According to one of the Irish newspapers in my local Sainsbury s this is an indefinite reprevive. It was the front page story and I think the newspaper was something like Irish World or similar...
Purely personally (_and I'm not Irish so I don't have any real stake here) I think saying you are going to close the service but you don't know when is the worst of all possible worlds.
Either commit to the service, at least in the medium term, or set a firm closure date and work hard to get listeners onto digital platforms (DAB and Free view being the easiest for older listeners to use)
It later modified its remarks and declared: “RTÉ has announced its intention to close this service in 2017. RTÉ is working with a consultant steering group, including the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade and representatives of the Irish community in Britain, to explore alternative technologies in the context of maintaining link with our UK audiences.
And that is also on the RTEs radio one ways to listen page.
RTE dont want to pay for it and neither does the Dept of Foreign Affairs.
Perhaps Noreen can get some rich Americans to pay for the 252 service.
DRM has been tested and perhaps Enda O’Kane can raise some funds for a commercial service and get 261khz (maybe use the 18khz for an AM/DRM simulcast? But got a feeling there wont be any commercial backers interested.
Perhaps Noreen can get some rich Americans to pay for the 252 service.
DRM has been tested and perhaps Enda O’Kane can raise some funds for a commercial service and get 261khz (maybe use the 18khz for an AM/DRM simulcast? But got a feeling there wont be any commercial backers interested.
Given the complete lack of DRM receivers, anyone needing to buy a new radio may as well get a DAB or internet radio. If they're looking a the cheapest option for maximum audience then DRM isn't really viable.
If they can convince Ofcom to grant them a DSP licence then DAB+ on SDL or a network of minimuxes is probably the only broadcast option in the U.K. Other than 252.
I don't own any LW radios now I just bought a new car.
The whole "save 252" campaign seems to lack any coherency. On the one hand, a reason given that RTE should retain 252 is that the "elderly" could not afford an internet radio, or broadband etc. Also they wouldn't be able to use "new" technology.
On the other hand, the same people are suggesting that RTE should go DRM. ;-);-);-)
Apart from the lack or receivers, the cost of them when, or should that be IF, they are available, will be considerably more than a WiFi radio. All smartphones have WiFi anyway and i'm sure so do some of the diaspora.
DRM is never going to be reliable in the UK, except for maybe on the west coast. If RTE were to go DRM, this could end up being an own goal against the campaign.
I also noted that at least 2, possible 3, of the campaigners are ex(?) RTE employees. Disgruntled perhaps........
The whole "save 252" campaign seems to lack any coherency. On the one hand, a reason given that RTE should retain 252 is that the "elderly" could not afford an internet radio, or broadband etc. Also they wouldn't be able to use "new" technology....I also noted that at least 2, possible 3, of the campaigners are ex(?) RTE employees. Disgruntled perhaps........
Sure, but it's not an argument you can express in pounds, shillings and pence. Wherever you are in the British Isles, it's part of the identity of being Irish that you could flick on the radio and get at least something from Athlone back in the day, and 252 now.
From the RTÉ side the operating costs of 252 are peanuts compared to their top line; the last ceadúnas teilifíse I paid for back in 2014 in Dublin was 160 Euro; if there are maybe 1.5 million licence payers that's 240 million Euro before advertising revenue and other worldwide sales, say 300 million Euro total. 252's operating costs are therefore less than 0.1% of RTÉ's estimated gross revenue.
As for the ex-RTÉ employees, well they may have some leverage on the situation, as there certainly aren't any mainstream politicians raising their heads above the parapet and speaking up for the Irish in Britain narrative; the government seems to restrict itself to anonymous statements on the subject.
Given the complete lack of DRM receivers, anyone needing to buy a new radio may as well get a DAB or internet radio. If they're looking a the cheapest option for maximum audience then DRM isn't really viable.
If they can convince Ofcom to grant them a DSP licence then DAB+ on SDL or a network of minimuxes is probably the only broadcast option in the U.K. Other than 252.
I don't own any LW radios now I just bought a new car.
SDL is completely full. They missed their chance there.
Of course it affects Eire licence payers .The only difference is they have easier access to hear Radio 1 on a Radio than people in Britain .
Disclosure I actually use 252 on a daily basis as it gives me the most stable signal traveling around Dublin
If they want to save a lot of money shut down the kids channel on saorview since it is a duplicate of RTE2 and its transmission costs are at least a million a year
Can,t they go national on d1 there a space there for them.
If they can't afford €250k for lw they won't be able to afford £600k+? for dab. RTE want uk lw listeners to listen online/freesat/cable or they want the government to fund lw. They posted an update today www.rte.ie/listen
If they can't afford €250k for lw they won't be able to afford £600k+? for dab. RTE want uk lw listeners to listen online/freesat/cable or they want the government to fund lw. They posted an update today www.rte.ie/listen
Ah right well if I was them the best option would be to close down the lw service.
