Mr. Pierce O'Reilly:

Tá an-áthas orm a bheith anseo, go háirithe mar chraoltóir nua. Léiríonn an cuireadh a tugadh dom go bhfuil an choiste oscailte do smaointí nua. I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for inviting us as new broadcasters to put across our views. It is a brave move to sit down and talk to us because we believe we are the future of television in Ireland. People ask why has Irish TV come about or why is it being launched. It has come about out of a sense of frustration and fear - frustration that we were not able to get work for the creative sector and for the people who were working with us and fear that we would not have any work and that we may have had to emigrate like many other people. There was also a burning desire to do something for ourselves and to fight back. We believe we have created something that will benefit every county of Ireland and that will also fill the remit of the Government in connecting with the global diaspora.
Irish TV will be launched officially tomorrow night. If anybody would like to come along they are more than welcome to attend. It will be launched by An Taoiseach. He has given it his support and watched it develop during the past three years.
Irish TV is Ireland’s first international TV channel, bringing local stories from every corner of Ireland to a global audience and connecting the Irish diaspora with home. It is a unique and innovative TV platform for Ireland to broadcast its message internationally and connect with the estimated 70 million people of Irish descent. From tomorrow we will be broadcasting 24 hours a day, producing 50 unique home-produced programmes per week, with original content each night from 6 p.m. until 12 midnight.
Irish TV is a €15 million project, backed by London millionaire and Irish citizen, John Griffin. We are very serious about what we are doing for the industry. Our headquarters are based in County Mayo. We have four regional offices already established and operating in Tyrone, Manchester, London and Cleveland. We are committed to the project and we know that it will work. We have been working on it on a pilot basis for the past three years and the reaction from every corner of Ireland is why did it not happen sooner.
We broadcast in Ireland on the free to air service, which is very important in that people do not have to pay to get the service. We are on the commercial platform Sky TV, Freesat, and on Eircom's eVision. The current household reach for Irish TV is 3 million households. Irish TV is currently in carriage negotiations with UPC through its partner, Virgin Media. We have also approached RTE NL to discuss carriage on Saorview. I concur with Dr. Eddie Brennan's view that Saorview should be made available in a much more cost-effective model to create a platform for new broadcasters. At present it costs €1 million plus to get a channel on Soarview. We have also entered talks with RTE about content sharing and distribution of RTE Digital content worldwide on the Irish TV networks. We will be entering talks with TG4 and TV3 very soon.
In the UK, Irish TV is available to Northern Ireland and UK households on Sky TV and on Freesat. We are currently in carriage negotiations with Virgin Media and with the local broadcasters in the UK. The British Government is very excited and interested in the development of local TV services. I believe that the model we have come up with will benefit the entire country of Ireland.
In Europe, we are at an advanced stage of negotiations with a number of European broadcasters who see the value in what we have worked on during the past three years - the structures, the content and the ability to distribute it globally. In America, Irish TV programming has been broadcast on various PBS networks across the US in the past two years. The Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, has 354 member television stations which hold collective ownership. Irish TV is continually in talks with the PBS regarding distribution of Irish TV content across America and that is growing all the time. We are also in talks with Comcast Corporation, the largest cable company and home Internetservice provider inthe United States, about distributing the content on its networks and we will have news on that very soon.
While one would think of the traditional places in which the Irish diaspora are based, namely the UK or America, we have had an important delegation from China, comprising the lead broadcasters in China, visit us. A delegation of seven key media owners travelled to Ireland to negotiate carriage partnership with Irish TV and now we have been invited to go China to see where the synergies and links are between the two countries. They are examining our content and structures and want to see how they can tie in and benefit both countries as we move forward.
We are also in negotiations with carriers and broadcasters in Australia and in Africa, which shows the level of interest in what we have done from very humble beginnings. Those are our terrestrial partners. In this context I am talking about the television in the corner of the room, which is very important at present because, unfortunately, the rollout of broadband has not been fast enough to create what we are building towards, which is the future of television online. People can watch our content on their television in the corner of the room.
On the Internet platforms and IPTV, Irish TV is available on mobile telephones, iPads, tablets and computers via the Irishtv.ie and Irishtv.comwebsites - the dotcom site being very important for the American market. The future of television is something for which we have been planning during the last three years. People will have heard of IPTV. Irish TV is currently developing an Internet protocol television system, or IPTV, which will deliver the content to the consumer wherever they are in the world more effectively anywhere and anytime via a set top box and app. IPTV offers the viewer the ability to stream content directly from the Irish TV content delivery network, CDN. This is the future of television, namely, that people will be able to access whatever channels they want directly through the Internet, but it must be interfaced with the IPTV to make sure one's browser is not buffering all the time if one is watching content on one's phone. We are at the advanced stages of having that system in place and rolled out very soon. IPTV services will bring to the consumer the ability to watch live TV; time-shifted television or catch-up TV, of which we heard a good deal, which replays a TV show that was broadcast hours earlier or days ago and start-over TV - these are words we will hear much more about in the future and we are developing the products for them; and video on demand whereby if one wants to watch a programme one can do so whenever one wishes. People no longer watch the Nine O'Clock News at nine o'clock; they watch it when they are ready to do so. That is what we are providing through our technology and the work we have done in the background.
From a broadcasting licence perspective, Irish TV is currently regulated by Ofcom in the UK. The broadcast licence is currently held by Irish TV's channel partner, Information TV, but we are in the process of obtaining a broadcast licence under the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI. That is because our headquarters are based in Westport in Ireland. We want to contribute to the broadcasting Bill as well.
Our content is unique and has a focus on connecting people to their locality. Irish TV aims to shine a light into every corner of rural Ireland and bring the real essence of Irish life to a worldwide audience. Irish TV is an all-Ireland channel and each of the Thirty-two Counties will have their own TV channel as we move forward, which will be available via IPTV.
Dr. Eddie Brennan spoke about a community channel. We have a community channel operating on a commercial basis. The State should not have to contribute to make something viable or operational. If there are structures in place that are operational and if the State can support them to broaden it and to fill its remit of connecting with the global diaspora, then it is a win-win situation for everybody.

