Bizarre scheduling on RTE ONE

I've just caught the last 7 minutes of a 15 minute movie short on RTÉ ONE.

In the few minutes I saw until the end of the programme it contained:

5 f*cks, 2 f*ckings, 2 sh*ts, 1 sh*te (not bleeped by the way) and what I would call "violent scenes" if I was putting it out late at night, never mind at lunchtime on Christmas Eve.

They've moved on to a family movie now. People will know me as probably the least prudish person here, but even I am shocked!

so how would someone cock up, that BADLY!

11:15 Service on Sunday The Vigil of Christmas. With members of the New Irish Chamber Choir and Orchestra directed by Jonathan Rea. Led by Rev Stephen Cave
12:05 Shortscreen Season Shortscreen Latest in a series of short films
12:20 Matinee: The Man Who Saved Christmas Drama about a toy inventor who stands up to politicians pressurising him to convince consumers to buy bonds instead of toys during World War I, effectively cancelling Christmas

I presume the Shortscreen movie was at fault ....
and shown just after a Christmas Eve service too ....
I think someone isn't going to be very comfortable this Christmas ...

Is there an equivalent of OFCOM which regulates RTE?

The BCI (Broadcasting Commision of Ireland) and the RTE Authority itself.

Whoops!

The Irish equivalent of Ofcom is split up - ComReg (Communications Regulator) allocates frequencies etc, so they can't do anything. And the BCI only regulates independent broadcasters (TV3 and local Radio). There is a Broadcasting Complaints Commission but I think it only regulates independent broadcasters and TV/Radio advertising.

RTE also showed Titanic at around 3pm on Dec 26. Can they do that?

Basically, if we were to refer back to pre-2002 UK agencies, Comreg (the Commission for Communications Regulation) is like a combined Oftel and Radiocommunications Agency (and Postcomm too, although that bit was added on later). The BCI works nearly identically to the old IBA. And RTÉ's Authority is analgous to the BBC Board of Governors - the members of the RTÉ Authority are the members of RTÉ - the Authority is the legal entity called Radio Telfis Éireann - although RTÉ's Executive for political reasons likes to draw a distinction.

Comreg issues the broadcasting licences - but in reality has little choice over who it issues licences to, since only RTÉ and the BCI can be given broadcasting licences in Irish law. And no way for it to revoke them (well, they could hardly revoke RTÉ's licence, could they).

The BCI provides services additional to those provided by RTÉ, by means of awarding "programme contracts" to private companies (the media call them broadcasting licences, but in reality it is the Commission that holds the licence and the private company a contract with the Commission). The Broadcasting Act 2001 gave it *some* power of RTÉ - in that it has the power to draw up codes in relation to certain advertising and programming matters. However while it can take away a contract from a commercial station, it can do absolutely nothing to RTÉ.

Then there's the BCC - which basically works exactly the same as the former Broadcasting Standards Commission in the UK. Most it can do is make the broadcaster in question broadcast a screen saying that there was a complaint and that it was upheld (or not) (you used to have these in the UK too, though I haven't seen one in ages so presumably they have been abolished).

Put simply, not a lot can be done to RTÉ - though this will change with the new major broadcasting legislation which is set to turn RTÉ into a company limited by guarentee and merge the BCI and BCC into a Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Still down the road though, and may not see the light of day before the election.

So basically, if they wanted to, RTE could effectively show a Roy Chubby Brown show at breakfast, followed by a showing
of "Reservoir Dogs" during lunchtime, with some random, ultra gory, slasher movie at teatime, and get away with it?

King of Queens is commonly shown at lunchtime with b5sat*rd words aswell

Saying that, ABC1, here in the UK, regularly has sh*ts, tw*at and boll*ocks featured, namely in Scrubs.

But RTE is a PSB. This wouldn't happen on the BBC at all, let alone at lunchtime.