Press release
New Irish TV channel goes live today
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
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From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
Minister Catherine Martin today (Friday 8 September) officially launched TG4’s new Irish language television service for children and young people, Cúla4.
Speaking today Minister Martin said:
“I am delighted to be in Galway today to launch the first ever dedicated Irish language children’s channel.
“The launch of a dedicated Irish language children’s channel gives TG4 the opportunity to better serve younger Irish audiences. I am very pleased to see the combination of child-focused news, educational and entertainment content in the schedule. I welcome the strategy to provide the content digitally which ensures that the content can be accessed on a multiplatform basis, and ensures Cula4 will be where children are. For non-native speakers, this brings the language out of the school environment and into their homes.”
The new station will air for 14 hours daily, from 6am until 8pm, seven days a week. Cúla4 will be supported online via the player, Cula4.com and the Cúla4 App, in recognition of the growing trend to non-linear viewing.
Content is aimed at 0-12 year-olds, and will include a children’s news service, entertainment content, Irish produced drama, and animation. A key aim of Cúla4 is to reflect the diverse backgrounds of children living in all parts of Ireland, but particularly in Gaeltacht and Irish speaking communities. Cúla4 will continue to provide Irish language for use in Primary schools.
Minister Martin added:
"I was delighted to secure €3.3 million of exchequer funding in Budget 2023 to support the development and launch of Cúla4. The funding provides ongoing support and investment for our regional independent production companies, particularly those in the Gaeltacht areas, as they work closely with TG4 to provide quality Irish children’s content.”
In September 2022 the Minister provided her consent under Section 103 of the Broadcasting Act for the new Irish language children’s channel, following a public value assessment carried out by the department and a sectoral impact assessment undertaken by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (now An Coimisiún na Meán). The outcome of these assessments was very positive in terms of the additional value that such a channel brings to Irish broadcasting, content provision for young people and language development. Details of those assessments is available.
TG4 is the Irish Language Public service broadcaster whose public service obligations are set out in Section 118 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. They are largely funded by the exchequer with some commercial income. Additional funding of €7.3 million was secured by Minister Martin in Budget 2023 the largest ever increase in funding for TG4. €3.3 million of the funding was allocated to support the development and launch of Cúla4, which includes the commissioning of content from the independent production sector.