TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was initially known as (TnaG). It was the third national station to be launched in Ireland, after RTÉ One in 1961 (as ) and RTÉ Two in 1978. It was followed by a fourth channel, TV3 (known as Virgin Media One since 2018), in 1998. TnaG was renamed TG4 in 1999.
On average 1.2m people watch TG4 in the Republic of Ireland every week. 650,000 viewers tune into the channel each day. It has a 2% share 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 airs France 24 overnight.
Channels TG4 (launched 31 October 1996; upscaled to HD in 2012) TG4 +1 (launched 3 February 2021, online only and Saorview from September 8, 2023) TG4 +2 (launched 3 February 2021, online only) Cúla4 (Children's channel, launched 8 September 2023)
TG4 HD TG4 HD launched on 2 October 2012, exclusively on UPC Ireland (since rebranded as Virgin Media Ireland), and later on Sky in August 2016 and Saorview on 1 December 2022. The first HD broadcast featured the 2012 TG4 Ladies Gaelic Football Championship final. TG4 HD, similar to RTÉ Two HD, broadcasts mainly sporting programming from national to international events, documentaries, movies and US programming in high-definition where available. It is anticipated that TG4 will itself start broadcasting its own programming produced in high-definition in the future.
Format The channel simulcasts content from TG4 SD and upscales SD content into HD. All other content on the channel will be made available entirely in HD.
History
In 1969, Lelia Doolan, Jack Dowling and Bob Quinn published Sit down and Be Counted, a book describing their campaign for a separate Irish-language television service. Bob Quinn is a film director who produced many documentaries and fiction films in the Irish language on limited budgets, including the first Irish-language feature film Poitín starring Niall Tóibín, Cyril Cusack and Donal McCann.O'Connor, Margaret. A Separate Irish language Television Channel?, Dublin City University
The three writers proposed small temporary buildings for Gaeltacht regional television services broadcasting a limited number of hours each night, with programming coming from each of the Gaeltacht regions around the country.
RTÉ and the Irish government had sought to improve the availability of Irish-language programming on RTÉ services. In 1972, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (RnaG) was set up to provide Irish-language radio services across the country. All radio and television services provided by RTÉ provided some Irish-language programming.
In 1980, a new group called (The Committee for Gaeltacht Television) was set up. In 1987 they set up the pirate television station , after years of delays, including the sudden death of their technician who was to build the transmitter. Eighteen hours of live and pre-recorded programming was broadcast between 2 and 5 November 1987. The transmitter was built at a cost of IR£4,000 through donations from local Gaeltacht communities. In December 1988, further broadcasts were transmitted from three different sites, broadcasting pre-recorded programming.
The movement for a national Irish-language television service continued to gain momentum afterwards. In 1989, Ciarán Ó Feinneadha, one of the members of Coiste ar son Teilifís Gaeltachta, moved to Dublin and set up a similar organisation in the capital called (FTN). FTN outlined their demands:
A television station to be set up in the Gaeltacht regions serving the Gaeltacht and Irish speakers across the country. It should be linked to RTÉ, but independent from both editorial and organisational points of view. A special authority set up to run it with representatives from RTÉ, the Department of Communications, and Údarás na Gaeltachta.
It was also suggested that the cap on advertising on RTÉ be removed and the additional funds be designated for the new services. Ray Burke had limited the advertising minutes on RTÉ a few years previously. Hence, there would be no cost to the Exchequer, and funding would also come from the National Lottery and the television Licence.
FTN suggested two hours of programming each day, with the rest of the broadcast hours used for Open University–type programming.
In the early 1990s, Irish-language programmes amounted to only 5% of total programming broadcast by RTÉ, and this was reduced significantly during the summer months. Programmes included Echo Island for children, and current affairs programme . Before the establishment of TG4, RTÉ had suggested the use of RTÉ Two's prime-time schedule for Irish-language programming.
The outgoing coalition parties of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats (PDs) called for the establishment of an Irish-language television station in their 1989 manifestos. Fianna Fáil stated that it would set up an Irish-language television service in the Galway Gaeltacht that would service the whole country. The PDs also looked to the setting-up of what they called "" (TnaG). The Green Party's manifesto from 1987 also called for the establishment of such a channel.
Fianna Fáil entered into coalition with the Labour Party in 1993, and as part of their programme for government, the parties included the setting-up of TnaG. Taoiseach Albert Reynolds appointed Michael D. Higgins as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and responsibility for broadcasting was given to this department. Higgins and other Labour ministers resigned in November 1994. In December 1994, the government was succeeded by the Rainbow Coalition. Higgins was re-appointed as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht under Taoiseach John Bruton. The new programme for government also sought to launch TnaG as the 3rd channel. TnaG launched in 1996.
