The decline of TG4

pgj2015 · 11-07-2020 12:37pm

I remember they used to show breaking bad (best tv series ever), curb your enthusiasm etc. do they still show great shows like that? RTE never showed these two series.

Capt'n Midnight · 11-07-2020 12:51pm

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

I can’t even pick up RTE, tg4, virgin where I live because the digital signal is so pathetically weak.

Retune if it's only gotten worse in the last few months as some frequencies were sold off to the mobile phone companies.

Get a proper aerial. Like one that's colour coded or matched to the frequency of the transmitter and with a decent gain. Avoid anything marked "Digital" or looks weird.

Or go Saorsat.
It doesn't have virgin. But you can get most of their content on Freesat, earlier, and in HD.

padd b1975 · 11-07-2020 3:39pm

Montage of Feck wrote: »

They also showed Oz and The Wire before that.

Brought Curb Your Enthusiasm to Ireland too.

Hangdogroad · 11-07-2020 3:46pm

I remember once TG4 showed Cruising, a little known Al Pacino movie set in the New York gay S & M scene. Theres a scene where a guy is fisted in a nightclub.

feargale · 15-07-2020 1:25pm

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I just object to wasted money.[/ quote]

I didn't ask you about wasted money. One man's waste is another man's fertiliser. I asked you:

Do you object to government funding for sport, cultural pursuits such as ballet and drama, piss-ups under the guise of "festivals attracting tourists" ( from 3 miles down the road after the local pub has shut while the "festival" enjoys an exemption)? Or do you only approve of funding for your pet projects and hold that those you dislike should be left out in the cold?

Well? No funding for GAA, rugby, soccer, Olympics etc? Are you ok with that? No digouts for the Abbey Theatre etc? No lottery money for golf clubs? Do tell us please.

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Alvin and the chipmunks is on now. Pure irish culture there.

I'm sure you could as likely see Alvin on Portuguese or Polish television. I remember a time when Telefís Éireann, as it was, broadcast for very limited hours, starting around 5 p.m. and finishing before midnight. Much in between was filled with crap cartoons from USA abd Eastern Europe, as well as cheap soaps from the USA and political documentaries with a heavy pro-American bias. The station just didn't have the resources to do better.
TG4 is a small station which is never going to compete with the BBC for instance. If they can extend their viewing hours and boost their viewership and their advertising income by showing Alvin, why not?
Also, the current lockdown hasn't improved the quality of television generally.

whisky_galore · 15-07-2020 1:39pm

The Country and Western channel as I like to call it. Any time I flicked past it was either Wee Daniel crooning or some dated cowboy movie.

Hated the children's stuff as a kid, no way was I going to bother watching cartoons in Irish.

Trigger Happy · 15-07-2020 1:58pm

feargale wrote: »

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I just object to wasted money.[/ quote]

I didn't ask you about wasted money. One man's waste is another man's fertiliser. I asked you:

Do you object to government funding for sport, cultural pursuits such as ballet and drama, piss-ups under the guise of "festivals attracting tourists" ( from 3 miles down the road after the local pub has shut while the "festival" enjoys an exemption)? Or do you only approve of funding for your pet projects and hold that those you dislike should be left out in the cold?

Well? No funding for GAA, rugby, soccer, Olympics etc? Are you ok with that? No digouts for the Abbey Theatre etc? No lottery money for golf clubs? Do tell us please.

I'm sure you could as likely see Alvin on Portuguese or Polish television. I remember a time when Telefís Éireann, as it was, broadcast for very limited hours, starting around 5 p.m. and finishing before midnight. Much in between was filled with crap cartoons from USA abd Eastern Europe, as well as cheap soaps from the USA and political documentaries with a heavy pro-American bias. The station just didn't have the resources to do better.
TG4 is a small station which is never going to compete with the BBC for instance. If they can extend their viewing hours and boost their viewership and their advertising income by showing Alvin, why not?
Also, the current lockdown hasn't improved the quality of television generally.

You are missing Murder She Wrote on TG4 right now. Some more classic Irish culture.

topper75 · 15-07-2020 2:04pm

Some Yoke wrote: »

Garraí glas is on daily, excellent program about growing your own veg and fruit, making preserves, foraging, making meals with wild plants, old Irish traditions and travelling all around the west

The last run of that was on RTÉ and not TG4 though oddly.

