RTÉ News Channel (formerly RTÉ News Now) is an Irish free-to-air news television network operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The channel launched as RTÉ News Now available exclusively online on 12 June 2008. The channel began broadcasting as a free-to-air channel on 29 October 2010 on Saorview. The channel broadcasts free-to-air and commercial-free. It is available in Ireland and globally online, on mobile phones and an iPhone/iPad application is also widely available free. It is operated by RTÉ's department RTÉ News and Current Affairs and broadcasts in the Irish, English and ISL languages. The channel was rebranded from RTÉ News Now to RTÉ News channel in August 2020 with minor changes to its programming line-up. As part of the rebrand, the channel is complemented with a new-look app. History RTÉ News NOW was originally available only to online users of the RTÉ website and on mobile phones when the channel launched on 12 June 2008. Availability of the channel improved during test trials of Saorview in December 2009. The channel was made available since May 2010 on train services within Dublin city and surrounding regions under a special agreement between CIÉ and RTÉ. Previously, Sky News provided such a service. Since October 29, 2010 the channel is available free-to-air to 98% of homes throughout the Republic of Ireland through Saorview. Upon the announcement in February 2011 that RTÉ News NOW would become a permanent fixture to the Saorview line-up a number of media organizations criticized such a move claiming RTÉ would continue to have a monopoly over news output within Ireland. In 2017, Head of News and Current Affairs at RTÉ Jon Williams suggested that he could discontinue RTÉ News Now to save money and therefore in August 2020, he re-branded the channel as RTÉ News. In 2022 RTÉ Radio developed two visual news rooms from which Morning Ireland and This Week broadcast from. Advertising RTÉ News is currently one of two RTÉ channels that does not carry advertising. The other being RTÉjr. In January 2015, it was reported that RTÉ intend to ask the Minister for Communications to allow them carry advertising on RTÉ News Now as part of an overhaul of the service. Such a proposal needs government approval. Format The channel regularly simulcasts live news bulletins and current affairs programmes as they are broadcast on RTÉ One, and also that of the children's news programme RTÉ