Live games in the 1970s?

CHRISTYG

Please tell me if I'm going mad. but in the "One Channel Land" days-the mid '70s- did RTE show a live Division 1 (as it was in those days!) game at 3.00 on a Saturday? I think they did, as I well remember travelling to my dear departed Uncle Joe's house in West Belfast to watch it a few times?

cableskeptic

I grew up in the 70s in one channel land and I don't remember any live English league games. I think you must be mistaken about the 70s?

I do remember it was a big deal when RTE started showing Match of the Day (not sure when that was exactly? 1976?).

I do remember a few seasons when RTE showed live (or nearly live) games though. It must have been in the mid 80s but I can't remember exactly.

Mossy Monk

i remember that when they showed games on a half hour delay. i think they showed them during the early part of the 90's. they also had live FA cup games on Saturdays at 3pm

carrolls

Up to 1992 (between 1984 and 1992) they showed live Division 1 and FA Cup games on Sports Stadium.
In around January of 1992 they started showing Premier League games 15 minutes delayed. Then it went to 30 minutes delayed.
Then in 1993 they stopped showing the games altogether.

Hairy Homer

Not sure of the exact dates but it was some time in the mid-80s. Basically it was before Live League football was allowed in England. Used to be on a Saturday with George Hamilton commentating and Johnny Giles summarising. (plus ca change)

Giles was great for spotting all the cute little elbows and niggles that went on before Sky started putting cameras right up people's backsides.

The League didn't mind a tiny off shore station like RTE taking live coverage because it wouldn't really affect attendances.Although I believe some pubs/hotels in West Wales made a killing by putting up a large aerial/deflector, picking up the RTE signal and charging patrons to come in and view the games.

CHRISTYG

Did they stop because of the oft-quoted "legal reasons"?


PS- In January 1998 (I think) I remember watching an FA Cup tie live on Network 2. I was in the Royal Hotel in Bray!!!

CHRIS GREER

Were RTE told to stop by the English FA/Premier League, or did RTE themselves decide to stop showing the games?

Mossy Monk

i'd imagine the contract ran out. and with Sky having rights for the UK and Ireland to screen games RTÉ probably didn't have a hope of continuing with their delayed coverage on Saturday afternoons. shame because it was great

watty

I didn't think you could get RTE in West Belfast before the Longford UHF went on air. Was that in 1977?
I never ever heard of VHF RTE in Belfast.
(1976 to 1978 roughly I worked in Communications in BBC Belfast. Sometimes I got paid to watch TV, In Comms we had Incomming Eurovision with feeds etc, outgoing from Dublin with RTE or feeds, Feeds of ITV programs to be transmitted later on UTV -- so I got to watch some UTV a day in advance in the BBC! BBC1 NI, BBC2 NI, BBC1 Network, BBC2 Network. A lot of channels for 1977. Both RTE and UTV in/out feeds had to go via our control centre ).


So I think Mid 1980s rather than mid 1970s more likely for watching RTE football in West Belfast.

In mid 1980s "Loyalists" in East Belfast were getting RTE aerials for football. I would have noticed if it had been earlier!

I moved from North to Limerick / Clare in 1983 and as result went from FOUR perfect reception channels to ONE and HALF channels in terrible quality (Limerick City and nearby Co. Clare / Co. Limerick is halfway between Maghera and Mulliganish and in Fringe reception for both. The Woodcock hill UHF relay is more recent and badly situated and too low a power. Reception is still poor for over 200,000 Mid West viewers)

Frameless

Christy G is dead right - RTE did show regular Division 1 (Now Premiership) in the 70s - there was great excitement and this continued into the 80s. The amazing thing was that viewing figures were relatively poor in comparison to the amount currently subscribing to Sky.
Amazing what a slick ad campaign will do in convincing you that you must now pay for something you didn't watch when it was free!!

Darby OGill

Lads, are you sure about all this live football on RTE in the 70's/80's? I don't remember it, and I was an avid football fan in those days. The only live football I can remember was the Saturday games mentioned above, with Hamilton/Giles, which was early 90's, I think.
In the 70's, RTE only showed the FA cup final live, as far as I can recall. Later on came Match of the Day- late 70's I think.
RTE did show the famous England/Poland world cup qualifier live in 1973, which put England out of the '74 finals. Even as a young boy, I celebrated their demise, even though our own outfit was less than brilliant in those days. It must be instinctive...............
Mind you, I was the ONLY person shouting for England in a crowded pub when they beat Poland in Mexico '86. Lucky to survive really.