RTÉ has resumed broadcasting news bulletins in Northern Ireland which were blocked for over 36-hours due to a rights issue regarding the Olympics.
Angry viewers in Northern Ireland took to social media to complain that news coverage from the national broadcaster was being geo-blocked in the northern six counties. RTÉ said it only had the rights to broadcast the 2024 Olympic Games in the Republic of Ireland.
It stated: "Broadcast rights include use of any footage as part of news coverage and so RTÉ is unfortunately unable to broadcast live or stream any bulletins in Northern Ireland which contain Olympic footage."
In a statement several hours later, the broadcaster added: "RTÉ has rights to broadcast the 2024 Olympic Games in the Republic of Ireland only. RTÉ is not permitted to broadcast the 2024 Olympic Games in Northern Ireland.
"However, RTÉ will resume broadcast of its news bulletins in Northern Ireland, including news from the Olympic Games. Broadcast rights for Northern Ireland are held by the BBC as part of a deal made with Discovery, the pan-European rights holder, back in 2016."
Welcoming the announcement, Sinn Féin MP for Newry & Armagh, Dáire Hughes said: “This is the right and sensible decision by RTÉ to reverse the geo-blocking of news broadcasts, which locked out hundreds of thousands of viewers from the North.
“This will ensure citizens here can continue to stay up to date with political, economic and social developments happening throughout Ireland.
“Despite this, the question must be asked – why were northern viewers blocked in the first instance? It’s important that as a national broadcaster, RTÉ is accessible to all across the entire island.
“It’s simply not good enough that RTÉ will continue to geo-block coverage of Team Ireland competing in the Olympic Games despite more than 30 northerners representing the national team.
“RTÉ is a publicly funded body and I will be seeking a meeting with the Minster for Media and the RTÉ Director General to discuss bringing the insidious practice of geo-blocking northern citizens to an end.”