SDL is completely full. They missed their chance there.
They didn't miss their chance. Ofcom haven't yet given them a DSP licence which is why they never made it on to the Manchester Trial mini-mux.
SDL is currently full, but who knows what might happen - a service might close or switch to DAB+ or even reduce their bitrate. A speech service could take 24K DAB+ on SDL if there was any other movement on the multiplex - and these things do happen. SDL will be a year old in 2017 Q1 and whilst I have no insider knowledge at all, we don't know if some stations would have taken a minimum contract of 12 months? (subject to going bankrupt of course). Pure speculation.
Besides the point of SDL being currently full, a low bitrate DAB+ slot on SDL would be peanuts compared to operating LW252 and still reach 75% of the UK population. Probably more than 252 does now it's power is lower and availability of LW sets.
They didn't miss their chance. Ofcom haven't yet given them a DSP licence which is why they never made it on to the Manchester Trial mini-mux.
Regulatory issues was said to be the reason why they couldn't go on the Manchester multiplex, IIRC there was an explanation on here but I can't remember what it was.
RTE's ways to listen guide says that they are available on channel 917 Virgin Media in the UK to ex Telewest customers only, I can get them on cable and I am not ex-Telewest, am ex NTL, and the Virgin channel guide September 2016 has RTE Radio One marked as available to all.
They didn't miss their chance. Ofcom haven't yet given them a DSP licence which is why they never made it on to the Manchester Trial mini-mux. ...Besides the point of SDL being currently full, a low bitrate DAB+ slot on SDL would be peanuts compared to operating LW252 and still reach 75% of the population. Probably more than 252 does now it's power is lower and availability of LW sets.
There's quite high consumption of BBC AM services on the Irish east coast, Premier League football on BBC R5L and factual/spoken word on Radio 4, at least if the conversations I've had with housemates and what I've heard around Dublin are to go by.
I've sometimes wondered whether Clarkstown 252 was being kept going as a reciprocal bargaining chip with the BBC either to replace the three existing 198 kHz sites, or to launch a LW version of R5L. Assuming the ITU okayed the plan, both options would require initial BBC investment at the TX and in the surrounding locality to change transmit frequency but would ultimately allow multiple high power TXs on 198/693/909 to be closed. As R5L brands itself as "...on digital, online, smartphone and tablet..." they'd hardly notice. Not sure how often R4 namechecks itself on longwave.
The quid pro quo would be Ofcom waving through a Broadcasting Act licence or something similar under a separate Act of Parliament, for an RTÉ service on DAB/+ in England+Wales and Scotland. The win-win would be much better coverage either for R4 or R5L in Eire, and more uniform coverage on mainland Britain with a much lower OPEX. R5L would be the more popular option with the average Irish punter, but R4LW would perhaps be a more natural fit, given that it's audience already have (or have retained) LW sets and maritime coverage in the majority of sea areas would be as good, if not better, from Clarkstown relative to Droitwich/Westerglen/Burghead.
Mainland Britain is long, thin and roughly curved in the correct direction to make this work. The power level would need restoring to 300 kW or maybe even upped, and a couple of new MW fillers added for NE Scotland, where LW is unlikely to make it through the Cairngorms/Grampians well.
Nah, that doesn't sound likely. A lot of people in Eire might listen to BBC AM services, but I doubt the BBC cares that much about them. They don't pay the (British) licence fee and they are (mostly) not British citizens so they don't have a voice in parliament either.
Of course it affects Eire licence payers .The only difference is they have easier access to hear Radio 1 on a Radio than people in Britain .
Disclosure I actually use 252 on a daily basis as it gives me the most stable signal traveling around Dublin
Hasn't RTE radio1 got good stable FM and DAB coverage in Dublin? So 252 is no longer needed except for some optout programmes now also on 1 extra digitally.
Hasn't RTE radio1 got good stable FM and DAB coverage in Dublin? So 252 is no longer needed except for some optout programmes now also on 1 extra digitally.
Very very few people outside the anorak community listen to RTE on longwave in the Republic of Ireland. The only optout thats still going now is the church services for an hour on sunday mornings
Comments
Unfortunately 248m is too close to Absolute Radio to be receivable here...
In Irish World
Sorry everyone seems to be posting that link!
Either commit to the service, at least in the medium term, or set a firm closure date and work hard to get listeners onto digital platforms (DAB and Free view being the easiest for older listeners to use)
RTE dont want to pay for it and neither does the Dept of Foreign Affairs.
DRM has been tested and perhaps Enda O’Kane can raise some funds for a commercial service and get 261khz (maybe use the 18khz for an AM/DRM simulcast? But got a feeling there wont be any commercial backers interested.
Given the complete lack of DRM receivers, anyone needing to buy a new radio may as well get a DAB or internet radio. If they're looking a the cheapest option for maximum audience then DRM isn't really viable.
