TG4
TG4 (/ˌtiː dʒiː ˈkæhər/; Irish: TG Ceathair, pronounced [ˌtʲeːɟeː ˈcahəɾʲ]) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
| Country | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Ireland Northern Ireland Worldwide (online with both live streaming and some of its programming) |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Irish, English |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 16:9 1080i (HDTV) 16:9 |
| Timeshift service | TG4 +1 TG4 +2 (online only) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Teilifís na Gaeilge |
| History | |
| Launched | 31 October 1996 |
| Former names | Teilifís na Gaeilge (TnaG) (1996–1999) |
| Links | |
| Website | www.tg4.ie |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Saorview | Channel 4 (HD) |
| Freeview (Northern Ireland only) | Channel 53 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| TG4.ie | Watch live |
| Virgin TV Anywhere | Watch live (Ireland only) |
TG4 was formerly known as Teilifís na Gaeilge (TnaG), before a rebranding campaign in 1999. TG4 was the third national station to be launched in Ireland, after RTÉ One in 1961 (as Teilifís Éireann) and RTÉ Two in 1978. It was followed by a fourth channel, TV3 (now called Virgin Media One), in 1998.
On average 1.2m people watch TG4 in the Republic of Ireland every week. The channel has 650,000 viewers who tune into the channel each day to view a broad programming policy. It has been reported to have a share of 2% of the national television market in the Republic of Ireland and 3% of the national television market in Northern Ireland. The daily Irish-language programme schedule is its core service: seven hours of programming in Irish supported by a wide range of material in other languages, mostly English and French.
TG4 launched its high-definition channel (TG4 HD) in 2012 on Virgin Media Ireland.