FURTHER discussions are set to take place between the Irish and British governments and broadcasters RTÉ and BBC amid efforts to find a solution to geo-blocking of sporting events.
SDLP leader Claire Hanna and MP Colum Eastwood met with UK Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth, Stephanie Peacock earlier this month to discuss possible permanent solutions.
Geo-blocking refers to the inability of many viewers in the north of Ireland to access RTÉ’s coverage of Irish sporting events due to rights restrictions.
Northern viewers come under the umbrella of the UK’s broadcasting rights, partly due to the default IP address for residents being recognised as a UK IP address.
The idea of unique IP addresses, that would identify the north separately and allow access to streaming content from both jurisdictions, was first floated by The Irish News.
The SDLP have taken that idea to the British government, who have since held discussions with their counterparts in the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
They have agreed to take the potential solution to RTÉ.
Further discussions will take place when a new government is formed after the general election in the Republic this week.
UK officials have also spoken with the BBC to “brief them on your concerns,” Ms Peacock said in a letter to the SDLP leader.
“However, as we discussed, the issues are complex and possible solutions will inevitably require engagement with broadcasters and through them with the relevant sports rights holders,” the Barnsley South MP said.
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Claire Hanna said that the discussions “indicate it is being treated with the seriousness it deserves”.
“I’m glad that after years of frustration we finally seem to be making some progress on this issue,” said the SDLP leader in a statement to The Irish News.
“This is about more than simply being able to watch programmes on television, it’s about being able to take part in seminal sporting or cultural moments with the rest of the island on the national broadcaster.
“I look forward to further updates on this after the upcoming election in the South and will continue to work with all vested parties in an attempt to get this matter resolved permanently.”