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National Television

Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) was Ireland’s first national TV broadcaster. RTÉ started broadcasting on 31st December 1961, over its own national terrestrial and aerial TV network. This network used analogue technology. To receive the new TV channel, TV viewers needed an analogue TV connected to a VHF aerial pointing in the direction of the nearest RTÉ transmitter. At this time the RTÉ service started at approximately 5.30pm and ran until around 11.15pm. A TV schedule from 1962 is available at the following link.

There have been many improvements in Irish broadcasting services since that time and the aerial TV network has also developed and evolved.

The evolution of Irish Broadcasting TV Services

Since 1961, there have been many changes to the Irish broadcasting landscape. From broadcasting round 5 and a half hours per day, TV channels now operate 24 hours per day. New TV channels have also been added including RTÉ junior, RTÉ One +1 and RTÉ News Now.

The service was expanded when a second RTÉ Television channel, RTÉ 2, started broadcasting on 2nd November 1978. RTÉ 2 was re-branded as Network Two in October 1988 and renamed RTÉ 2 in 2004.

The establishment of Teilifís na Gaeilge as a subsidiary of RTÉ followed in 1996. Teilifís na Gaeilge was re-branded as TG4 in September 1999 and was established as an independent public service broadcaster on 1st April 2007.

A further service followed with the launch of TV3, Ireland’s first “free-to-air” or subscription-free commercial television station, on 21st September 1998. All these channels are broadcast over the national aerial TV network which is operated by RTÉ.

The National Aerial Television Network (The Old TV network)

The Irish “free-to-air” TV channels are broadcast over radio frequencies from hill top broadcast sites, operated and maintained by RTÉ Networks Limited (RTÉNL), a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of RTÉ. The TV channels are received by an aerial at the viewer’s premises and displayed on the TV. This network uses analogue technology and is nearing obsolescence. The analogue transmitters are due to be switched off in Q4 of 2012.

RTÉ has continued to change, expand and develop the network since the 1960s. Over the years the network has seen many updates, including the Change from 405 to 625 line TV, colour TV, the introduction of UHF broadcasting services and the introduction of new transmitter sites to increase coverage and quality. The upgrade to digital technology is the latest in a long line of network upgrades.


Updating the Network - The Change from 405 to 625 line TV

In 1963 RTÉ began to upgrade to 625 line TV. The upgrade from 405 line TV increased the resolution of the picture and the picture quality. Upgrading was completed in 1982. In order to receive the better quality pictures, TV viewers had to purchase a new 625 line TV set and the old 405 line TV sets became obsolete.


Colour TV

RTÉ started experimenting with colour transmissions in 1969.
In order to receive colour pictures, TV viewers had to purchase a new colour TV. Today, the vast majority of homes have colour TVs.


The introduction of UHF

The network originally broadcast in the VHF frequency band only. This band only has space for 2 national TV channels. The introduction of the UHF band between 1978 and 1983 meant that up to 4 TV services could be broadcast nationally. The UHF band also offered the potential to provide coverage in areas which had previously not been accessible. This was done by using low power transponders to cover black spots. These devices work by receiving the TV signal from a hilltop broadcast transmitter and directing it towards the black spot area which might be a valley or the sheltered side of a mountain.

Today the network provides coverage of RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 to 98% of the population using both the VHF and UHF bands. TG4 and TV3 operate in the UHF band only. TG4 reaches 95% of the population and TV3 about 89% of the population.
In order to avail of the better reception and the new TV channels, TV viewers had to purchase a new UHF aerial and a TV with a UHF tuner. Currently there are 12 main UHF transmitter TV sites and about 140 smaller sites throughout the country.


Upgrading the network to digital

In 2008, RTÉ started to introduce new digital TV transmitters at its main transmitter sites. By May 2011, there were 51 digital sites in operation offering almost 98% population coverage with the following TV channels: RTE 1, RTE 2, TV3, TG4, 3e, RTE News Now, RTÉ 1 + 1, RTÉ jr, RTÉ digital teletext, and 10 RTÉ radio channels. RTÉ calls the new digital network “SAORVIEW”. SAORVIEWoperates over the UHF frequency band. This network will replace the analogue transmitters when they are switched off in the fourth quarter of 2012.
In order to receive the SAORVIEW network TV viewers will need to upgrade their TV to digital by either purchasing a new SAORVIEW digital TV or by purchasing a SAORVIEWset top box. TV viewers will also need a UHF aerial. VHF aerials will not receive the digital signals.


History of Multichannel TV in Ireland

TV viewers who receive more than the national TV stations have what is called a multichannel TV service. There are a number of ways to receive multichannel TV using both subscription based and non-subscription networks.


Overspill of TV signals from the UK and elsewhere in Europe

Overspill of TV signals is an accidental occurrence which arises because it is very difficult to ensure that TV signals are only received where they are intended to be received. TV signals can travel quite long distances and “overspill” their intended reception area. The overspill area is the area not intended to be covered by the TV signal. In the future, as technology improves overspill is likely to be reduced and may disappear altogether.

In certain parts of Ireland it is possible to receive the TV signals from the UK free to air. TV viewers in Ireland along the east coast and along the border have been able to receive overspill of the UK channels from the UK transmitters in Wales and Northern Ireland since the 1950s.

