- Sky subscribers in Northern Ireland receiving a free upgrade on Thursday.
Sky satellite users in Northern Ireland will finally be able to watch both RTÉ channels in HD.
The platform operator is finally making RTÉ One HD available to its satellite subscribers across Northern Ireland on Thursday 11th April.
Viewers with Sky Q or older Sky+HD boxes will be able to access RTÉ One HD on channel 161, where it will replaced the former standard definition (SD) version. The SD version moves to channel 835. The changeover is expected to happen by lunchtime on Thursday.
Sister channel RTÉ2 is already offered in HD on Sky NI.
The move means subscribers will be able to watch programmes like The Late Late Show and major Irish news and cultural events in the best picture quality.
But it also prepares viewers for an eventual end of SD broadcasts. Earlier this week, Sky turned off the SD version of TG4 in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, starting the closure of Irish SD channels. This follows the closure of SD versions of BBC One and Two Northern Ireland and UTV at the beginning of the year. TG4 is now HD only.
Viewers with scheduled recordings from RTÉ One will need to adjust them to record from RTÉ One HD going forward.
Marc Thornham
[image: RTÉ]