RUGBY fans in the north were disappointed at being unable to watch the national television broadcaster's coverage of Ireland's opening Six Nations match.
RTE's presentation of Ireland's 16-16 draw with Wales was unavailable to viewers tuning in through Sky yesterday - although it was being screened live and free-to-air in the north on ITV.
It was the latest in a string of programmes stretching back numerous years that viewers in the north have been unable to watch on RTE.
These include World Cup, Champions League and Premier League soccer matches and popular series including the Fall and, most recently, Rebellion.
RTE holds the rights to broadcast the Six Nations in the Republic while the BBC and ITV share the rights to broadcast in Britain and Northern Ireland. This means viewers in the UK can only watch Ireland rugby matches on ITV.
People on social media pointed out, however, that they were able to view Saturday's match between France and Italy on RTE through Sky.
Some branded the blockage "ridiculous" while others even brought it to the attention of Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness complaining those in "the North East of our island from watching our national team".
There was some further confusion caused by RTE's website listing its coverage as being available in the "island of Ireland only".
The blackout for northern viewers is not restricted to Six Nations matches.
Sky owns the UK rights to Ireland's autumn tests until 2017, an agreement that requires RTÉ to block its transmission of those games in Northern Ireland. Fans say this is somewhat of an inequality in a 32-county sport.
As for the Six Nations in the north, for the next six years, Wales, Scotland and France home matches will be shown on the BBC, while ITV will show England, Ireland and Italy home games.
In the Republic, RTÉ will screen both this year's and the 2017 Six Nations before its contract comes to an end.
TV3, which is not available on Sky, has secured the rights for a period of four years from 2018 until 2021.
