`More tuning into TnaG'

THE head of Teilifis na Gaeilge, Mr Cathal Goan, has defended the new station's audience figures, saying they provide a reasonable foundation for future growth.

He said that, on the basis of the current ratings, an average daily audience of about 100,000, or 3 per cent of the adult population, could be reached within the next six months. "At the moment we are sporadically hitting 1 per cent. But we are gradually improving," he said.

When launched in 1978, Network 2 initially achieved a weekly average of about 7 per cent, he said, with the advantage of more than four times the television coverage of TnaG.

"We know that the figures have been disappointing and that we have a struggle in front of us. But, number one, we've had transmission difficulties and, number two, we are a new service," he said.

From its own research, TnaG estimates that approximately 7 per cent of the adult population tunes in each week, 2 per cent regularly and 5 per cent occasionally. A previous report from the Nielsen market research company showed that in November an estimated 0.22 per cent, or less than 6,000 people, tuned in.

According to Mr Goan, audiences have increased significantly since then. On one Sunday last month, he said, 170,000 people tuned in to TnaG, including 35,000 who watched a popular children's programme.

The Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, said yesterday that TnaG should be given a chance to build up its audiences.