‘Time to end geo-blocking for residents in the north’ – Archibald

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has said a solution must be found to Irish television content being blocked for residents in north.

The Minister has taken her case to the British and Irish governments after asking Ofcom to carry out an analysis on the issue and assess potential solutions.

The report found that there is an increased risk of geo-blocking in Northern Ireland as television viewing continues to migrate from terrestrial broadcasting towards online and streaming.

The Minister met with the newly appointed Chair of the Ofcom Board, Sir Ian Cheshire in Belfast recently where she pressed for continued engagement on the matter.

The Minister said: The geo-blocking of RTE content in the north is completely unacceptable and must be brought to an end. 

I have written again to the British and Irish governments to seek their engagement and cooperation on resolving this issue once and for all.

As a first step, I have asked the governments to review the objectives of the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding on digital television services and for their further engagement on the issue.

It is unacceptable that there is a risk of increased geo-blocking for the north as viewing habits evolve.  This is a deeply unfair practice that detrimentally impacts audiences here.  It is time to end geo-blocking for residents in the north.