One thing that disappoints me (not the station's fault directly) is that they used to have a lot of Gaeilge in the ad breaks, just Irish versions of ads that were shown in English on RTÉ, but now it is rare to see such. They were a good learning opportunity. Dubbing can't be that dear but I suppose it is the advertiser's call.

beggars_bush · 15-07-2020 2:08pm

My parents watch it and they are not Irish speakers.

But you are right, it does need a shake up.

topper75 · 15-07-2020 2:11pm

Hangdogroad wrote: »

I remember once TG4 showed Cruising, a little known Al Pacino movie set in the New York gay S & M scene. Theres a scene where a guy is fisted in a nightclub.

Oh yeah I saw that. Wasn't Cruising though if I remember rightly as that wouldn't mean anything to an Irish-speaking audience. Was Tabhair Dom do Lámh.

2lazytogetup · 15-07-2020 2:24pm

tv advertising revenue stream will take a nose dive with covid. so dont know where tg4 are going to get any money.

they do good things:

-ros na run
- kids animations that they can easily dub into gaeilge. harder to do this with real life actors
-fiorsceal - easy to change the narrator for documentaries.

only thing that annoys me is they dont keep the legal rights to programs they show. they had some great programs over the year that arent on their tg4.ie online player. i recall there being harry potter in irish. but its vanished. That would be great for teaching kids irish.

and i love hector but seems every year they send him on another travel program. is he just waiting in dublin airport, passport in hand, for the call from tg4 boss to go somewhere for the 4th time.

Sleepy · 15-07-2020 2:28pm

Rugbaí Beo is the only reason I'd ever switch over to TG4. Great for coverage of Connacht matches, though tbh, the mute button tends to get used.

feargale · 15-07-2020 6:46pm

beggars_bush wrote: »

My parents watch it and they are not Irish speakers.

But you are right, it does need a shake up.

Also my wife, like alot of people who have no interest in Irish, watches it a bit. That is a tribute to a little tv station run on a shoestring. They used to have good stuff of their own but I agree that sadly things aren't as good as they used to be. So much of the media, print, tv etc is taking a financial battering and Covid isn't helping.

feargale · 15-07-2020 6:53pm

Sleepy wrote: »

Rugbaí Beo is the only reason I'd ever switch over to TG4. Great for coverage of Connacht matches, though tbh, the mute button tends to get used.

I watch Connacht too. I used to watch some rugby on the Welsh channel, S4C, not having a word of Welsh. I determined to pick up the rudiments of Welsh and then the bloody channel was pulled from me. S4C is also strapped for cash recently. I wonder if quality has also suffered.

feargale · 15-07-2020 7:13pm

Trigger Happy wrote: »

You are missing Murder She Wrote on TG4 right now. Some more classic Irish culture.

Interest in Gaelic Irish culture doesn't have to compel one to close one's eyes to the rest of the world. We are not North Korea. France 24 fills TG4 for a good part of the late night giving a European and Francophone perspective. In looking elsewhere it's hardly surprising that Anglo-American culture features, since we are part of the English-speaking world.
I remember a time when a number of Irish people regarded rugby as a foreign game and are probably choking on their cornflakes now in the great tv studio in the sky when they see TG4 showing rugby. But I'm confident that you, being a modern young Irishman, wouldn't go to those extremes in your ardent desire to see more indigenous Irish culture on TG4.

P.S. I'm still awaiting a reply to my original question. I'm almost embarrassed to keep mentioning it.

saabsaab · 15-07-2020 7:31pm

This was a brilliant ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzYNdZhiDJY

feargale · 15-07-2020 7:35pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

The Country and Western channel as I like to call it. Any time I flicked past it was either Wee Daniel crooning or some dated cowboy movie.

Country and Western isn't much to my liking either. I would prefer less of it. But do you remember comedian Frank Kelly's song from years ago? "There are 85,000 Country singers in Ireland." Give or take 5,000 he was there or thereabouts right.

Do you remember the RTE-collaborated series years ago that demonstrated the Irish origins of a great deal of American music? Compare the air of "The Bard of Armagh" with that of "The Streets of Laredo." The latter is very slightly jizzed up. Otherwise they are identical.

whisky_galore wrote: »

Hated the children's stuff as a kid, no way was I going to bother watching cartoons in Irish.

