Interesting to see the services to be available: the 4 current free-to-air services (RTÉ1 and 2, TV3, and TG4), Dáil TV, a new Irish film channel, RTÉ3 (a new service playing archival RTÉ material), and RTÉ1+1, which will play RTÉ1 on a one hour time delay.

Some comments:

• TV3 is a commercial operator, owned by a private equity firm (and previously by CanWest), so it is interesting to see it placed on a multiplex as the only commercial offering. However, this may reflect an expectation that the other multiplexes will not be free-to-air. Incidentally, TV3 is in the process of acquiring Channel 6, the only non-subscription domestic cable channel in Ireland, another sign of increased consolidation of media ownership.
• The RTÉ1+1 offering is a cheap way to offer a ‘new’ channel without any extra expenditure. I wonder about the implications for issues like insurance. In the past, I know that news services in Ireland have generally insisted that those carrying their services do so live – in order to ensure that any error or potentially libelous comments not be repeated after they should have been corrected or removed. Will RTÉ similarly edit problematic comments from live programming when it’s being rebroadcast later? The service is, after all, equivalent to a 1 hour tape delay, which would presumably heighten the responsibility of anyone who knowingly rebroadcast libelous or inaccurate information.
• Oireachtas video feeds are already available online (with separate feeds for committees, the Dáil, and Seanad). I wonder, though, if there will be sufficient material to fill the Dáil TV channel – particularly during recess. Any chance that this service will expand in similar fashion to CSPAN here in the US, where interviews with authors, coverage of significant conferences, etc., pad out the schedule…
• Good to see a dedicated channel highlighting Irish film – but, again, will there really be enough content to fill this? One wonders what other content might pad out this station. Also – where will funding for this come from? Will the channel compete for license fee funding with RTÉ and other broadcasters, or will funding come direct from government central funds, as suggested by the Irish Times article? If so, will it be at risk of cut-backs (as are most areas of discretionary public spending at present)?
• Those choosing digital platforms in Ireland are obviously particularly fond of multiplex solutions. Digital radio is still in flux, but DAB seems to continue as a preferred option, despite its myriad shortcomings. Multiplexes may be more suitable for television, which already involves significant capital outlays. Certainly a useful area for comparative policy studies, looking at both TV and radio, and solutions across various jurisdictions.

LW is not present on most domestic receivers at this stage, so it will be a difficult transition for some people. Thus, in a certain sense, the burden is being moved from RTÉ (who were spending large sums maintaining and operating a MW network) to individual listeners. 

I was subsequently contacted Enda O’Kane, who has been campaigning for some time for the adoption of DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale – not Digital Rights Management!) by RTÉ, particularly on the 252 frequency on the Long Wave band, and who we have covered on several occasions here. He pointed out a number of arguments for opposing the RTÉ move, including the following: 

1. Similar to my argument about transferring the burden/cost of accessibility from RTÉ to individual listeners, Enda points to some of the advantages of MW for the elderly, those with limited vision (since the band is less cluttered it’s easier to tune in a specific station), and those travelling (as you don’t need to move up and down the dial as you move from place to place).
2. Northern Irish audiences: “Cutting service also contradicts the sprit of the Good Friday Agreement. Parts of Northern Ireland, including the Falls and Belfast still rely on medium wave. RTE medium wave, and Radio Ulster from Lisnagarvey, are traditional cross border cultural links enjoyed by all. They serve all ages and social groups.”
3. Emigrant communities: “For the past number of years, RTE has been running its long and medium wave transmitters on close to half their allocated power, thus reducing its service to Northern Ireland, the UK and beyond, contrary to custom and practice, as well as the spirit of the recent Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006, which specifically provided for the broadcast of radio to our emigrant communities.”
4. Cutting Medium Wave before the Long Wave signal is transitioned to digital is premature, will cost listeners unnecessarily, and undercuts the transition to DRM or other digital radio formats. Noting that RTÉ have installed and tested a DRM transmitter on the 252kHz waveband, but not yet transitioned to the digital standard he argues that
   • “In cutting off the medium wave transmission prematurely, RTE have abandoned a principle which served then well over many years: when a new technical standard is being introduced, it’s vital to maintain the existing one during the transition period to allow the public time to switch over…. The principle has not been pursued here. Medium wave should be recognized as an integral tool in the strategy toward digital radio; and
   • “Those who purchase a longwave radio now will find it obsolete when RTE cuts the existing longwave signal and sends out a digital signal in its place. They will end up having to buy a second radio to continue listening on longwave after this change occurs. For that reason,  RTE must continue with the medium wave service to give an alternative to longwave until a longwave digital signal is sent out.”

 These are important arguments, which deserve consideration and attention. Is RTÉ seeking short-term gains (by shutting off power to the MW transmitters) at the expense of future success of any transition to digital on the long-wave band? Groups like Éan are of course concerned about the immediate impact on “emigrants in Britain and beyond, as well as people in the North” – an important issue in itself – but there are secondary questions about RTÉ’s long-term digital strategy and how they intend to integrate it with their public-service commitments.

Already there are hints that after flirting with DRM they are returning to the – surely clearly obsolete – DAB standard. DAB has attractions for networks seeking to maintain central control and lock out newcomers to broadcasting (due to its reliance on centralized multiplexes rather than distributed transmitters), but I’m very concerned if this is the approach RTÉ is taking to the future of its public service mission. RTÉ has often had a troubled history when it comes to welcoming democratic and participatory approaches to broadcasting and media creation, but one would hope that they would by now be seeing the potential of such approaches. Being central to facilitating active public engagement – over the airwaves and elsewhere – may be the best hope public service broadcasters in Europe have of not being slowly made irrelevant.