TG4 HD to Launch in September

TG4 have announced that they will begin broadcasting in HD in September, the news comes with the announcement that they have secured rights to the Ladies Gaelic Football Championships for 3 more years. This will include sponsorship of the tournament and broadcast rights.

TG4 have told CCÉ News that their HD channel will broadcast on the UPC cable platform at first. HD programming will be available from time to time, but a full HD service from TG4 will happen in a year or two as more content becomes available in HD, a similar situation to that of RTÉ TWO HD, which launched a year ago on Saorview.

The TG4 Ladies Gaelic Football Championship will continue to be broadcast and sponsored by TG4 until the end of the 2015 season. In all TG4 will broadcast 20 games each year, this will also include the first live broadcast of the O'Connor Cup Final, the annual inter-varcity competition.

The 2012 games will start broadcasting on TG4 from the 6th of August. This year TG4 will broadcasting 15 games, with the final airing for the first time in HD, with coverage of Junior, Intermediate and Senior Finals shown live from Croke Park.

TG4 Director General Pól Ó Gallchóir said on the move to HD "“We are now poised to move up from Standard Definition to High Definition (HD) format, It is a mark of the importance we place on Peil Gael na mBan that TG4 will inaugurate this innovation in our All-Ireland Finals coverage from Croke Park on September 30th. HD provides a much clearer, sharper picture on screen, with more natural colours and the option of surround sound. It really is a súil eile”.

Pat Quill, Uachtarán Cumann Peil Gael na mBan, said “TG4 has become synonymous with Ladies Gaelic football and we are delighted that they have renewed their sponsorship with Cumann Peil Gael na mBan until 2015. The renewal of the sponsorship of the Senior, Intermediate and Junior intercounty championships in the current economic climate is an indication of the excellent marketable product that we have and further cements a partnership of mutual benefit that exists between TG4 and Cumann Peil Gael na mBan.”