Each to his own. If I had my way there would be nothing on tv except David Attenborough, history, GAA, rugby, soccer and quizzes. If Trigger Happy had his way there would be nothing to see on TG4 except a blank screen. It's impossible to please everybody.

feargale · 15-07-2020 7:46pm

Potential-Monke wrote: »

The only time I ever watched TG4 is when RTE weren't showing Limerick in the hurling. Not a massive fan of sport in general, but I do like a good game of hurling, and really only interested enough to watch the big matches or Limerick playing, more for company for the father than anything. Does be a good family event with the 2 parents actually. Anyway, I can't speak/understand Irish aside from basic stuff to have passed a test 20 odd years ago, so it's extra annoying that the matches are in Irish. Sometimes, we watch it via Sky because of the delay, turn the tv audio down and listen to it on the radio. The delay via radio usually matches the delay with Sky, whereas if you were to watch it on Saorview the action is slightly ahead of the commentary on the radio.

I have the very same problem when I watch soccer on Spanish and Italian channels. The damn fellows just won't speak English.

feargale · 15-07-2020 7:53pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

I think it needs to move online.

They will find money from all the yanks and brits who want to learn irish. It will be annoying as **** but it will bring in money.

And would you advocate Israeli tv going online and finding money from all the Yanks and Brits who want to learn Hebrew?

Truthvader · 15-07-2020 8:15pm

33 million every year pissed away on Michael D's wet dream. A ludicrous waste of money. Only things anyone ever watches are in English.

Dyr · 15-07-2020 8:17pm

I watch the GAA in Irish, and the programs they show every five minutes were they go out wesht to talk to trad musicians and the likes

One More Toy · 15-07-2020 8:19pm

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

Does it still have the talented weather ladies?

Who's everyone's favourite weather lady?

saabsaab · 15-07-2020 8:21pm

feargale wrote: »

I have the very same problem when I watch soccer on Spanish and Italian channels. The damn fellows just won't speak English.

Quite so Mr Cholmondley-Warner. I say, is it too much to ask them to speak the King's?

riclad · 15-07-2020 9:15pm

RTE have X amount to spend, maybe they want to show popular programs on rte1 or 2, many people never watch tg4 as most of the shows are in Irish,
In my experience 95 per cent of people outside the Gaeltacht cannot understand Irish.
Things have changed on sky and cable TV,
There's 300 plus channels.
I don't think tg4 gets big ratings unless there's live sport on.
I think tg4 is old fashioned, like old Nokia phones, VHS vcrs etc
It was probably a lot more popular 10 years ago than it is now.
I can't remember going to see a friend and seeing someone watch tg4 for any reason

landofthetree · 15-07-2020 9:16pm

Its a quango.
Jobs for a few politicians friends.

Doctors room ghost · 15-07-2020 9:18pm

Murder she wrote of a Sunday night does be good.
Also there was an article in last weeks Connacht tribune Saying tg4 had its highest ever ratings this year but that’s probably down to more people at home with the covid lockdown

Doctors room ghost · 15-07-2020 9:19pm

The Irish rm is very good aswell

whisky_galore · 15-07-2020 9:30pm

feargale wrote: »

Do you remember the RTE-collaborated series years ago that demonstrated the Irish origins of a great deal of American music? Compare the air of "The Bard of Armagh" with that of "The Streets of Laredo." The latter is very slightly jizzed up. Otherwise they are identical.

What?

whisky_galore · 15-07-2020 9:31pm

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

The Irish rm is very good aswell

Stage Irish unfunny comedy. Woedious.

JasonStatham · 15-07-2020 9:34pm

Ah....i only watched it cos of Sile Ni Bhraonain. Gorgeous.

feargale · 15-07-2020 9:40pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

What?

What what?

whisky_galore · 15-07-2020 9:52pm

feargale wrote: »

What what?

You obviously don't know that doesn't mean what you think it means... ok, just go back to sleep...

Doctors room ghost · 15-07-2020 9:57pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

Stage Irish unfunny comedy. Woedious.

It’s very good.go and watch the second episode trinkets colt and come back and say it wasn’t funny.one of the best shows I’ve seen in ages

fryup · 15-07-2020 10:17pm

enjoy the westerns on a friday night

whisky_galore · 15-07-2020 10:20pm

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

It’s very good.go and watch the second episode trinkets colt and come back and say it wasn’t funny.one of the best shows I’ve seen in ages

No.

feargale · 15-07-2020 10:20pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

You obviously don't know that doesn't mean what you think it means... ok, just go back to sleep...

I know what it means but I'm not as pedantic as your good self. Did you find fault with any relevant part of my post?

feargale · 17-07-2020 3:28pm

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

Its grand for a bit of GAA that other channels are not showing other then that meh!

TG4 saw a niche while other stations turned up their noses. More power to TG4.

