RTÉ, Ireland's state broadcaster, launches its first national television service.
Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) (pronounced [ˈɾˠadʲiːoː ˈtʲɛlʲəfʲiːʃ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] (listen); Irish for "Radio-Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Donnybrook, Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. 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 weekly listings and lifestyle magazine, the RTÉ Guide.
RTÉ is a statutory body, overseen by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland, with general management in the hands of the Executive Board, headed by the Director-General. RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. RTÉ is financed by television licence fee and through advertising, with some of its services funded solely by advertising, while others are funded solely by the licence fee.
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.