Viewers across the UK have had an unusual opportunity to watch Ireland’s first TV channel – RTÉ One – via satellite.
Test transmissions linked to a future new HD channel resulted in a duplicate copy of RTÉ One HD being uplinked to the Astra 2F satellite. The existing copy of the channel made available to Sky subscribers in the Republic of Ireland is encrypted, alongside other Irish channels.
Viewers could manually retune their Sky or Freesat receiver to access the broadcasts, which opened up RTÉ programmes including Quinn’s Country, Fair City, Prime Time and My Bungalow Bliss. The test broadcast vanished on Friday, having been intermittent since Wednesday.
However the broadcast programme guide data carried alongside the signal was that of BBC One South HD – a sign of what’s behind the tests. The transmissions were carried on a Sky-operated transponder (Astra 2F 12168 V).
Neither RTÉ, Sky or the BBC have commented about the unusual broadcast.
Last week, the BBC confirmed it would be making its regional HD services available on satellite between mid-January and end of March. BBC One South HD will replace the current BBC One South and BBC One Oxford standard definition regions.
Despite interest in RTÉ TV in the UK, previous plans to operate a channel outside of Ireland were abandoned due to costs. Instead, a selection of RTÉ TV programmes can continue be accessed online in the UK via the RTÉ Player. Some programmes may be available in Northern Ireland, but not the rest of the UK due to rights reasons. The RTÉ Player also includes a live stream of its channels, which is available whenever RTÉ is broadcasting a programme it has the rights to show outside of Ireland.
▶ About Irish television channels on satellite
All main Irish channels are encrypted on satellite because they don’t hold broadcast rights to screen imported programmes and sports events outside of Ireland. They are offered by Sky to subscribers in the Republic of Ireland.
Subscribers in Northern Ireland can also receive RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and TG4 through Sky, although some programmes are blanked due to broadcast rights restrictions.
To enable viewers in Ireland to access the main public service channels for free, RTÉ subsidiary 2RN offers Soarsat, which broadcasts on Viasat’s KA-SAT (formerly owned by Eutelsat) with a footprint that is severely restricted to the island of Ireland. Interfering signals from neighbouring beams makes overspill reception beyond the west of Wales and parts of Devon and Cornwall impossible.
by Iain Hatton