Tá méadú tagtha ar scála agus ar éagsúlacht chláracha teilifíse Gaeilge RTÉ le roinnt blianta anuas. Tá oibrithe againn le comhlachtaí neamhspleácha, craoltóirí agus maoinitheoirí eile ar fud an oileáin chun rogha níos leithne de chláracha Gaeilge a chur ar fáil do lucht féachana na hÉireann. Déanaimid coimisiúnú ar fud gach seánra: sraitheanna fíorasacha, fíorasacha-siamsaíochta agus stíl mhaireachtála leathuair an chloig den chuid is mó, ach cláracha faisnéise agus ceoil aon uaire, ábhar do leanaí agus cláracha siamsaíochta freisin.

Déantar sraitheanna Gaeilge á chraoladh den chuid is mó le linn buaicamanna craolta, ón 7-9pm ó Luan go hAoine ar RTÉ One den chuid is mó. Bíonn siad sa sceideal in éineacht le sraitheanna stíl mhaireachtála agus fíorasacha-siamsaíochta a bhfuil tóir orthu, amhail Home Rescue, How To Be Good With Money, Home of the Year agus The Style Counsellors, agus bítear ag súil go gcloífidh siad leis na hardchaighdeáin léirithe agus eagarthóireachta céanna agus go meallfaidh siad lucht féachana leathan náisiúnta.

Cé go ndéantar an chuid is mó dár sraitheanna á chraoladh idir 7-9pm ar oícheanta i rith na seachtaine ar RTÉ One, cuirimid fáilte i gcónaí roimh smaointe do chláracha faisnéise aonair a sheasann amach ina bhfuil an teanga ina gné oiriúnach d’insint an scéil (i.e. scéalta maithe a bhfuil sé éasca iad a insint go hiomlán, nó den chuid is mó i nGaeilge) agus ar féidir iad a chraoladh le linn buaicamanna craolta i ndiaidh na tairsí.

Ina theannta sin, féachaimid i gcónaí le tacú le hábhar nuálach Gaeilge do lucht féachana níos óige ar RTÉ Two agus RTÉ Jr.

Tá suim go háirithe againn i bpearsantachtaí nua a fhorbairt: daoine tarraingteacha agus éirimiúla a bhfuil Gaeilge líofa, saineolas ceart acu agus a bhfuil tuairimí láidre acu, beag beann ar iad a bheith ina bpríomhláithreoirí, údair nó rannpháirtithe sa chlár.

Ar deireadh, tabharfar aird speisialta ar thograí a bhfuil uaillmhianta digiteacha agus / nó raidió luaite leo agus a bheifear ábalta iad a úsáid ar ardáin éagsúla.

RTÉ’s Irish-language television offering has grown in scale and diversity over the past few years. We have worked with independent companies, other broadcasters and funders across the island to bring a growing slate of programmes as Gaeilge to Irish audiences. We commission across all genres: mainly half-hour factual, fact-ent and lifestyle series, but also one-off documentary and music, children’s content and entertainment programmes.

Irish Language series play mostly in peak-time slots, mainly 7-9pm Monday-Friday on RTÉ One. They sit alongside popular lifestyle and fact-ent series like Home Rescue, How To Be Good With Money, Home of the Year and The Style Counsellors and are expected to adhere to the same high production and editorial standards and appeal to a broad national audience.

Although the majority of our series play between 7-9pm weeknights on RTÉ One, we are always open to ideas for standout single docs where the language is a naturally occurring aspect of the storytelling (i.e. good stories which lend themselves easily to being told entirely, or in majority, as Gaeilge) which can play in peak-time post-watershed slots.

In addition, we always aim to support innovative content in Irish for younger audiences on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Jr.

We are particularly interested in developing new faces: engaging and intelligent people with fluent Irish, real expertise and big things to say, whether as programme anchors, authors or contributors.

Finally, special consideration will be given to proposals which have stated digital and/or radio ambitions and which can work on multiple platforms.

We ask, in the first instance, that producers submit ideas into the eCommissioning system: Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) under the programme category Claracha Gaeilge "General".

History of the Fund

In November 2016, RTÉ and ARTE G.E.I.E., the Strasbourg branch of the Franco-German public broadcaster ARTE, joined forces to develop and co-fund exceptional documentary projects, aiming to bring more Irish content to European audiences. Since then, ARTE G.E.I.E. and RTÉ have invested in a diverse range of Irish documentaries covering factual topics, current affairs, history, and the arts. The collaboration between ARTE commissioning editors and Irish production companies has flourished, creating numerous opportunities for Irish creative talent.

Practical Information

The fund operates on a rolling basis, with projects being developed and funded continuously. We seek standout single documentaries that have secured development or broadcast commitments from an RTÉ Commissioning Editor, which can then be pitched to ARTE’s specific documentary strands. Most documentaries for ARTE are 52 minutes long and do not include commercial breaks. The RTÉ version of the programme should be a 50 minute duration with two commercial breaks as agreed with the RTÉ Commissioning Editor.

RTÉ and ARTE welcome ideas from all genres, including Factual, Specialist Factual, Science and Natural Science, History, Archaeology and Human Endeavour, Current Affairs/Geopolitics, and Arts, Culture, and Music. We are particularly interested in compelling Irish stories with international appeal, whether they focus on ancient or contemporary history, arts, or society/current affairs. Ambitious factual, specialist factual, and arts documentaries that resonate with both Irish and European audiences are highly valued.

Given that ARTE documentaries are broadcast in multiple territories, projects led by voiceovers that can be revoiced in several languages are preferred. Presenter-led documentaries or series are generally not suitable for ARTE, except in rare cases where the presenter is a global icon, such as Angelica Huston on Joyce by Blueprint Films.

Completed projects must be delivered to ARTE 6-8 weeks before the broadcast date to allow time for translation, subtitling, and revoicing in French and German, as well as Polish, Spanish, and Italian for on-demand services. The costs for revoicing and subtitling are covered by ARTE and should not be included in the programme production budgets.

How To Apply

Production companies interested in submitting a programme proposal for the fund should initially submit their proposal through RTÉ’s e-Commissioning system Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) . Indicate that the idea is suitable for co-production with ARTE and provide information on any other third-party funders if applicable. If the proposal is approved for further consideration, Sarah Ryder, RTÉ’s ARTE lead, will present it to the relevant ARTE commissioning executives.

Further information

For more details on the RTÉ / ARTE G.E.I.E. co-production fund, please contact Sarah Ryder at sarah.ryder@rte.ie.