The Late Late Gay Byrne Irish Television Thread

The entire DAB MUX is being switched off, and the digital only stations that were on it are being shut down. This doesn't affect Radio 1, 2FM, Lyric or RnaG which are on FM as well so will continue there and also on satellite and terrestrial.

To be brutally honest - will any Irish listener even know the digital RTE radio stations cease? I have a hunch that unlike UK DAB stations, these ones from RTE have a tiny listenership?

They are also on DTT though, so coming off there too ?

AIUI there are two separate, but linked things.

1. RTÉ are ceasing DAB broadcasts entirely - so both mainstream and 'digital only' stations lose their only digital radio broadcast platform.
2. RTÉ are closing the 'digital only stations' which with the closure of DAB would then only have had online and DVB TV distribution.

(They are also moving Lyric FM production from Limerick and closing the studio(s) there)

All are cost-cutting measures, just as closing their digital text/teletext service Aertel is presumably.

There are two Aertels: the WST service which is now available to a very small number of people (remaining Virgin Media analogue customers and Sky customers who have their box connected via SCART) and the MHEG-5 service available to Saorview viewers (at least at one point it was on VM too but I don’t think it works on Horizon boxes). They are both relics of the past really and should go, but there has in the past been a question as to whether RTÉ can legally do it; not only because it’s a service closure that requires Ministerial approval, but also because operating a teletext service is actually a requirement placed on RTÉ by the Broadcasting Act 2009.

Yeah, the first service is equivalent to Ceefax (which is already gone), and the second to BBC Red Button's text service (which is going). Not really a surprise that Aertel is biting the dust too.

Probably not, but WST teletext services still continue at lot of other European PSBs

The funeral coverage of Gay Byrne will start at 11.30am tomorrow on RTE One and RTE News Now and will run through until 1.30pm, followed by their half hour lunchtime news until 2.00pm.

Over on VM One, the Elaine Show is at 11.00am followed by Live at 12, so I can guess they will use this time to air coverage of the funeral too

Presumably DAB take up is a lot lower than the UK as there's only the RTE mux unless you're near Northern Ireland. The other DAB mux closed in 2008, not surprising RTE are throwing in the towel, but a shame for anyone who will now have an unusable radio

RTE to sell even more land from their Donnybrook site - apparently Dee Forbes said they did consider leaving their Montrose headquarters, but it just wasn't feasible.

RTE Radio will be moved to a different part of the complex, however Dee Forbes said that more land had to be sold before the move can happen.

"We can't afford to move off the site, so we are going to migrate to the Nutley Lane end of the site and move people from the radio centre. To fund that, I suppose 'enhanced media centre', we will need to sell more land to facilitate that".

My guess is that they will build a new smaller radio centre, and since their digital radio stations are closing, then less radio studios will be required. Once that centre is up and running the old radio centre and its land will be sold off. Meaning 13 underground radio studios will be lost in the sale.

It seems to me RTE's plan to shore up their appalling financial mess is to sell everything but the kitchen sink. Do they have any financial planners at RTE anymore?

There are two pirate DAB+ muxes in Dublin and Cork, both stuffed full of services!

Prime Time has a new set. It looks very like the RTÉ News studio, using a similar video wall. They are using the same desk as before.