Radio Telefís Éireann

Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; Irish for "Radio [and] Television [of] Ireland") is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of the Republic of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961.

RTÉ is a statutory body run by an authority appointed by the Irish Government. General management of the organisation is in the hands of the Executive Board headed by the Director-General.

Principal stations

Television

• RTÉ One (launched in 1961 as Telefís Éireann, or simply RTÉ when there was just one station)
• RTÉ Two (known from 1988 to 2004 as Network 2)
• TG4 (formerly called Teilifís na Gaeilge, "Irish language Television".TG4 is operated separately from the rest of RTÉ and its management reports directly to the Director General rather than as part of RTÉ Television.)

Telefís Éireann began broadcasting at 7:00pm on December 31, 1961. The opening address by President of Ireland Eamon de Valera described the benefits and disadvantages of the new medium. He went on to say that "Like atomic energy, it can be used for incalculable good but it can also do irreparable harm". There were other messages from Cardinal d'Alton and An Taoiseach, Seán F. Lemass. Following this a live concert was broadcast from the Gresham Hotel in Dublin. The show, which was a countdown to the New Year, was hosted by the Chairman of the Radio Eireann Authority, Eamonn Andrews, with appearances by Patrick O'Hagan, the Artane Boys Band and Micheál Ó Hehir.

Television opened up a completely new world to the Irish people. Topics which were hitherto not discussed in Ireland, such as abortion, contraception and various other controversial topics, were now openly being discussed in television studios. The Late Late Show, which began in July 1962 and is still running as of 2006, and its original host, Gay Byrne, pioneered many of these discussions and has been credited with being a major influence in the changing social structure of Ireland.

RTÉ made its first colour transmissions in 1969. The first programme made in colour by RTÉ was a 7 Days documentary special called "John Hume's Derry". The next phase was colour outside broadcasts, and the first was the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, the first of many such productions by RTÉ. All of RTÉ's studios at Nutley Lane, Donnybrook were equipped for colour broadcasts by 1976.

In 1977 a new Fianna Fáil government came to power and as one of its many promises, the government quickly authorised a second channel to be run by RTÉ. RTÉ 2's remit was to provide alternative television. As a consequence, the original RTE 2 schedule had many live relays of British programmes, however, there were also some original RTE2 programming. The new television channel went on the air on November 2, 1978. The opening night featured a gala variety show from the Cork Opera House.

In the early 1980s RTÉ 2 became Network 2. All sports coverage was transferred to the newly renamed channel, along with all children's programmes. The few Irish language programmes provided by RTÉ were now broadcast on Network 2, although RTÉ One now broadcasts Irish language programmes.

Although Irish language programmes, such as Nuacht (the news) and Léargas (insight) have been an integral part of the schedule, in 1996 a new Irish-language TV service, Teilifís na Gaeilge, since renamed TG4, began broadcasting for the first time.

Presently, both RTÉ One and RTÉ Two provide round-the-clock broadcasts seven days a week, providing comprehensive coverage of news, current affairs, sport, music, drama and entertainment. Most of the broadcasts are in English, including programming imported from the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand.

RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and TG4 are also available in Northern Ireland via terrestrial overspill or on cable (coverage and inclusion on cable systems varies). The channels are also available via satellite on Sky Digital, although these are encrypted and anyone wishing to view the channels needs to obtain a Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland subscription (they are part of the Variety Mix under the new pricing system, or the Family Pack in the pre-2005 system).

RTÉ's TV channels are not available to Sky subscribers in Great Britain, although between 1997 and 2002, Tara Television carried a mix of RTÉ One and Two programmes before disputes with RTÉ over payment led to its closure.[3] Owing to rights issues, it would be difficult and costly for RTÉ to broadcast its channels in the whole of the UK, but it continues to express an interest in providing a similar channel to Tara.

From the outset, RTÉ had faced competition from British TV channels such as those of the BBC and UTV, broadcasting from Northern Ireland, whose signal spilt over into the Republic. RTÉ's approach was pragmatic, as it introduced cable television in the 1970s, initially known as RTÉ Relays, and subsequently as Cablelink, although it later sold its stake in the company, which is now known as NTL Ireland. In the 1990s, more competition came from satellite television, especially from Sky based in the UK.

RTÉ carried the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games opening and closing ceremonies live for the first time in the history of the games together with extensive radio and television coverage of the events.

RTÉ introduced on-screen logos (or 'bugs') for RTÉ One and RTÉ Two in 2004.

