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RTÉ could be on British television soon
 By
Trevor O’Sullivan
The long road to bringing RTÉ to British television screens is
reaching its most pivotal moment.
Ireland’s national broadcaster has said the key decision on how
it will be distributed across the water is now in the hands of the Irish
Government and could become a reality by next year.
An RTÉ spokesman said: “Come the autumn if the financial
arrangement can be agreed I would think it wouldn’t be unrealistic
to have the service up and running in 2008. There will be no obstacles
left after that.”
If financial clout is provided by the Government RTÉ believe it
will be able to relay the service on Freeview.
The spokesman said: “The only funding RTÉ require is on
the cost of delivery. We are not seeking provision for the funding of
programming or anything like that”.
“So it’s just on the cost of delivery which basically means
whether the service will be delivered on Freeview or Sky or to cable.”
“So there will be critical decisions coming up in the autumn and
hopefully all going well before the end of the year that should be clarified.”
The Irish in Britain have endured a never-ending wait for a television
service here and RTÉ maintains that funding is now the crucial
issue.
A positive government response to that would mean anyone with a television
set would only need to buy a Freeview box (priced at about £15)
to view the Irish stations.
But, on the other hand, if the fiscal back-up is not there Sky will more
than likely be the only other option.
This would mean that anyone based in Britain wanting Irish television
would have to buy a dish and subscribe to Sky.
RTÉ said the introduction of the new government has meant it has
delayed ploughing ahead with the proposals.
The spokesman said: “Because of the change of government and a
new department we knew there was no point in talking to the Department
of Finance or Foreign Affairs during the summer months about how it is
going to be funded.”
“So our next big drive will start in the autumn when we will be
talking to the departments about getting funding for the provision of
RTÉ to people in Britain.”
The state broadcaster is hopeful that the new government will now provide
the service the Irish in Britain have craved for decades.
The spokesman said: “I would be hopeful that we would get a positive
response from government sources.”
“We are not asking for something that doesn’t exist with
other countries’ television stations.”
“Most international television services are subsidised by government.
It’s quite common in fact.”
“I mean if you just think of BBC World Service on the radio and
BBC World on television across the globe.”
“You can also see TV5, which offers a service for the French abroad,
and the German station Deutsche Welle.”
“They all receive very substantial grants from governments.”
“It’s just seen as part of making ex-pats feel an affinity
with the country they left.”
So will the Government finally deliver for the Irish in Britain?
Time will tell but RTÉ is optimistic:
The spokesman said: “The new Minister Eamon Ryan we think will
be receptive to it but we haven’t actually pushed him on it as he
is just easing himself into the job.”
“Freeview reaches a lot more people but it is a lot more expensive
as there are far less carriers.”
“In a sense it depends on the reaction of Government. To maximise
the potential audience we really would need Freeview.”
Commenting on the issue the Department of Finance said: “Work
on Budget 2008 has commenced and any funding, and the amount involved,
will be decided in that context.”
“The Department of Finance will not comment in advance of this.” |
