Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Type	Statutory corporation
ISIN	🆔
Industry	Broadcasting
Founded 📆	1 January 1926; 97 years ago
Founder 👔
Headquarters 🏙️	RTÉ Campus, Dublin, Ireland
Area served 🗺️	Worldwide
Key people	#Staff
Services	Television and radio, publishing and e-publishing, commercial telecoms, orchestras and performing arts, and related.
Revenue🤑	€331M
Owner	Government of Ireland
Members
Number of employees	1,893
Divisions	RTÉ Television • RTÉ Radio • RTÉ Video • RTÉ Digital • RTÉ Music
🌐 Website
📇 Address
📞 telephone

Raidió Teilifís Éireann (pronounced [ˈɾˠadʲiːoː ˈtʲɛlʲəfʲiːʃ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ^ⓘ; Irish for 'Radio [and] Television of Ireland'; RTÉ) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. It is headquartered in Donnybrook in Dublin, with offices across different parts of Ireland. RTÉ is a statutory body, overseen by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland, with general management in the hands of a committee of senior managers.

Services

Television

Although Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to adopt radio communication, it was a relative latecomer to regular television. Unlike France (1935), United Kingdom (1936) and Italy (1954), the Government of Ireland did not broadcast regular television for the population until December 1961. Before the launch of RTÉ One, a limited television service was available from Northern Ireland through BBC Northern Ireland and UTV. The Irish government considered television a luxury and did not allow Radio Éireann to set up television service for several years. During the late 1950s, a television committee was formed to set up Irish television service with as little financial commitment from Dublin as possible. It initially recommended a service similar to the UK's ITV, using five mountains as transmission sites which were also equipped with FM radio transmitters.

Telefís Éireann began broadcasting at 19:00 on 31 December 1961. It was originally intended to open on 25 December of that year, but Andrews gave the Radio Éireann staff time off for Christmas. The opening address by de Valera—now President of Ireland—described the benefits and disadvantages of the new medium. There were other messages from Cardinal d'Alton and Lemass, followed by a live concert from the Gresham Hotel in Dublin. The programme, which was a countdown to the New Year, was hosted by Andrews and included appearances by Patrick O'Hagan, the Artane Boys' Band and Michael O'Hehir. Television opened a new world to the Irish people. Controversial topics such as abortion and contraception were openly discussed in television programmes such as The Late Late Show, which began in July 1962 and continues on RTÉ One. Additionally, RTÉ was the first broadcaster (outside of both Germany and Canada) to use the System I 625-line system in 1962, two years before the launch of BBC Two in that format.

Studios

RTÉ's main studio complex is the Television Centre in Donnybrook, Dublin. A second production studio opened in Cork in 1995, and became a large contributor to radio and television network output.

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