See also: List of RTÉ television programming

Radio

• RTÉ Radio 1 (music and speech based broadcasting)
• 2FM (formerly Radio 2, the RTÉ rock and pop music station)
• RTÉ Lyric FM (classical music plus jazz, world music and arts)
• RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (the Irish language station targeted at the gaeltacht, the Irish language speaking community of Ireland)

The first voice broadcast of 2RN, the original radio callsign for Radio 1, took place on November 14, 1925 when Seamus Clandillon, the 2RN station director said, "Seo Raidió 2RN, Baile Átha Cliath ag tástáil", meaning "This is Radio 2RN, Dublin testing". Regular Irish radio broadcasting began on January 1, 1926. 6CK was established in Cork in 1927, however 6CK was mostly a relay of 2RN.

A high power station was established in Athlone in 1932 to co-incide with the staging of the Eucharistic Congress. 2RN, 6CK and Athlone became known as "Radio Athlone" or "Raidio Áth Luain". Radio Athlone became known as "Radio Éireann" in 1938. Radio Éireann and Telefís Éireann were both renamed Radio Telefís Éireann in 1966.

Now, RTÉ has a nation-wide communications network with an increasing emphasis on regional news-gathering and input. Broadcasting on Radio 1 provides comprehensive coverage of news, current affairs, music, drama and variety features, agriculture, education, religion and sport, mostly in English but also some Irish. RTÉ 2FM is a popular music and chat channel, while RTÉ Lyric FM serves the interests of classical music and the arts. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, an exclusively Irish language service, first began broadcasting in 1972. Formerly RTE operated RTÉ Radio Cork (previously Cork 89FM), a local radio service in Cork, but this closed down in the early 2000s.

A slightly adapted version of Radio One is broadcast on longwave, Sky Digital and Hotbird as RTÉ Europe. The main difference between this and the main FM feed is the inclusion of several RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta programmes.

A DAB version of at least Radio 1 will begin along the east coast of Ireland on 1 January 2006.

RTE Television genres

Since 2003, RTÉ has branded its television programmes under a number of a number of different genres. Each genre operates broadly under a Commissioning Editor, except for RTÉ News and Current Affairs which are separately structured and controlled.

• RTÉ Arts producing documentaries on such Irish arts figures as Seán O'Casey, John McGahern, Patrick Kavanagh, Eileen Gray, Spike Milligan and Rory Gallagher, and a weekly magazine show, The View, presented by John Kelly.
• RTÉ Diversity religion, disability, Irish language and minority programming.
• RTÉ Drama the flagship of which is the soap opera Fair City.
• RTÉ Education programmes aimed at students and adults, including Read Write Now, an adult literacy aid.
• RTÉ Entertainment chatshows The Late Late Show and Tubridy Tonight, and gameshows You're A Star and Winning Streak.
• RTÉ Factual documentaries Legal Eagles looking at the Law Library, Maybe Baby, which follows couples as they try to conceive through IVF and Desperately Seeking Surgery about cosmetic surgery.
• RTÉ History documentaries on Eamon de Valera and the Irish Press, Lord Haw-Haw, Kevin O'Higgins, Women of the Goldrush and Secret Sights; and The Colony, a reality show where an Irish family will live as early 19th century colonists in New South Wales.
• RTÉ Music all types of music, including Classical, traditional Irish and pop/rock.
• RTÉ News & Current Affairs see RTÉ News.
• RTÉ Sport covering the Irish sport and such foreign events as the FA Premier League and Six Nations Rugby.
• RTÉ Young Peoples Programmes mainly on RTÉ Two, including The Den.

Other activities

RTÉ Publishing has four main constituent parts: Print Publishing, E-Publishing (both WEB & Teletext), Commercial Telecoms & Digital Consumer Technology Incubation.The division publishes the RTÉ Guide and sells DVDs and VHS videos of RTÉ Television programmes, and audio tapes and compact discs of RTÉ radio programmes. It operates all of RTÉ's many websites - branded as rte.ie,and providing online news, sport, and entertainment services. Live streams of all of RTÉ's national radio networks are available online. In addition RTÉ Publishing operates a teletext service on both RTÉ One and RTÉ Two, called RTÉ Aertel, which has news, sport, and programme support information. Its commercial telecoms business provides both SMS and IVR telecoms services to all of RTÉ's broadcast services and channels.

RTÉ Performing Groups supports two full-time orchestras - the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra - as well as the RTÉ Vanbergh String Quartet, RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, and RTÉ Cór na nÓg. These groups perform regularly in the National Concert Hall and The Helix in Dublin. RTÉ Music's slogan is RTÉ - Supporting the Arts.

RTÉ Network (branded as "RTÉNL") is operated through a wholly owned subsidiary company, RTÉ Network Transmission Limited,and provides transmission services for all of RTÉ's own channels and also for competing stations such as TV3 Ireland and Today FM.