In addition, there are several satellite broadcast services which provide coverage of UK and other European TV channels to those within the footprint of the satellite. As with the UK signals above, these free satellite networks are only available because of overspill. They are not intended to be broadcast into Ireland.

In 2008, the UK launched a free to air digital satellite service (“Freesat”), which provides access to the main UK channels. The aim of this service was to ensure coverage to all of the UK as its DTT service is only expected to be capable of about 99% coverage within the UK. Ireland falls within the footprint of this satellite so these channels can currently also be viewed freely in Ireland with the appropriate digital receiver equipment. Overspill broadcast services are not regulated in Ireland and coverage of these services cannot be guaranteed.


Community Deflector Services

In certain areas of the country, and in particular in areas of the country where multichannel was not available through overspill or via a pay TV service provider, community multichannel services developed. These community-based deflector services offered access to the UK channels. These “Deflector” systems work by receiving the UK analogue TV broadcast signals, and amplifying and re-broadcasting them so that they would be received by an aerial at the TV viewer’s home. They operate under a spectrum licence from ComReg. The ComReg Deflector licensing scheme is due to expire in 2012. These deflector services are generally subscription-based with the fee being used to fund the service. In some instance they are operated commercially.

In recent years, with the growth of satellite TV, many community deflector services have closed down. It is expected that as the UK and Irish terrestrial TV channels move to digital, the community deflector services will become obsolete and will cease to exist.

Pay TV

The Irish TV channels are available along with many other channels as part of a pay-TV offering using cable, Multipoint Microwave Distribution Service (MMDS), satellite or via broadband.


Cable and MMDS

Terrestrial reception of analogue services is environment- and weather-dependent so quality varies. Reception of TV channels improved considerably when cable television transmission was introduced in the 1960s. This was introduced by RTÉ to enable television reception in high-rise complexes in Ballymun. In the early 1970s the cable service expanded as a number of private cable operators began offering both the Irish and UK services throughout Dublin and other urban areas. The cable companies continued to amalgamate and expand through the 1980s. In the 1990s a new radio-based MMDS service was introduced to provide multichannel TV in medium-sized urban communities and rural communities throughout the country. In the last decade, cable and MMDS operators have started to upgrade to digital. Today most cable and MMDS companies have consolidated into what is effectively a large single operator (now UPC). A small number of independent companies still exist. Whilst Cable or MMDS is available in most urban areas throughout Ireland it is not universal.
To receive Cable TV viewers need to be connected to the service provider’s cable network. For digital cable, a special set top box and encryption card, supplied by the service provider, is required for each TV set.

To receive MMDS, a special MMDS aerial is needed. A special set top box and encryption card, supplied by the service provider, is required for each TV set.

Pay Satellite

Sky Digital began offering subscription digital satellite television services in Ireland in 1998. Sky is available in most areas throughout the country. Sky is regulated in the UK under UK law. To receive Sky, a satellite dish is required. A special Sky set top box and encryption card is required for each TV set.

2007

The Broadcasting Amendment Act 2007 was passed. This Act provided for a two-pronged approach to achieving analogue switch off, by:

1. empowering RTÉ to develop and operate a subscription-free national digital network as a replacement for its analogue network; and
2. Providing for the BAI to licence commercial DTT services to help incentivise TV viewers to move to digital TV ahead of analogue switch off.

2008

The then Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ran a competition for commercial DTT providers. There were three successful applicants to this competition but a contract was not secured and the process ended in 2010.
RTÉ initiated the building of the national DTT network. In 2009 work stalled pending the outcome of the commercial competition.

2009

The Broadcasting Act 2009 was enacted. Part 8 of this Act replaces and updates the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007.

2010

RTÉ launched a pilot DTT service, called SAORVIEW to 94% of the population on 29th October 2010.
In February, an MOU with Northern Ireland on coordination of digital switchover was signed. This MOU provides for coordination of information around digital switchover both sides of the border. The MOU also provides for TG4 to be carried on the DTT network throughout Northern Ireland and provides an opportunity for RTÉ to be carried on the DTT network in Northern Ireland. This provides the potential to deliver all island reception of both RTÉ and TG4 for the first time in the history of the State.

Following the failure of the BCI process seeking commercial DTT providers, the then Minister announced that ASO would take place in Q4 of 2012 and accepted a revised RTÉ plan for digital TV. In particular, this plan proposes a dual digital network using both a terrestrial and a satellite platform to provide 98% population coverage terrestrially and almost 100% coverage via satellite. The new plan requires the spectrum to be re-planned and means that commercial DTT will not be possible before analogue switch off.

A new steering group – the Digital Switchover Group was established under the auspices of DCENR to develop and manage the digital switchover programme. Membership includes DCENR, RTÉ, ComReg and BAI.

Behaviour and Attitudes was commissioned to study TV viewing mechanisms in Ireland and to report on this.
RTÉ sought consent for new RTÉ channels and services. The Minister consulted publicly on the public value of these channels/services and the BAI studied the sectoral impact of these proposed channels and services.

2011 – Date
Following the public consultation process and the report on the sectoral impact, then-Minister Carey consented to 5 new RTÉ TV channels and services. The BAI sought Expressions of Interest from broadcasters and content providers interested in using the SAORVIEW network.

RTÉ launched SAORVIEW in May 2011.

Since the announcement of the digital switchover process, ComReg has been consulting on proposed arrangements for the use of the spectrum that will become available from end 2012 / early 2013 when the old TV network closes down.