Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007

The Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007 is an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). It deals with Irish Analogue broadcasting systems and the amendment of legislation on Digital Terrestrial Television dating back to 2001. This act amends previous acts, in particular the Broadcasting Act 2001. It was enacted in April 2007.

The Act give Irish national public service broadcasters, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) and TG4, digital terrestrial television obligations and also mandates the licensing of multiplexes for carriage on the RTÉ multiplex of Irish free-to-air channels (one, later two multiplexes, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland for other interested broadcasters using free-to-air and pay-tier multiplexes (three, later four) and ComReg. (ComReg would regulate non-big screen TV type services such as Mobile TV.)

It addition to digital television broadcasting and analogue television switch-off it gives RTÉ new obligations requiring RTÉ to set up and cater through a digital television channel carrying programmes across various platforms such as terrestrial, satellite, cable and IPTV providing television programmes to Irish citizens living abroad.

Such a channel is intended to carry domestic created programmes through a channel under the working title RTÉ International.

DTT was expected to be up and running in 2002 but with the collapse of ITV Digital, IT's TV was unable to get funding necessary to cover its fees and rollout the network that was envisaged as RTÉ holding a minority stake in the transmission network of IT's TV. RTÉ DTTV tests were carried out between 1998 and 2001 using Three Rock transmitter on channel 26, but these stopped along with the pilot Digital Audio Broadcasting pilot around this time. One applicant was announced by the Commission for Communications Regulation's (ComReg) predecessor, Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation. RTÉ broadcasts RTÉ, Network 2 (Now RTÉ 2), TV3 and TG4 with two other channels being used on occasion. Tara TV was carried by RTÉ on one of the spare channels.

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