been asked by the BCI/BAI/CnaM to provide a detailed plan for the removal of those news programmes as would any independent broadcaster.

icdg

There’s an argument that at this stage of the game that’s ridiculous in and of itself, and a pity that the new legislation wasn’t used to make any substantial reform of that.

In the era of YouTube, anyone can be a “broadcaster” without having to justify their content to a regulatory body. If you want to be a “proper” broadcaster, and don’t like the quite frankly heavy touch regulation here, then there are any number of EU jurisdictions you can get a license from. It’s why all the broadcasting benefits of Brexit went to the Netherlands and Luxembourg and other jurisdictions and not here despite the common language. The company that ultimately became Viaplay broadcast its Scandinavian channels on a U.K. license for years because of similar issues.

Now RTE is different, because it is spending public money, and there’s a duty for it to spend that money right. But the days of regulators exercising heavy touch regulation IBA-style over commercial broadcasters really should be left in the 1980s at this stage. VMTV and Premier Sports are the only two commercial television broadcasters licensed in Ireland for a reason.

RoTelly

You'd have to wonder why you'd bother with a licensing system if that is the case.

I think for TV3, local radio and national radio their needs to be some regulation. and the IRTC/BCI/BAI and CnaM is a light touch regulator.