RTE plans for online viewing to take on UPC and Sky
Want to watch TV show The Fall on demand? Soon you may not have to pay for a UPC or Sky subscription to hear Gillian Anderson's pitiless mauling of an English accent.
RTE is plotting a new service that will give households access to more sophisticated internet-enabled versions of TV3, UTV and TG4 for free.
The plan is modelled on Britain's Freeview Connect where the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 agreed to spend more than €126m between them developing the service.
The Irish copycat project will allow RTE, TV3, UTV Ireland and TG4 to offer sophisticated 'connected' versions of their content, including iPlayers and catch-up services, over the internet to homes that cannot afford or do not want a TV package with their broadband connection. It will be available regardless of a household's internet provider and will not tie them into a contract.
Expensive packages sold by Sky and UPC are currently the only option for customers who want more than a basic Saorview connection.
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