RTÉ will resume broadcasting news programmes in Northern Ireland after restrictions on showing content from the Olympic Games caused it to block transmissions on Wednesday.
It is understood the decision was jointly made by the director general Kevin Bakhurst and his deputy Adrian Lynch.
The basis for the decision is a “fair usage” policy which would allow RTÉ news bulletins broadcast in Northern Ireland to show clips from the Olympics – as long as those clips were shorter than about 30 seconds.
It will still not be possible to broadcast whole Olympic events into the North as the rights for that service are held by the UK.
Husband and wife die following ‘hit-and-run’ incident in Blanchardstown
State Papers: Five things we learned, from details of Boris Yeltsin’s Shannon no-show to blocking Mary Robinson’s UN role
‘An appalling tragedy’: Tributes paid to Leinster House usher killed while cycling in Castleknock
Megan Nolan: A conversation with a man in his late 30s made clear the realities of this new era in my dating life
The public broadcaster had said on Thursday that it could not transmit or stream live any news bulletins in Northern Ireland that contained footage of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Viewers in Northern Ireland who sought to watch RTÉ news programmes on Wednesday were shown a message saying the content was blocked in their region.
It said that an edited news bulletin will be made available for viewers in Northern Ireland and internationally each night on the RTÉ Player, the broadcaster’s online service.
The broadcaster said it had sought permission to show content from the Olympic Games in Northern Ireland as part of its programmes but that “this has not been possible”.
In a statement announcing the resumption, RTÉ said it “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.”
The RTÉ statement followed complaints made by residents in Northern Ireland and some politicians from Border areas about the restrictions on access to its news programmes.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Brendan Smith called on RTÉ to clarify why its news programming was geo-blocked in Northern Ireland.
Mr Smith said it was unacceptable that citizens in Northern Ireland were unable to access RTÉ's news programming.
“As a public service broadcaster, RTÉ has a duty to provide comprehensive news coverage to all people across Ireland, regardless of geographical location. The current geo-blocking measures undermine this responsibility,” he said.
“The people of Northern Ireland have a right to access the same public service broadcasting as their fellow citizens in the Republic. I urge RTÉ to address this issue urgently and to communicate their plans for ensuring full accessibility across all 32 counties. RTÉ must stand by its commitment to serve the entire island of Ireland.”
RTÉ said the exclusive free-to-air broadcast rights for Northern Ireland for the 2024 Olympic Games were held by the BBC.
It said the British state broadcaster secured the licence to broadcast such footage as part of an overall UK Olympics rights deal agreed between it and the pan-European rights holder, Discovery back in 2016.
“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,” the station said.
The broadcaster said that while it had “sought permission to make our broadcasts of the 2024 Olympic Games available in Northern Ireland, this has not been possible”.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