Organisation

RTÉ operates as a statutory corporation.Its board is known as the RTÉ Authority. The members of the RTÉ Authority are appointed by the Cabinet upon the recommendation of the Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources. The RTÉ Authority is both the custodian of RTÉ and its regulator.

The RTÉ organisation is divided into six integrated business divisions (IBD's): RTÉ Television, RTÉ Radio, RTÉ News, RTÉ Network, RTÉ Publishing & RTÉ Performing Groups) together with Central Shared Services (People Payments, Procurement, Treasury, IT Infrastructure, Audience Research, FOI, and Property & Site Facilities)and a Group HQ. The RTÉ Irish language channel, TG4, is operated as an subsidiary of RTÉ (Serbhisí Telefis na Gaelige Teoranta) prior to its intended ultimate separation from RTÉ.

The RTÉ Authority appoints the Director General of RTÉ who in effect fulfils the dual role of Chief Executive and of Editor in Chief. The Director-General heads the Executive Board of RTÉ, which comprises the companies top management and includes the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Communications and the Managing Directors of the Television, Radio, and News IBD's.

RTÉ receives income from two main sources:

• The television licence fee. All owners of television sets in the State must pay a fee of €155 in order to legally possess any piece of equipment capable of receiving television signals (not necessarily RTÉ). This money is collected by An Post on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Marine, and Natural Resources.
• Commercial Revenue including the sale of advertising and sponsorship.

These two sources are approximately split in a 50:50 ratio. The licence fee does not fund 2FM, RTÉ Aertel, RTÉ Guide or the website rte.ie.

History

(This section deals with the history of RTÉ as an organisation. For details on this history of the various services see the separate articles on these services. For history on the broadcasting service prior to 1960, see Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and RTÉ Radio 1).

Establishment

Broadcasting in Ireland began in 1926 with 2RN in Dublin. From that date, until June 1960, the broadcasting service (2RN, then later Radio Éireann) operated as a section of the Department of Posts and Telgraphs, and those working for the service were directly employed by the Irish Government and regarded as civil servants.

In 1960, RTÉ was established (as Radio Éireann) under the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960, the principal legislation under which it operates. The existing Radio Éireann service was transfered to the new authority, which was also to make provision for the new television service (Télifis Éireann) which opened on 31st December 1961. Eamonn Andrews was the first Chairman of Radio Éireann, the first director general was Edward Roth. The name of the authority was changed to Radio Telefis Éireann under the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act 1966, and both the radio and television services became known as RTÉ in that year.

Northern Ireland

Under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960 the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs of the day could direct RTÉ "not to broadcast any matter, or any matter of any particular class". In 1971, the first such directive was issued by Gerry Collins, directing RTÉ not to broadcast "any matter that could be calculated to promote the aims or activities of any organisation which engages in, promotes, encourages or advocates the attaining of any particular objectives by violent means". Following this, Collins dismissed the entire RTÉ Authority over an interview with an (unidentified on-air) source which had been the then chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.

In 1977, Conor Cruise O'Brien, the then Minister, issued a new directive in the form of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 (Section 31) Order, 1977. RTÉ was now explicity banned from broadcasting statements by spokespersons of Sinn Fein, the Provisional IRA, or any other terrorist organisation banned in Northern Ireland by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. These directives where generally reissued on an annual basis until the final one of 1993[4]

Future of RTÉ

In 2004, RTÉ and the Minister for Communications, Marine, and Natural Resources agreed that in future, RTÉ would operate under a Public Service Broadcasting Charter.It is intended that future legislation will abolish the current RTÉ legal structure and change the station into a company incorporated under the Companies' Acts, and separate its regulatory role. Legislation on this matter is still to be published.

On 29 June 2005 the Minister for Communications, Marine, and Natural Resources, appointed the members of a new RTÉ Authority, replacing the previous one appointed in June 2000. Fintan Drury, chairman of Platinum sports management, and also chairman of Paddy Power plc, was appointed chairman of RTÉ. The other members of the Authority are Maria Killian, Patricia King, Ian Malcolm, Patrick Marron, Una Ní Chonaire, Emer Finnan, Stephen O'Byrnes and Joe O'Brien. The new Authority will hold office for not more than three years.

On 11 January 2006, Fintan Drury resigned as chairman of RTÉ, citing a potential conflict of interest in his role as an advisor to the organisers of the Ryder Cup golf tournament, and as chairman of a broadcaster involved in a row over broadcasting rights. This occured after government proposals to add the tournament to the list of sports events which must be broadcast on free-to-air terrestrial television, to which British Sky Broadcasting, the rights holders, are objecting. A new chairman of the Authority has yet to be announced.