To the south, Ireland is an independent republic and consists of the remaining 26 counties of the country. Hence, "Irish television" usually refers to the set-up that is viewed in the republic, although, as will become clear, the spillover service (now including BBC 1, BBC2, UTV, Channel 4, Sky News, Sky Sports, Eu­rosport, the Movie Channel, Sky One, UK Gold, Cartoon Network and Discovery) has a strong determining role in that system.

     Through the 19th and 20th centuries, the Irish state (whether operating from London or Dublin) has been characterized by a high degree of authoritarian control, both coercive and ideological. In 1926, shortly after the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922, the state itself assumed control of all broadcasting in the 26 counties. This was motivated by a desire to head off any attempt by the British Marconi Company to establish itself in the region. Ironically, to help in the ideological task of establishing a nationalist identity, the government decided to implement a British-style system of broadcasting monopoly. Until 1960, the state, through the agency of the Department of Posts and Telegraph (Radio Eireann) provided a broadcast service through a single radio network. Then as now, this public service was financed by a combination of license fee and advertising. Highly conservative in programming, Radio Eire­ ann was only tolerated by most of its listeners. In fact, the service did not have an audience monopoly. Households on the east coast and near the northern border could also receive the BBC and Radio Luxembourg.

     It was this proximity to British broadcasting in the 1950s that forced the Irish government's hand so far as the inauguration of television was concerned. BBC Northern Ireland had begun TV transmission in 1953 and had been joined by UTV in 1959. Hence, the Irish Broadcasting Act of 1960 legislated the establishment of a television service, which began the following year. Again, following the public-service monopoly model, the facility, consisting of a single national channel, was put under the control of Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE). A revamped version of the radio provider, RTE was an independent public authority. This was a significant move toward liberalization, in line with the government's own moves to "modernize" Ireland to make it attractive to transnational capital investment.

     However, this has not lessened attempts by the state to keep a tight control on the nature of political debate on Irish television. In general, this has led to poor relations between RTE and most Irish politicians. For example, in 1969, following political unrest in Northern Ireland, the Irish government imposed direct censorship over RTE news and current affairs. When, in 1972, RTE interviewed a spokesperson for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary group defending Catholics in Northern Ireland, the government dismissed the RTE board and appointed its own members.

     Meanwhile, aware of the necessity of a second RTE channel but hoping to save revenue, in 1978 the government considered allowing the BBC to broadcast across the nation. Instead, it bowed to public opinion and allowed RTE to begin a second television network. The broadcaster, however, was not allowed to increase license fees or advertising rates, so that its overall finances, and therefore its capacity to produce local programs, was significantly weakened.

     Technological and ideological pressures have also been persistent, such that RTE's monopoly has now ended. Since 1970, the authority had operated its own cable network, RTE Relay, which was renamed Cable­ link in 1986. Cablelink was at one point the largest cable operator in Europe and provided about two-thirds of television households in the Irish Republic with all the terrestrial channels broadcast in Britain, later complemented by the European services Superchannel and Sky. By the early 1990s, Cablelink was beginning to carry advertising, thereby diminishing RTE's potential revenue. In addition, there was also the possibility that Cablelink might be sold to a private operator, thereby providing direct competition to RTE's broadcast service. This came to pass when Cablelink was sold to NTL in 2000. New channels (such as National Geographic) continue to be added to NTL's roster, and old ones (such as Superchannel) are discontinued, with the overall number of channels available continuing an upward trend.

     Generally, the government was also interested in weakening RTE's power. It saw further opportunity to do so with moves throughout Europe to open up broadcast television to other interests. The 1988 Broadcast and Wireless Telegraphy Act formally broke the television broadcast monopoly. A new broadcast body, the Independent Radio and Television Commission, was established to oversee the introduction of privately owned radio and television stations. Several commercial radio stations have since gone on the air. At the same time, a private commercial television station, TV3, was announced in 1990, although it did not go on the air until 1998. The delay was partially caused by the need for strong financial backing, which was finally secured by entering a partnership with CanWest Global Communications, a Canadian-based international broadcaster. Meanwhile, in 1996, an Irish language broadcaster, Telefis ne Gaeilge (TG4), was established under the statutory umbrella of RTE, although under the 200 I Broadcasting Act it is moving toward full statutory authority. Dedicated to the maintenance and development of the Irish language, programming is mostly in Gaelic. However, despite these legislative developments, RTE continues to have to supply TG4 with 365 hours of programming annually, at no cost to the newcomer.

     Increased commercial competition, involvement in three public service networks, and the low revenue generated through the license fee has affected RTE's capacity to produce local content. In 1965, Irish programs constituted approximately 60 percent of material transmitted. This figure had fallen to around 36 percent by 1990 and is still falling. In a schedule dominated by imported programs, RTE's own programs, particularly those with mass appeal, are especially important as "flagship" programs in the schedule. In the past, these have included Glenroe, Fair City, and Pat Kenny s The Late Show, among others. Glenroe and Fair City are popular soap operas in a "public-service" tradition, while Pat Kennys The Late Show is a talk show with a strong sense of community, and marked by a refusal to shy away from controversial issues.

     However, given the external spillover and the internal commercial rivalry, RTE exists in an environment where it is no match for its opposition. To attempt to maintain its general ratings both for its imported programs and its local programs, RTE is forced to engage in a scheduling strategy of parallel programming with British television, especially the channel ITV. It buys some of the latter's most popular programs, such as Coronation Street, which it then schedules against the same program on ITV. Like other public broadcasters, RTE finds itself in an increasingly grim situation. The Irish state has charged RTE with the task of fostering an Irish cultural identity yet has, over the past 30 years, become ever more prone to withhold the resources that would enable RTE to carry out this mission more effectively. Cross-national transmission has always posed a fundamental threat to the service and recent developments in technology, ideology, and financial arrangements have made that task even more difficult.