Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Raidió Teilifís Éireann (Irish pronunciation: [ˈradʲo ˈtʲɛlʲəfʲiːʃ ˈeːrʲən]; Radio [and] Television of Ireland; abbreviated as RTÉ) is a semi-state company and the national public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. RTÉ also publishes a magazine called the RTÉ Guide, published weekly, which is orientated around RTÉ television and radio.

RTÉ is financed by a television licence fee and through advertising. Some RTÉ services are only funded by advertising, while other RTÉ services are only funded by the licence fee. RTÉ is a statutory body, run by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland. General management of the organisation is in the hands of the Executive Board headed by the Director-General. RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Radio Éireann, RTÉ's predecessor and at the time a section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, was one of 23 founding organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950.

The Late Show

The Late Show may refer to:

The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show, with its title often shortened to The Late Late, is an Irish chat show. It is the world's second longest-running chat show, after the American The Tonight Show. Perceived as the official flagship television programme of Ireland's public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), it is regarded as an Irish television institution (even abroad) and is broadcast live across two hours plus in front of a studio audience on Friday nights between September and May at 21.30.

Having maintained the same name and format continuously, The Late Late Show was first broadcast on Friday, 6 July 1962 at 23.20 and in colour from 1976. Originating as temporary summer filler for a niche Saturday night audience (airing at 23.30), it later moved to its current home on Friday night schedules. The format has remained largely the same throughout—dialogue, comic sketches, musical performances, discourse on topical issues. It has influenced attitudes of the populace towards approval or disapproval of its chosen topics, directed social change and helped shape Irish societal norms. It averages 650,000 viewers per episode and has consistently achieved RTÉ's highest ratings.

Reeling in the Years

Reeling in the Years is a television series shown on RTÉ.

Each episode, running for about 25 minutes, reviews the events of a particular selected year, from 1962 to 2009. News archive footage features, along with subtitles as the means of narration, to recount important national and international events of the time. Music from the selected year plays across the footage, with occasional scenes of live performances or music videos, often (but by no means exclusively) by an Irish artist. No advertisements are shown during the broadcast (apart from the occasional old advertisement dating from the relevant year). Each decade takes at least eight months to make.

The theme tune for the series comes from Steely Dan's 1972 hit "Reelin' In the Years". All five series are marked by a knowing attitude, where certain stories that seemed inconsequential at the time are remembered because they have taken on significance in the present day. This has gained the programme a reputation for being very funny. An example is seen in the 1987 episode: Taoiseach Charles Haughey discusses what he would do if he were to win money in the newly formed National Lottery. Haughey, whose lavish lifestyle was later revealed to have been funded by "donations" from businessmen, exclaims, "I might keep a bit for myself!".