RTÉ1

RTÉ 1 is Ireland's oldest and most popular television channel. The station began life in 1961 as Telefís Éireann. RTÉ 1 carries mostly Irish made programmes, consisting of News, Current Affairs, Lifestyle programming and Drama. RTÉ 1 not only competes with the other Irish TV channels, but also with the UK TV networks and other satellite channels that are widely available across Ireland.

RTÉ 1 was also the sole Irish TV channel until 1978, when RTÉ 2 (now Network 2) was created. Since 1998 RTÉ 1 competes with TV3, a commercial TV channel mostly owned by Britain's Granada Television and Canada's CanWest Global[?].

RTÉ 1 is almost universally available on the VHF and UHF bands in Ireland and is available on the Sky Digital satellite service for Republic of Ireland subscribers only.