RTE FTA or FTV in Europe you might be able to help???

Greenman

Hi there,
Got this back from Nina Ward RTÉ Information Officer Ad used was complaints@rte.ie

Dear John,
Please be assured that RTÉ management is keenly aware
of the desire of Irish people living abroad to receive
RTÉ's home produced television programmes. Every
option is or has been under consideration and
discussions with the relevant parties is ongoing.

All calls and e-mails on this subject are also logged
and circulated for the attention of the RTÉ management.

Regards,
Nina

So if you are interested in getting RTE FTA or FTV on satellite please could you mail Nina and maybe something might happen!!!

Regards JD!!!
BTW Got the $ky letter saying I could have The Family Pack half price for six months so I couldn't resist not having RTE 1 TV

Greenman

I wonder will anyone take the trouble to write to Nina Ward complaints@rte.ie
Thanks alot and what do you think?

seano

I just did !!!!!!!!!!!!.

BTW - I hope you didnt get RTE again just for the Late Late show

Mike 1972

From tuning around the foreign language channels on Hotbird Ive noticed that Croatian TV have found a neat solution to the problem of programme rights.

They seem to transmit all their "home produced" programmes in the clear and use encryption for imported programming

RTE should do the same

Lennoxschips

Yes, I would have no problems with that. West Wing, football, GAA and other stuff with rights issues could be scrambled while the news and the Late Late Show and Winning Lines with Mick Murphy (:D) could be broadcast in the clear.

But seeing how lazy RTE are having somebody remembering to flick the switch every now and then would probably be too much work for them.

Sin e an Fear

Mike 1972 wrote:

From tuning around the foreign language channels on Hotbird Ive noticed that Croatian TV have found a neat solution to the problem of programme rights.

They seem to transmit all their "home produced" programmes in the clear and use encryption for imported programming

RTE should do the same

What is more interesting is that HRT (or whatever they're called) will, apparently, provide viewing cards outside Croatia, thereby giving people access to subtitled programming in English.

The BBC could and should have done the same (with encryption, not with viewing cards) and stayed where it was on Astra 2A. Greg Dyke (good riddance) said in his memoirs that he 'discovered' that German public TV networks were broadcast on satellite unencrypted. Duh, how long did it take for him to have 'discovered' that? He conveniently overlooked the fact that virtually everything originally in English on German TV is dubbed auf Deutsch!

Lennoxschips

Is that why the BBC doesn't show the Simpsons anymore?

kramlq

Lennoxschips wrote:

Is that why the BBC doesn't show the Simpsons anymore?

No, as far as I recall they were simply outbid by C4. I think this happened
before they even went FTA.

And regarding HRT from croatia - a lot of other smaller broadcasters in the european skies also seem to use viaccess (TV Slovenia, SRG SWISS, SVT Europe, BBC Prime, NTV Russia) so maybe they provide a cost effective deal for this type of subscription scheme.

I wonder did RTE ever consider simulcrypting in something that is euro-receiver friendly alongside videoguard for Sky viewers. This would also benefit Irish license payers in areas not well served by a terrestrial signal. I think it would be acceptable to pay a once off cost (€10-20, perhaps foreign viewers should also have to pay a license fee if not already doing so back home) for a viewing card that gives you a few years viewing via a CAM+CI receiver. Any FTV scheme via Videoguard/Digibox would be useless as its too much hassle for european viewers and the married card thing is annoying.

A more likely scenario is that when RTE were signing their deal with Sky to screw the license payers for the next 8 or so years, they forgot to include a clause that allows this.

DMC

Yes, Channel 4 nabbed the rights from the BBC (at half a million sterling an episode, IIRC) and it was not down to FTA. But, like the way Home and Away went from ITV to Channel 5, there is a cut off between when the BBC stop and Channel 4 start showing; that was 12 months. I think The Simpsons are due on Channel 4 in November.

ActingThe Magot

Thi is the text of a mail I have just sent to RTE:
For the attention of Nina Ward/
To Whom it may concern
I am an expat Dubliner who has been living and working in Den Haag, The Netherlands since 2002,
I am writing to enquire about the likelihood of RTE providing a Free To Air Satellite (FTA) TV service that would be available in Continental Europe.