On the air The total cost in establishing the transmission and links networks, and the construction of the station's headquarters in the Connemara Gaeltacht, was IR£16.1 million (€20.4 million). Annual running costs increased from IR£10.2 million (€12.95 million) in 1996 to IR£16 million (€20.3 million) in 2001, and €30 million in 2006.
In fewer than six months from the launch of Teilifís na Gaeilge, almost 65% of Ireland's television sets were able to receive the channel and the nightly audience had risen to 250,000 viewers. Three months later, in May 1997, independent research revealed that the station was able to attract audiences of 500,000, or 68% of television sets in Ireland, for at least one hour's viewing per week.
Very significant assistance in non-monetary terms comes from RTÉ which is required to provide over 360 hours of programming annually at no cost to TG4. TnaG did not come on air until 1996. The initial aim was to show one hour of Irish-language programming each night, increasing to two hours by 1999.
Initial criticisms of the planned station came from journalist Kevin Myers who derided TnaG as a white elephant, calling it '', in a reference to the ill-fated DeLorean Motor Company. The launch of the channel was seen with massive uncertainties, especially regarding its viability as a commercial company, precisely at a time when the television market was inclinating more towards audience fragmentation, with the appearance of narrow themed channels with specific targets. By 1998, the channel had an audience of 340,000 viewers, up from 167,500 in 1996/97. In order to increase its revenue, TnaG started producing English versions of some of its TV series, using Ireland Network Television as an intermediary for worldwide sales. By then, Ros na Rún was sold to channels in Scotland, Wales and the USA; C.U. Burn to Wales; Draíocht to Australia; Spastoireacht to Finland; Barrabas to Spain and South Africa, Sult to the USA and An Bealach o Dheas to the Travel Channel.TnaG Increases Audience Share
Becoming TG4 TnaG was the third terrestrial television channel in Ireland. A fourth channel, TV3, was launched on 20 September 1998. Despite being the fourth channel in Ireland, TV3's naming secured it the "third place" listing in many television listings, which had previously been occupied by TnaG. TnaG was renamed TG4 in September 1999, which reduced the likelihood of being further relegated in television listings and/or on television sets.
In 2006, the Irish postal service, An Post, marked ten years of the Irish-language station with a commemorative stamp. The station published a book entitled (Ten Years of TG4).
On 1 April 2007, Teilifís na Gaeilge became an independent statutory corporation. Former Gaelic Athletic Association president Peter Quinn became first chairman of the corporation. The other members appointed to the authority were Joe Connolly, Pádraig MacDonnacha, Eilís Ní Chonghaile, Méabh Mhic Ghairbheith, Méadhbh Nic an Airchinnigh, Bríd Ní Neachtáin, Feargal Ó Sé, and Regina Culliton. Coinciding with TG4's independence from RTÉ, TG4 began broadcasting news from France 24 instead of Euronews. RTÉ holds a share in Euronews, meaning TG4 could no longer broadcast the service.
On 1 July 2007, TG4 became a member of the European Broadcasting Union.
In 2008, TG4 became a founding member of World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN).
On 12 July 2009, the Broadcasting Act 2009 was enacted. Many of the provisions of the Act relating to RTÉ also apply to TG4, with the station being subject to regulation from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The Act also changed the English-language title of the Chief Executive of TG4 to "Director General" in line with that of the head of RTÉ, and in the Irish language from "" to "". There have been two Chief Executives and three Director Generals of TG4: Cathal Goan (who later became Director General of RTÉ from 2003 to 2010), Pól Ó Gallchóir (1999–2009 as Chief Executive, 2009–2016 as Director General), and Alan Esslemont (2016 to 2025). Deirdre Ní Choistín was appointed Director General in April 2025.
The Irish language enthusiast Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí wrote (published by Cois Life in 2017). The Irish Times selected it as one of its best Irish-language books of the year and described it as "the standard book for anyone wanting to take a súil eile at the history of the station for years to come".
Operation
The daily Irish-language programme schedule is its central service, broadcasting approximately 2.5 hours a day of new Irish-language programming, with an estimated 2.5 hours a day of repeated Irish-language programmes. Currently, RTÉ supplies TG4 with one hour a day of Irish-language programming. The remainder of the TG4 schedule is made up of acquisitions from other broadcasters particularly from US broadcasters.
Operating as a publisher and broadcaster, TG4 invests up to €20m annually in original indigenous programming from the independent production sector in Ireland. The Irish-language soap opera Ros na Rún is one of its most popular programmes, and it also commissions a relatively large number of documentaries.
Scheduling