Sir, – RTÉ has recently been promoting their Friday night of fine drama, including such programmes as Homeland, The Big Cand Damages, and are to be congratulated on this bold step to keep ahead of the competition. However, last week they substituted the drama for boxing and this week they plan to show rugby. RTÉ's inability to keep to a regular schedule makes it difficult for them to compete with channels because while they were ahead for a few weeks, the competition has caught up with them and the audience who were tempted by their drama line-up, but not by boxing, have moved on.
Why doesn’t RTÉ have a channel dedicated to sports, given how profitable this would be? When things are quiet they could repeat archive footage of GAA, rugby, soccer and perhaps any sport that would capture the demographic’s attention (volleyball, dodgeball, even boxing from when Jimmy Magee was a youngster). They could have endless panel discussions and phone-ins about the Tipperary team with members of county boards volunteering to take part. This would be at a minute cost but would likely be highly profitable. The people who pay licence fees could receive a service without schedule interruptions when the alcohol advertising revenue comes calling. Perhaps the profits from such a channel might even lead to a drop in the licence fee. – Yours, etc,