Nevertheless, she said, in order for on-demand players to deliver parity of service with legacy broadcast services “which have been in operation for many decades”, “extensive investment and infrastructure” would be required.Īt a recent hearing of the Oireachtas media committee, RTÉ’s director general Dee Forbes said that the broadcaster had spent “a lot of time and resources” improving the performance of the player for live broadcasts, adding that RTÉ “almost broke the internet” in terms of the numbers of people streaming the Euro 2020 tournament via the player last summer. She said that in order to put a precise figure on how much would be needed “further product technical scoping and benchmarking” would be necessary. Ms Flood said that “further evolution” of the player would necessitate the acquisition of “additional specialist skills which will require increased operating expenditure”. However, RTÉ’s version has come in for consistent criticism due to its perceived instability and unreliability in recent years, especially in terms of live sporting events with large audiences, with its performance highlighted repeatedly at RTÉ’s two appearances before the Oireachtas last month. Such a player is a standard offering for broadcasters in modern times. The RTÉ Player allows streaming of RTÉ exclusive content and syndicated programming, together with live broadcast streams, for those viewing online.

Bringing the RTÉ Player in line with industry standards will likely cost “several million euro” in terms of capital investment, the broadcaster has said.Īs the Irish Examiner reports, in correspondence with the Public Accounts Committee, RTÉ’s head of public affairs Vivienne Flood said that such an investment would be a “minimal requirement” in order to bring the online player up to standard.

Rte player news