TG4
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TG4 is an Irish television channel aimed at Irish language speakers and established as a wholly owned subsidiary by Radio Telefís Éireann in 31 October 1996; it was known as Teilifís na Gaeilge or TnaG before a rebranding campaign in 1999. The name is read in Irish as T G a Ceathair or T G Ceathair - "Ceathair" is pronounced as CAH-HER.
Approximately 730,000 viewers tune in to the station every day and the core audience is in the region of 100,000; giving it an audience share of between 2-3%.
Operation
The daily Irish language programme schedule is its central service, it broadcasts approximately 2.5 hours a day of "First Showing" Irish language programming together with an estimated 2.5 hours a day of Irish language programmes repeats. RTÉ supplies TG4 with 1 hour a day of all "First Showing" Irish language programming. The remainder of the TG4 schedule is made up of English language acquired programmes from the USA (Eg. Nip/Tuck and The O.C.) and EuroNews.Operating as a publisher / broadcaster, TG4 invests up to €15m annually in original indigenuous programming from the independent production sector in Ireland. The Irish language soap opera Ros na Rún is one of its most popular programmes and it also commissions a number of documentaries.
TG4 has a separate advisory council, Comhairle Theilifís na Gaeilge although this is currently not activated. Under the Broadcasting Act 2001, the assets of TG4 could be transferred to a new public corporation called Teilifís na Gaeilge. However this portion of the act has yet to be commenced.
Programming
TG4 has nurtured a reputation for innovative programming in film, arts, drama, documentaries, and sports. For example, it broadcast top US imports such as Nip/Tuck, Carnivale, The O.C., One Tree Hill, Everwood, Survivor, Invasion and Curb Your Enthusiasm before mainstream UK channels and in 2005 it broadcast exclusive Irish coverage of the Wimbledon championships tennis tournament and Tour de France French cycling. It also frequently shows classic films in English such as Westerns.The channel also covers Irish sports extensively such as Celtic League rugby, Gaelic football and hurling at club level, and women's gaelic football. These are events which generally do not appeal to a mass audience but have a reasonably loyal following.
TG4 also produces a small amount of light entertainment, such as the chat show "Ardan" and the fashion/dating show "Paisean Faisean". Most of TG4's programming is subtitled in English.
It also actively commissions documentaries such as the acclaimed and popular Amú series of travel programmes which launched the career of Hector Ó hEochagáin. Hector is one of a number of TG4 presenters who have gone on to success at other channels. Others include newsreader Gráinne Seoige.
In June 2006, it was revealed that TG4 had obtained the Irish language dubbing rights for seasons 1-4 of The Simpsons. The first of these episodes is set to air sometime in August, with a twice weekly schedule. It is not clear at this point whether TG4 will choose to dub the entire series or whether or not they will stick with their experimental four seasons.
Additionally in June 2006, the station began a trial online simulcast of most of their content, available at [tg4.tv]. Certain content is blacked out for rights reasons.
Northern Ireland
TG4 was originally only available in Northern Ireland via 'overspill' of the terrestrial signal from across the border. In the 1998 Belfast Agreement there was provision for TG4 (then TnaG) to be made available in Northern Ireland, along with increased recognition of the Irish language. However, progress was limited, with the channel not yet able to secure carriage on cable TV. Similarly, while TG4, along with the Republic's other terrestrial channels, is carried on Sky Digital there, it was not available to Sky subscribers in Northern Ireland until 18 April, 2005,In March 2005, TG4 began broadcasting from the Divis transmitter near Belfast, as a result of agreement between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Northern Ireland Office. However, reception is still unavailable in many areas, even in Belfast. One Belfast journalist has refused to pay his television licence until the British government fulfills its pledges regarding TG4.
Trivia
- When TnaG was launched, it was derided as a white elephant by Kevin Myers of the Irish Times, who called it 'Telefís De Lorean', in a reference to the ill-fated De Lorean Motor Company.
- Its first manager (Ceannasai) was Cathal Goan who is now the Director General of TG4's parent company, RTÉ.
- The teletext service is called Téacs TG4.
Source
- ”Irish Viewers to get a '6' Sense Soon.” (9 Feb. 2006). The Irish Independent Business p10
See also
External links
| Radio Telefís Éireann |
| |
| Television: RTÉ One | RTÉ Two | TG4 | ||
| Radio: RTÉ Radio 1 | RTÉ 2fm | RTÉ Lyric FM | Raidió na Gaeltachta | ||
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