Red Bee Media teams up with Ireland's Saorview

Red Bee Media has been selected as the sole supplier of TV and radio listings metadata for Saorview, the new free-to-air digital terrestrial TV service in Ireland.

Under the deal, Red Bee Media will provide all electronic programme guide (EPG) data for the eight TV channels and ten radio stations available on Saorview.

Owned and managed by RTÉ, Saorview is Ireland's first free DTT service, offering channels such as RTÉ One, TV3, and 3e. The service replaces the old analogue television offering, which will be switched off across Europe by the end of next year.

Red Bee's director of access and editorial David Padmore said that the EPG data supplied to Saorview will benefit from Red Bee's recent acquisition of the TV Genius listings firm.

"Helping consumers to discover content in an increasingly crowded marketplace has never been more important for clients looking to monetise their content across platforms" he said.

"Content discovery technology lies at the core of our business, which we recently enhanced through our acquisition of software company TV Genius. The addition of Ireland's first digital terrestrial platform as a client continues our growth in this sector under a holistic content discovery proposition."

RTÉ's director of digital switchover Mary Curtis added: "Saorview will bring viewers access to a broader range of channels with crystal clear pictures, better quality sound, on-screen programme menus and digital teletext.

"It therefore offers viewers a greatly enhanced television experience. It is of key importance that viewers are enabled make informed choices and we are delighted to be working in partnership with Red Bee Media to provide our viewers with the most accurate and comprehensive listings."

Red Bee Media has provided EPG services to RTÉ for over a decade, delivering metadata to various platforms and publishers in the Republic of Ireland. It also provides all TV listings for the RTÉ Guide, Ireland's best-selling TV magazine.

In June, Red Bee launched the RedPlayer, a new online platform allowing broadcasters to deliver high quality video to devices such as PC, iPhone, iPad, games consoles and connected TVs.