What does the future hold for television in Ireland now that the Government has faced up to the era of digital television? It is an era which will offer great opportunity but fraught with much risk. Conceivably, it could manifest greater diversity and superior programming. On the other hand, it could serve up the opposite. The only certainty is that the television set will never be the same again. The rest is a gamble.
Ms Sile de Valera is to be commended for outlining her broadcasting plans earlier than she might have. Broadcasters need to plan and, in particular, they needed to know that digital broadcasting would be through a terrestrial system rather than satellite, cable or MMDS. That is the easy part. Ms de Valera's legislative proposals are light on detail, especially as regards finance, and she has hard decisions to take before her legislation is ready for the Oireachtas. More worryingly, it would seem from the heads of her proposals that she may endeavour to side-step some hard decisions altogether.
For example, what is to be done with TnaG? It is prohibitively expensive and it is failing to win sufficient viewers except, occasionally, for its non-Irish output which is hardly its purpose. Giving it a separate identity achieves nothing. What is to be done about RTE's monopoly of national news and current affairs? Nothing, judging by Ms de Valera's proposals. RTE closed down Capital Radio and its dominance is such that Radio Ireland had to cease competing with Radio 1 and turn into just another pop station. TV3's uninspired programme plans won't even attempt to match RTE for news reporting and current affairs.
Digital broadcasting is a technological improvement of considerable significance. It will deliver sharper pictures with CD sound quality paving the way for crystal-clear wide-screen viewing. With digital transmission, the television can end up as a big flat screen on the wall through which people will view, internet, bank, shop and study. This is all in the future; one hopes Ms de Valera will not be distracted from the problems that exist now.
Neither should she be tempted to think that nothing but good will come from the many more channels available in the digital era. Ms de Valera must explain how she intends to maximise Irish employment and Irish content and ensure, as much as possible, that Irish television output reflects Irish cultural identity and values. Why, in this context, does she consider it appropriate, in effect, to reduce the programming that RTE must purchase from independent Irish productions?
The Minister says she will ensure that Ireland "has a range and breadth of programming services that are of high quality and that are relevant to Irish audiences". How does she intend to do this? Is there not in television stations an established inverse relationship between quantity and quality? Has not the competition from satellite already dumbed-down the output of terrestrial television, particularly from British commercial stations? The Minister will have her work cut out to ensure that more is not less. The scenario is well established in the broadcasting world of loosely-regulated markets where television tumbles downmarket in a desperate drive for viewing figures. Not here please, Minister.