If they can convince Ofcom to grant them a DSP licence then DAB+ on SDL or a network of minimuxes is probably the only broadcast option in the U.K. Other than 252.
I don't own any LW radios now I just bought a new car.
I think that's the Montrose Donnybrook mast.
On the other hand, the same people are suggesting that RTE should go DRM. ;-);-);-)
Apart from the lack or receivers, the cost of them when, or should that be IF, they are available, will be considerably more than a WiFi radio. All smartphones have WiFi anyway and i'm sure so do some of the diaspora.
DRM is never going to be reliable in the UK, except for maybe on the west coast. If RTE were to go DRM, this could end up being an own goal against the campaign.
I also noted that at least 2, possible 3, of the campaigners are ex(?) RTE employees. Disgruntled perhaps........
From the RTÉ side the operating costs of 252 are peanuts compared to their top line; the last ceadúnas teilifíse I paid for back in 2014 in Dublin was 160 Euro; if there are maybe 1.5 million licence payers that's 240 million Euro before advertising revenue and other worldwide sales, say 300 million Euro total. 252's operating costs are therefore less than 0.1% of RTÉ's estimated gross revenue.
As for the ex-RTÉ employees, well they may have some leverage on the situation, as there certainly aren't any mainstream politicians raising their heads above the parapet and speaking up for the Irish in Britain narrative; the government seems to restrict itself to anonymous statements on the subject.
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/cuts-fear-rte-broadcaster-set-8814703
SDL is completely full. They missed their chance there.
What a load of tosh .
Of course it affects Eire licence payers .The only difference is they have easier access to hear Radio 1 on a Radio than people in Britain .
Disclosure I actually use 252 on a daily basis as it gives me the most stable signal traveling around Dublin
If they want to save a lot of money shut down the kids channel on saorview since it is a duplicate of RTE2 and its transmission costs are at least a million a year
As far as I know, D1 is full also...
That's odd because Capital UK has taken the slot from Absoulte 80's and there still one more slot that planet rock vacated.
If they can't afford €250k for lw they won't be able to afford £600k+? for dab. RTE want uk lw listeners to listen online/freesat/cable or they want the government to fund lw. They posted an update today www.rte.ie/listen
Ah right well if I was them the best option would be to close down the lw service.
They didn't miss their chance. Ofcom haven't yet given them a DSP licence which is why they never made it on to the Manchester Trial mini-mux.
SDL is currently full, but who knows what might happen - a service might close or switch to DAB+ or even reduce their bitrate. A speech service could take 24K DAB+ on SDL if there was any other movement on the multiplex - and these things do happen. SDL will be a year old in 2017 Q1 and whilst I have no insider knowledge at all, we don't know if some stations would have taken a minimum contract of 12 months? (subject to going bankrupt of course). Pure speculation.
Besides the point of SDL being currently full, a low bitrate DAB+ slot on SDL would be peanuts compared to operating LW252 and still reach 75% of the UK population. Probably more than 252 does now it's power is lower and availability of LW sets.
Regulatory issues was said to be the reason why they couldn't go on the Manchester multiplex, IIRC there was an explanation on here but I can't remember what it was.
RTE's ways to listen guide says that they are available on channel 917 Virgin Media in the UK to ex Telewest customers only, I can get them on cable and I am not ex-Telewest, am ex NTL, and the Virgin channel guide September 2016 has RTE Radio One marked as available to all.
I've sometimes wondered whether Clarkstown 252 was being kept going as a reciprocal bargaining chip with the BBC either to replace the three existing 198 kHz sites, or to launch a LW version of R5L. Assuming the ITU okayed the plan, both options would require initial BBC investment at the TX and in the surrounding locality to change transmit frequency but would ultimately allow multiple high power TXs on 198/693/909 to be closed. As R5L brands itself as "...on digital, online, smartphone and tablet..." they'd hardly notice. Not sure how often R4 namechecks itself on longwave.
The quid pro quo would be Ofcom waving through a Broadcasting Act licence or something similar under a separate Act of Parliament, for an RTÉ service on DAB/+ in England+Wales and Scotland. The win-win would be much better coverage either for R4 or R5L in Eire, and more uniform coverage on mainland Britain with a much lower OPEX. R5L would be the more popular option with the average Irish punter, but R4LW would perhaps be a more natural fit, given that it's audience already have (or have retained) LW sets and maritime coverage in the majority of sea areas would be as good, if not better, from Clarkstown relative to Droitwich/Westerglen/Burghead.
Mainland Britain is long, thin and roughly curved in the correct direction to make this work. The power level would need restoring to 300 kW or maybe even upped, and a couple of new MW fillers added for NE Scotland, where LW is unlikely to make it through the Cairngorms/Grampians well.
Very very few people outside the anorak community listen to RTE on longwave in the Republic of Ireland. The only optout thats still going now is the church services for an hour on sunday mornings