RTÉ to provide over 1,500 hours of coverage

OLYMPIC GAMES TV SCHEDULE:RTÉ WILL provide more than 1,500 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics across television, radio and website beginning with the opening ceremony on Friday, August 8th (1pm) right through the next 16 days.

In a new departure, RTÉ's dedicated website, RTÉ.ie/Olympics will have six separate web-channels enabling users in the Republic of Ireland to view five additional events on RTÉ.ie as well as the RTÉ television coverage, which will be streamed live simultaneously.

The website will also contain a comprehensive on-demand video/audio section of Irish-related Olympic clips, plus top Olympic highlights (Ireland only), a e live results section, profiles of all Irish Olympians, news stories on Irish athletes, breaking stories from Beijing, photo galleries as well as feature pieces from the RTÉ news correspondent in Beijing, Margaret Ward.

The national broadcaster will provide 17 hours of coverage each day, embracing a variety of formats but drawing heavily on the expertise of 12 former Olympians including Sonia O'Sullivan, who will join Eamonn Coughlan and Jerry Kiernan for athletics.

Bernard Dunne, Katie Taylor, Michael Carruth and Andy Lee will be alongside Mick Dowling to analyse the boxing, while Gary O'Toole and Earl McCarthy provide insight into the swimming. There will be an emphasis on how Irish athletes fare.

Olympics Through the Night, presented by Clare MacNamara, will begin with the main event each night (12.30/3am) and continue through to 7am taking in all of the live action action. Olympics AM(7am-midday) will see Darragh Maloney and Joanne Cantwell or Michael Lyster and Tracy Piggott review the highlights as well as preside over the live action.

Peter Collins will present Olympics Today(12-4pm) featuring regular news reports and updates on the Irish as well as plenty of live action including all of the big athletics finals. Bill O'Herlihy is in the chair for Today at the Olympics(7pm), a comprehensive round-up of all of action including discussion and analysis of the major issues of the day.

The commentary team will include Jimmy Magee, George Hamilton, Ger Canning, Marty Morrissey, Shane O'Donoghue, Ryle Nugent, Stephen Alkin, John Kenny, Nick O'Hare and Robert Hall.

RTÉ radio will broadcast up to 10 hours a day with dedicatedprogrammes on RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and RTÉ lyric fm.

For the first time RTÉ Radio 1 will broadcast an event on five platforms: FM, LW252 and on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra on DAB, online, satellite and cable.

Among those charged with guiding the listeners through events will be Des Cahill, Con Murphy and Greg Allen, who is covering his sixth Olympics.