Obviously, it will create employment across the country.

Starting from tomorrow, every county will have its own half-hour television show called "County Matters". The message is simple - every county matters, wherever it is. Rural Irish life is unique, with its own cultures, traditions and events that resonate with each county. People in rural Ireland are proud of their localities and local events. At the heart of these programmes are people. Wherever there are people, Irish TV will be there to cover their stories.

Irish TV is a local television service made possible by attracting a global audience that attracts global media buyers. We are not asking for support. Rather, we are asking the committee to consider what we have done and how we can all work together to improve it. Irish TV has more than 260 independent production houses in Ireland and overseas, delivering original content and programming everyday. Initially, we will employ 150 people across the island of Ireland, creating unique content every day. For this reason, I am proud to be able to contribute to the committee.

The Broadcasting Act 2009 refers to the State's intention to be inclusive of the diaspora. It is important legislation. Irish TV is providing that service. It contributes to meeting the demographic, cultural, linguistic, educational and social needs of Irish society, individual groups and Irish communities outside the island. Irish TV co-operates with independent producers and established television channels in marketing outside the State what is on offer in Ireland. Irish TV is providing the State with the perfect platform to connect with the local and global Irish communities.

We hope that Irish TV will be included in the upcoming broadcasting Bill as a beneficiary of public funding via the new broadcasting charge. The funds derived by Irish TV from the broadcasting charge would support the creative sector in every county, in that they will provide access to a local and global television platform. There are creative people in every county and it does not mean that their ideas are not good if they are knocked back due to a lack of television access. We will provide a new platform for them to tell their stories. Irish TV should be supported via the broadcasting charge in fulfilling the State’s remit in connecting with the global diaspora and providing a platform for local communities in every corner of Ireland. Irish TV promotes Ireland globally as a great place to visit, live and work, which is a key strategic message for the Government and all State agencies. Therefore, we should benefit from the broadcasting charge. We hope that some of its funds will be ring-fenced for us.

The broadcasting Bill should facilitate the roll-out of the Irish TV channel on the Saorview service, as Irish TV covers the State’s remit as set out in the 2009 Act. Without planning to become so, Irish TV is a public service broadcaster covering local stories in every county. The Bill should state that stories and events of importance and national significance should be made freely available to Irish TV and other broadcasters for communication to the global diaspora.