Normal telly in Ireland, for free

This is the page for the person who was sold a dodgy box to watch the news. It happens more than you would think. Everything on this page is free, has always been free, and comes out of a bit of wire on the roof.

Who has it this season

• Free-to-air All of it Review
  • Free

  RTÉ, Virgin Media, TG4 and the rest through an aerial; BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 through a free satellite dish. No subscription, ever.

Rights and prices checked 2026-09-19. Standard prices; intro offers can be lower.

Saorview is the Irish free-to-air television service, and it is what most tellies sold here are already built for. RTÉ One, RTÉ2, Virgin Media One, Two and Three, TG4, RTÉjr, RTÉ News and the rest, through an aerial, with no subscription and no box other than the one the TV came with. Saorview explained covers the detail, does my TV have Saorview answers the obvious question, and aerials covers the bit of wire.

The British channels are a separate signal. BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 come through a satellite dish, the same one Sky uses, with a free-to-air receiver instead of a Sky box, and there is no monthly fee. Free satellite channels explains it, and a combi box does both signals in one.

The cheapest way to watch most of it

There is nothing to buy monthly, so the cost is hardware, once. A working aerial and a Saorview-ready TV is the whole Irish line-up. Add a dish and a free-to-air receiver for the British channels. Neither involves a contract, an app, a subscription or anyone’s credit card details. If the aerial needs replacing, here’s what installation costs.

For catch-up and the players, any phone or tablet does it, and if the telly has none of the apps, a cheap streaming stick runs RTÉ Player, Virgin Media Play and the TG4 Player. Do not buy a stick for live telly; the aerial is better at that.

What’s free

All of it. That is the point of the page. The news, the soaps, the Late Late, the Toy Show, the weather, the GAA on a Sunday, the racing, the Six Nations. The players are free too, with an optional account and adverts. Virgin Media Play needs no Virgin subscription. Channel 4’s streaming service is free with adverts in Ireland.

The one thing that is not free is the TV licence, which is payable by any house with a television set whatever it watches. Watching only on a laptop, phone or tablet does not need one; a smart TV does, even if it is only used for apps.

The calendar

• There is no season. Normal telly runs all year, and the finder treats it as free in every month.
• The only date that matters is the TV licence renewal, which is annual and can be paid monthly.
• Everything else is the TV guide.

Aerial, dish, done. Sort me out with the finder if you also watch sport, and start with Saorview explained if the telly is showing nothing but snow. Everything else is on the watch index.

Related: BBC and ITV in Ireland and do I need a TV licence?