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

At the end of the day its built around basically a dead language so its not gonna be everyone's Cupan Tae.

You need to do a bit of study of the differences between endangered, dead and extinct languages. Google Ethnologue.

"In linguistics, language death occurs when a language loses its last native speaker."

Irish is not a dead language. Irish is an endangered language.

ILoveYourVibes · 26-07-2020 1:00am

riclad wrote: »

RTE have X amount to spend, maybe they want to show popular programs on rte1 or 2, many people never watch tg4 as most of the shows are in Irish,
In my experience 95 per cent of people outside the Gaeltacht cannot understand Irish.

In my experience 90 % of Irish people outside the gaeltacht can understand spoken irish but not speak it.

ILoveYourVibes · 26-07-2020 1:02am

I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room here.

That is the people who are happy to take the money into their pocket and produce nothing for it leaving gaelgoirs with nothing and making the Irish language scene look bad.

There are some scammers in this. It makes the Irish language look like a black hole.

26-07-2020 1:09am

I love TG4. Great for the GAA and also the GAA nostalgia. Wonderful little channel. Is what it is and im glad it didnt change and evolve into a 'woke monster' like that overpaid Frankenstein RTE.

ILoveYourVibes · 26-07-2020 1:15am

Deleted User wrote: »

I love TG4. Great for the GAA and also the GAA nostalgia. Wonderful little channel. Is what it is and im glad it didnt change and evolve into a 'woke monster' like that overpaid Frankenstein RTE.

Do you watch it?

Its way more woke than RTE politically. It's just entertainment wise they are obsessed with daniel o donnell.

26-07-2020 1:17am

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Do you watch it?

Its way more woke than RTE politically. It's just entertainment wise they are obsessed with daniel o donnell.

I watch it, but probably cant understand it for most part

ILoveYourVibes · 26-07-2020 1:23am

Deleted User wrote: »

I watch it, but probably cant understand it for most part

Bláthnaid on ...radio na life is good

imme · 26-07-2020 12:41pm

Hector hasn't gone away you know!
He's still doing his travel shows. He had a new series on recently.

The station is necessary.

I don't think putting 'beautiful people' on screen is the answer.
The content should speak for itself.

Their movies series are often more compelling than anything else on terrestrial TV in Ireland.

The channel commissions a good deal of content that wouldn't be made if tg4 didn't exist.

I heart it.

Dyr · 26-07-2020 2:05pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

There are some scammers in this. It makes the Irish language look like a black hole.

I can remember when TG4 started I knew a nordie fella who was a Gaeligóir and he was starting up a media company just to try milk the funding

From Tyrone and was a member of Fianna Fáil, that will tell you what sort of cowboy he was

riclad · 26-07-2020 2:24pm

i,m not saying it should not exist,
I,m sure its good if you like gaa,sport, I think most people won,t watch it
since 90 per cent of people in ireland outside the gaeltacht, do not speak irish,
and cannot understand spoken irish.
Many people have cable tv,or sky tv .
When you have 400 tv channels why would would bother to watch tg4 if you are not a gaa fan.And alot of young people watch streaming tv or youtube.
It has to compete with bbc and american tv programs .
Theres, lots of free tv channels on freesat even for those who have no acess to cable tv in rural area,s .

ILoveYourVibes · 26-07-2020 2:39pm

Bambi wrote: »

I can remember when TG4 started I knew a nordie fella who was a Gaeligóir and he was starting up a media company just to try milk the funding

From Tyrone and was a member of Fianna Fáil, that will tell you what sort of cowboy he was

There is a lot of that.

Its partially why we get so little for much with the Irish language. Its never talked about. But well that is what its all about for most people in the irish language ..the bottom line.

Hangdogroad · 26-07-2020 3:36pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Do you watch it?

Its way more woke than RTE politically. It's just entertainment wise they are obsessed with daniel o donnell.

Daniel O Donnell is on RTE as much if not more than TG4.

26-07-2020 3:59pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Bláthnaid on ...radio na life is good

She has the most beautiful Connemara Irish which is odd because she grew up in Canada and is from the Meath Gaeltacht.

Hector is the same, a Meath man who sounds like he's from Rossaveal.

EmmetSpiceland · 26-07-2020 6:44pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

She has the most beautiful Connemara Irish which is odd because she grew up in Canada and is from the Meath Gaeltacht.

Weren’t the Connies “planted” in Meath as a way to add a little chlorine to their, disturbingly close, gene pool?

The decline of TG4

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