1965: EAMONN ANDREWS on RTÉ | Late Night Line-Up | Classic Interviews | BBC Archive

Denis Touhy presents a special edition of Late Night Line-Up, live from the RTÉ Television Studios in Dublin, that examines and discusses the work of the embryonic Irish national broadcaster.
He interviews Eamonn Andrews - who is best known in Britain as the host of Crackerjack and This Is Your Life - but who has more recently, in his role as RTÉ chair, played an integral part in setting up the Republic of Ireland's state television service.
Mr Andrews discusses some of the challenges RTÉ has faced in its first three years. He explains the reason it has adopted a hybrid funding model - part public license fee, and part private advertising - and the pressures that come with such a model. What are his hopes for RTÉ in the future?
Originally broadcast 4 August, 1965.
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[@Pymmeh]

License fee AND adverts? Well sign me up, brb just popping the old TV in the bin.

[@johnking5174]

A few years after this, cable television reached Ireland properly, and RTE set up a commercial arm RTE Relays to provide the UK TV channels on cable with their own channel. Helping viewers get the UK channels more clearly. Come the mid 70s a large part of Ireland had cable, and by 1985 nearly every major city and town had cable.

[@johnking5174]

RTE television hours were always very limited. In 1965, Telefis Eireann as it was called then came on air around 5.30pm (6pm during summer months) and would run until no later than 11.30pm. RTE didn't even launch a lunchtime television news bulletin until October 1989.

[@johnking5174]

History - the main reason why Ireland didn't have their own TV service until Dec 31st 1961 was down to Eamonn DeValera, their former Taoiseach who despised television (he actually didn't hold much regard for radio either) - DeValera didn't leave office until 1959 when he was elected President of Ireland (ceremonial position). Their new Taoiseach Sean Lemass was much more of a moderniser and as soon as he took office in 1959 he quickly set the motions to finally get a proper Irish television service launched.

[@johnking5174]

Late Night Line Up most likely were using Studio 2 at Telefis Eireann in Dublin for this interview - in 1965, Telefis Eireann had only four main studios. Studio 1 was their large entertainment/audience based studio - Studio 2 panel shows/discussion shows studio - Studio 3 a news studio and Studio 4 a continuity studio. Come the late 1970s more studios would be added including a larger audience entertainment studio.

[@what-uc]

RTE were wise to commit to 625 from 1962, but they had dual 405 and 625 transmissions from Kippure near Dublin and Sligo in the NW. The 405 line transmissions were there to cater for people who had already invested in 405 sets to watch UK TV, but AFAIK they continued until 1982. Three other transmitters served the rest of the country with 625 line only.

[@kgarrett1404]

Eamon Android!

[@alancawfield6549]

This is your life is one of the worst TV shows of all time.Just thought I'd put this in here, nowhere else I could get this off my chest.