As you are undoubtedly aware, many, many other Countries in Europe, and beyond provide this service (From Albania to Algeria and of Course the U.K.).
As a father of 3 (soon to be 4) kids which are/will continue to be raised in a bilingual (Dutch and English) home environment, I would really welcome access to a RTE FTA service. BBC is available here on cable TV, however I obviously would prefer that my children are able to enjoy Irish Television.

You may be aware that some people in the UK and Continental Europe have been reduced to acquiring Sky subscriptions and have incurred great and ongoing expense to see RTE television via a Sky subscription, not to mention the fact that this activity is skirting the borders of legality!

I understand that a previous service RTE provided aimed at an expat market (TARA TV) was considered to be highly successful.

So in conclusion, I would strongly recommend that RTE follow the example of many other state broadcasters and provide a FTA service.

ActingThe Magot

Hi,
RTE have replied to my enquiry, unfortunately there is little positive news

"Continuously examining" is an excellent term for giving the pretence of action, but of course doesn't amount to taking any positive action.
It does seem strange that RTE are so far behind with catching up with the international norm of providing a FTA service.

I know that there are many others who (occasionally) view and post to this site, I would also encourage them to contact RTE to "remind" them of the fact that RTE are out of step with the practice of other national broadcasters by failing to provide a FTA service at this time.

Dear *****,
Thank you for your e-mail with regard to the
availability of RTÉ television programmes to Irish
viewers living overseas.

RTÉ would love to be in a position to announce an
imminent start up of an RTÉ channel, available on
satellite across Europe and the UK, but we regret to
say that we are still some way from this.

While Tara Television was broadcasting, RTÉ was able to
have its home-produced programmes distributed by them.
Since Tara went into liquidation we have been
continuously examining ways of achieving the same
result.

We regret that, at this time, we are unable to give you
any better news, but rest assured that RTÉ is
continuing to explore every avenue which might lead to
the provision of a television service for Irish viewers
abroad.

Best regards
Nina Ward
RTÉ Information Officer

Greenman

To those who wrote in to Nina Ward in RTE thanks.If you didn't maybe you might!!! I really can't see whats the problem in Montrose??? I think they lack a forward looking leader!!! I would like the name of someone in the paper press that writes on media matters and I'll contact them!!! To have an RTE hybrid channel on sat in Europe is a great opportunity to showcase Irish TV to others!!!.
Finally, once we have RTE FTA on sat I'll start campaigning on a RTE GOLD night showing old shows like Halls Pictorial Weekly, The Riordans etc etc!!!

Lennoxschips

For what it's worth I wrote to that address and suggested they show the home-grown programming with no rights issues in FTA, because it would cost them nothing extra etc. and only make people happy.

When I first moved to Europe I could accept that Ireland was far away, that RTE was poor and the only way to get the news was a near to unlistenable 567 Mhz or read the Sunday papers on Monday. (This was before the internet) But now the satellite signals exist and are beaming down onto my roof and into my dish, but I am unable to watch them due to some silly six year deal they signed with Sky. It's frustrating.

It's positive to see though that RTE have upped the bitrate for the online TV news. It's now watchable!

telecinesk

Rte europw would be nice alright but Id settle for an increase of the bitrate on the pan europe feed of radio1 from 96kb/sec to 192 or 256kb/sec. It ceases to amaze me that czech or slovak or hungarian radio can provide a decent feed at 256kb and rte with all its might has this "porn quality" audio on satellite.
Cant figure why wrn is still carrying this for them either.

Anyone else think 2Fm would be also welcome too.

As for the tv service, I doubt anything will happen, they have not even got DTT or DAB up and running.
Keep mailing them tho. I did last month to support the campaign.

Greenman

Lennoxschips wrote:

It's positive to see though that RTE have upped the bitrate for the online TV news. It's now watchable!

I kept mailing and mailing on that subject and then one day it was increased,If you kook at http://beelinetv.com/ you'll get TV on the net at over the 300kbps. I'm sure RTE could do that at least.