RTE plans for online viewing to take on UPC and Sky

Online soon? Gillian Anderson in The Fall

Sarah McCabe

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.