Irish Television Makes Its Bow
By NIALL SHERIDAN NATIVE television came to the Republic of Ireland on New Year's Eve, 1961, when viewers in the eastern half of the country tuned in to the first pictures sent out from the Kippure transmitter, situated on the borders of Counties Wicklow and Dublin. The general reaction to the new service was one of curiosity, mingled with excitement and an unmistakable sense of national pride; though it is somewhat early to attempt to forecast the long-term results of this new development, the initial impact on the Irish public—a highly critical and articulate community—has been a stimulating experience.
The decision to set up a national television service was implemented by the Broadcasting Authority Act (1960), which established the Radio Eireann Authority, a body of nine mem- bers (chairman, Eamonn Andrews), and em- powered it to take over the existing sound broadcasting service and to provide a national television service. This was, indeed, a formidable undertaking for a country with a population of fewer than three million, since the cost of pro- viding such a service does not decrease in rela- tion to the number of potential viewers.
In order that the new Irish television service should be financially viable, it was decided that the Authority should be in a position to receive licence fees and to earn revenue from commer- cial advertising. Telefis Eireann (the official name of the Irish television service) is, therefore, some- thing of a half-way house between the British Broadcasting Corporation and commercial tele- vision as organised in Britain.
The Authority plans to achieve total coverage of the country by the end of the present year.
In addition to the existing Kippure transmitter, four other transmitters will come into operation at intervals during the summer and autumn— at Truskmore (Co. Sligo), Mount Leinster (Co. Wexford), Mullaghanish (Co. Cork) and Maghera (Co. Clare). All these transmitters will operate on the 625-line standard, which is very widely used on the Continent and gives a picture- quality superior to that produced by the 405- line transmissions to which British viewers are accustomed.
For the next few years, however, the trans- mitters at Kippure and Truskmore will operate on both 625 lines and 405 lines; this arrange- ment has been made for the convenience of viewers in these areas who have, for some con- siderable time, been getting 'fringe' reception from the BBC and UTV transmitters located in Northern Ireland. The Kippure transmitter, serving the eastern half of the country, covers an area with a population of approximately 1,240,000. About 45 per cent. of the country's buying-power is concentrated within this area, the bulk of the population residing in and around Dublin. Viewers in this area are in a unique situation, since no other English-speaking community (outside the United States) has a choice of three television services. Thus, along the east coast and in parts of the midlands, Telefis Eireann will find itself in a competitive situation. In order to attract adequate adver- tising support, it must win viewers away from the BBC and UTV, apart from maintaining the loyalty of new viewers.
In this competition for viewers Telefis Eireann will have two main advantages which might well prove decisive. To begin with, the quality of the picture being transmitted from the home station is greatly superior to that pro- vided by the weaker `fringe' signals from the BBC and UTV. Reception of these `fringe' sig- nals is variable and inconsistent, even with costly and elaborate aerials. The picture from Kippure can be received with a simple indoor aerial, and many owners of new sets are content with single-channel reception.
A second powerful factor in favour of Telefis Eireann is the loyalty shown by viewers to pro' grammes of home origin. Telefis Eireann proposes to lean heavily on this appeal, and the pro' gramme schedules already carry approximately 45 per cent. of originated material—variety shows, magazine programmes, news, discussions and dramas, as well as outside broadcasts.
It will be possible to gauge the relative pope' larity of particular programmes when the first audience-measurement report becomes available in mid-May. But already it seems clear that the viewers are being mainly attracted by pro' grammes of local interest featuring well-known Irish personalities. Among programmes which have very quickly established themselves io popular favour are: Broadsheet, a magazine pro' gramme dealing with people and events of cur' rent interest; The School Around The Cornet, an informal quiz contest featuring pupils from primary schools; and Self-Portrait, a stimulating series of half-hour programmes in which our' standing contemporary Irishmen discuss their lives and times.
Sporting programmes are, of course, avidlY followed and there were enthusiastic audiences for the Grand National (transmitted through the co-operation of the BBC), the Railway CuP (Gaelic football) matches at Croke Park and amateur boxing from the National Stadium io Dublin. What are the long-term financial prospects of Telefis Eireann? The establishment and opera' tion of a national television service is, in aril context, a very expensive undertaking, and tbo government decision to provide the Radio Eireann Authority with two sources of reven ° was obviously a wise one. It also underlines t dual responsibility which the Authority has a cepted—to provide an acceptable, publi owned service and to ensure that this servl shall ultimately pay its way. There is eve reason to suppose that these two objectives e be achieved, for the Authority has already ma a good start and television is coming to Republic at a time when the country's economY is showing continued buoyancy. A rising stair dard of living, coupled with increasing personal expenditure, makes this an attractive market for advertisers; and it is to the advertisers that Telefis Eireann will look for the bulk of its income' even when the service has been fully developed.
A combined radio-television licence costs —of which £3 is allocated to the television sec' vice. It is estimated that there are at present approximately 130,000-140,000 sets in 1110 country and that when saturation point is reached in, say, three years' time the total set' count should be around 300,000. This would giv!, a net income from licence fees of about £800,0W and annual advertising revenue would be ef peeled to reach at least £1,200,000.
The coming of television could well have dynamic effect on Irish life, culturally, social' and economically. Wisely controlled, it cowl have a profound impact—raising the standall of living, developing native Irish talent, aril tributing to adult education and bringing much-needed medium of entertainment to Ir land's remote rural districts.
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