Sky/RTÉ announce long term partnership

Sky and RTÉ have signed a long term partnership agreement to increase the number of channels and ways in which RTÉ’s content can be accessed on Sky’s services in Ireland.

For over 12 years, Sky and RTÉ’s partnership has ensured the availability of RTÉ One and RTÉ2 in Sky households across the country. The new agreement  means more RTÉ channels and services will be available to Sky customers. 

Over the coming months, Sky subscribers in Ireland will enjoy access to a diverse range of  RTÉ content through RTÉ Player’s availability via Sky on Demand, including Catch Up, Ireland’s biggest catch up service.

As part of the agreement, RTÉ News Now and RTÉ One + 1 will be available in the near future to Sky customers. RTÉ One HD will also become available to Sky customers at the same time.

The agreement includes the provision to deliver RTÉ content on a variety of Sky services including tablets, smart phones and other digital devices – giving Sky customers ultimate control over how, when and where they enjoy RTÉ content.  

JD Buckley, Managing Director of Sky Ireland, said: “We are delighted to partner with RTÉ so that we can offer our customers more of their favourite shows across Sky’s platforms in ways that best suit their needs. The partnership with Ireland’s leading broadcaster confirms our commitment to providing quality content and increasing value to our subscribers”.

Noel Curran, Director-General, RTÉ, said: “As Ireland’s national public service media, RTÉ aims to serve all audiences. We do this through our 25 distinctive services. It has been a key policy initiative for RTÉ in recent years that those services be available and distributed as widely as possible through key partnerships that recognise the value for both parties. We’re delighted to have concluded this new partnership with Sky which gives significantly more access to RTÉ services and programming on Sky for audiences in Ireland”.

For further information

Mark Deering,  Director of Corporate Affairs, Sky Ireland

086 8193000

Mark.Deering@sky.ie

Sharon Brady, Senior Communications Manager TV & Digital, RTÉ

087 6858975

Sharon.brady@rte.ie

Notes to Editors

About RTÉ

RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) is Ireland's national public-service media organisation. A leader in Irish media, with 94% of Irish people using one or more RTÉ services in any given week,RTÉ provides comprehensive, cost-effective, free-to-air multi-media and cultural services to the public in Ireland and interested audiences internationally.

At its heart, RTÉ is a creative organisation, making and commissioning a broad range of high-quality programming and content to meet the needs of multiple audiences. RTÉ One and RTÉ2 television normally air over 18 of the top 20 programmes of any year broadcast by any channel available in Ireland. RTÉ’s television services are RTÉ One, RTÉ One HD, RTÉ One +1, RTÉ2, RTÉ2 HD, RTÉjr and RTÉ News Now.

Radio: Over 50% of adults listen to RTÉ’s radio services every week. RTÉ Radio 1 is the only radio station in Ireland with over 1,000,000 listeners. RTÉ operates four primary stations (RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta). In addition there are five exclusively digital radio stations (RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, RTÉ Pulse, RTÉ Gold, RTÉ 2XM, and RTÉjr Radio, Ireland’s only radio station just for children).

Digital: RTÉ also offers a broad range of digital services, including a comprehensive website (RTÉ.ie), RTÉ News Now (a 24-hour digital news service), and multiple genre-specific apps, including a bespoke RTÉjr app for younger audiences, as well as the popular RTÉ Player, RTÉ Radio Player, and a teletext service (RTÉ Aertel). RTÉ Archives is a broadcast and stills archive that curates the RTÉ’s audio-visual and print archive on behalf of the nation.

RTÉ Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs comprise the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland’s national orchestra), the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, RTÉ Contempo Quartet, RTÉ Cor na nÓg (the children’s choir) and the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir.

Each year, RTÉ supports many local and national arts events throughout Ireland through media partnerships and widespread cultural content on Radio 1, 2fm, lyric fm, Raidio na Gaeltachta, RTÉ One and Two, across RTÉ.ie, and via RTÉ Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs. In addition, RTÉ supports events by offering promotional air-time though its Supporting the Arts programme, on RTÉ Radio and Television. This airtime has proven vital in allowing events to grow and develop from year to year. Equally, every year, new and exciting arts projects are established and look to RTÉ to help with getting the word out.

Through RTÉ Supporting the Arts, RTÉ is privileged to be part of the effort to showcase the wealth of talent, diversity and artistic expression here in Ireland.

RTÉ Player is Ireland’s number 1 video-on-demand platform.  RTÉ Player is currently available on Android, iOS, Samsung Connected TV, Online, UPC, and Xbox 360, and can be accessed by approximately 2,000 different devices. 1.5m  Irish Adults have now used RTÉ Player, Ireland’s  leading on-demand service according to a new survey from B&A Research (March 2015).  A diverse range of free content are available on the service both live and on-demand across a myriad of genres from News, Current Affairs, Drama, Comedy, Young People’s, Lifestyle, Factual, Entertainment, Religious and Irish Language.

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company. The group serves 21 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

In the UK and Ireland, Sky is the biggest investor in television content, investing more than €2.75 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is home-grown and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original home-grown programmes such as Moone Boy,  Fortitude and Penny Dreadful.  More than 2 million people tune into Sky channels each week in Ireland.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator.  Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition. And with Sky On Demand, customers can access thousands of hours of programming when, where and how they want including thousands of Sky Movies on Demand and the latest blockbusters to buy or rent with Sky Store.

Sky Ireland is located in offices at Burlington Road, Dublin, employing more than 850 people and has 36 Sky retail stores across the country.   

Sky believes in making a positive impact on the communities in which it operates and building a better business for the long term. We do this through Sky Academy, a set of initiatives using the power of TV, creativity and sport to help young people unlock their potential.  For example, in Ireland, over 200 secondary schools have participated in the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme which offers multi-week and one-day sports projects to inspire young people and help build confidence and practical skills. In addition, through Sky Academy Scholarships, Sky provides mentoring and financial assistance to up and coming talent in sports, TV and the arts in Ireland including a Masters programme in Broadcasting at the IADT as well as providing important support to the Sky Academy Sports scholar Mark English in his quest to achieve Olympic glory in Rio next year.