‘Frank in sex matters’: How Ireland got hooked on British TV, from 1953 to today

D8 boy

From the Irish Times, 11/01/2022. Further details at https://connectinganation.ie

RoTelly

I often wonder if anyone thought that audiences want choice and quality TV, neither of which Irish TV channels ever provided. Rather than the idea that we are purely we are some type of satellite of English TV.

The introduction of TV and then DTT was done far too late. Indeed the intro of TnaG/TG4 was late as was TV3. Regulations for content were always very thin.

RTÉ in the early days bemoan that the public just didn't understand that getting quality piece for TV was hard in such a small country. It was always the audience fault. and that attitude continues today. (Read Sit Down and Be Count).

Now we blame it all on our appetite for "foreign" programming. Perhaps if RTÉ and Virgin Media did their jobs as national broadcasters.

Tax The Farmers

"RTÉ in the early days bemoan that the public just didn't understand that getting quality piece for TV was hard in such a small country."

Ive always despised this "we live in a small country so we cant have nice things" excuse which kinda got blown out of the water by TG4 who put out far better programming than RTE on a fraction of their budget.

Ive always maintained that how RTE supply them with programming there's a strong case for putting Franco/German broadcaster ARTE on Saorview (with English subtitles). It would allow Irish viewers a glimpse of the outside world with a European rather than the Anglo-American slant theyre accustomed to.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120814276#Comment_120814276

Interesting idea.

Or TV5 Monde Europe which is on some Virgin Media packages, most programmes are subtitled except for live stuff like news or music. There's a range of different types of shows - news, music, magazine, documentaries, crime, drama, some sport.

Can be streamed free online:

https://europe.tv5monde.com/fr/direct?timezone=Europe/Dublin

Tax The Farmers

Personally I find Arte's programming more interesting (and I don't think RTE produce any of TV5's material) although it's probably a discussion more suited to the main Broadcasting board.