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LAST UPDATE | 25 Jul 2024
RTÉ HAS CONFIRMED it will resume broadcast of its news bulletins in Northern Ireland, including news from the 2024 Olympic Games.
The station’s TV news bulletins were geo-blocked last night, preventing viewers from watching due to licensing restrictions on footage from the Olympics.
Some viewers took to social media to express their frustrations at being unable to watch the news bulletin, with one person describing the geo-blocking as “censorship”.
In a statement this evening, RTÉ said it will resume broadcast of its news bulletins in Northern Ireland.
It had earlier told The Journal that they were unable to show footage of the Olympics in Northern Ireland as they hold the rights to “broadcast the 2024 Olympic Games in the Republic of Ireland only”.
“While RTÉ has sought permission to make our broadcasts of the 2024 Olympic Games available in Northern Ireland, this has not been possible,” it said.
Earlier, the broadcaster stated that while efforts had been made to make their broadcasts available in Northern Ireland, it was not possible as the “exclusive free-to-air broadcast rights for Northern Ireland for the 2024 Olympic Games are held by the BBC, who were licensed those rights in a UK Olympics rights deal agreed between the BBC and the pan-European rights holder, Discovery back in 2016”.
RTÉ also confirmed that viewers in Northern Ireland would be blocked from watching the entire RTÉ News programme live and not just the specific segments that contained footage of the Olympics.
However, an edited version of the programme will be made available for viewers in Northern Ireland and internationally each night on the RTÉ Player.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Brendan Smith said that “it is unacceptable that citizens in Northern Ireland are unable to access RTÉ’s news programming. As a public service broadcaster, RTÉ has a duty to provide comprehensive news coverage to all people across Ireland, regardless of geographical location”.
“The people of Northern Ireland have a right to access the same public service broadcasting as their fellow citizens in the Republic”, he continued, calling on RTÉ to address the issue to allow full access for viewers in Northern Ireland and “stand by its commitment to serve the entire island of Ireland”.
Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Dáire Hughes also described RTÉ’s decision as unacceptable, saying “geo-blocking of northern viewers has become increasingly prevalent over recent years”, locking viewers from Northern Ireland out from important news coverage.
He also accused RTÉ of treating “northern citizens with contempt” and called on the broadcaster to reverse their decision.
The SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he had written to the RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst to “underscore the broadcaster’s obligation to provide services across the island of Ireland”.
The Foyle MP also said that “the decision to geo-block news programming for RTÉ viewers in the North represents a new low” and “creates a hierarchy of Irish citizens”, adding that “commercial custom and practice shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of something as basic as getting the news”.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games will take place on Friday 26 July and will feature a river parade through Paris along the Seine.
Team Ireland will be hoping to bring home the gold medals with their 133 athletes across 16 different sports.
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Sure we only love a bit of dishonesty and corruption. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Considering that my jeep occasionally spews out tons of smoke and failed the NCT, I have trust that emissions are the most important item thing to Irish lawmakers.
No, wait – it turns out it failed because the font was the wrong sans serif, the smoke is grand! Now just have to decide to get new licence plates or put €20 in ash tray.
Apparently in the US VW are going to cough up $500-$750 per customer as compensation for their deception…
Very few people rock up to a dealership and drive out in a new car, they order months in advance, so expect to see a fall of in a few months, particularly 161 regs
I thought that would be logical enough to realise for a journalist!
When you have to force out a new story every 20 minutes standards inevitably drop.
I very much doubt sales will fall. They are a great car generally.
I’d be more inclined to buy a vw now seeing the ingenuity they used to trick the tests
Irish people love German cars. every second car i see nowadays in an Audi, BMW, Merc or VW
I saw you standing out by the M50 there his morning, Luke, Fair play man.
Overpriced, overrated and soulless cars.
Ah but if ya have a tdi, she goes like clappers…
@beachmaster is that Toyota your talking about the home appliance manufacturer,
Toyota…as Jeremy Clarkson once said …”as exciting as a hoover”…
At least they are not hair dryers!
Look, the level of emissions from a car is not going to affect my purchasing decision. Amazing how people over-estimate their own impact on the planet. The fact is China is opening enough coal powered power plants every 18 months to replace all the energy produced by the UK and Ireland in a single year. How does THAT impact the environment. I couldnt care less about this issue, UNLESS they also lied about the performance of the car. But there’s no evidence of that.
Best car in the class and will hold its value.
Indeed, I would go as far as saying they are overpriced. ’11′ 12 and ’13 reg passats are a lot more expensive than a similar spec Mondeo with similar milage. I say that as an ex passat owner.
Nothing we love more than bog standard golfs
I got sick of being asked why I didn’t get a golf when I got a new car last year
There’s no official strategy in place but you can really get a good deal from VW at the moment. They will do most anything to keep their market place, even sell out at little to no profit
If people are going to buy cars with the wrong emission levels. Then they should pay the appropriate car tax level for their new higher level.
It’s nothing to do with co2 levels, they determine the amount of motor tax
The amount of motor tax you pay for a vehicle registered before July 2008 is proportionate to the size of your vehicle’s engine – in other words, the more powerful your vehicle, the higher the cost of your motor tax. For new cars registered since July 2008, motor tax charges are determined on the basis of CO2 emission bands with lower emissions resulting in lower charges.
I always liked vw, why they felt they had to do this Wel never know, has me thinking now, ok I can live with them lying about emissions but what if they’re also lying about there safety results”
Well, there is no software that can change the structural integrity of a car when it’s test driven into a wall at 40 mph!
I’m surprised that toyota didn’t make an appearance…
I’ve never before heard so many ads and offers on VWs as I’ve heard in the past few weeks.
It probably helps when VW are offering car loans at just 1.9%
My new Skoda came with 0% finance. What’s not to like?
Not available on the new superb that’s what’s not to like :(
I wonder how many are pre-registrations??? I have heard they have stock piles of registered 151/152 cars up there.
Might be s good time to buy Volkswagen shares
Looks like Americans are receiving a $1000 in compensation
Yay €900!!!
Pre reg… Pre reg…. Pre reg
Yea yea yea
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