RTÉ HAS ISSUED an apology to viewers of last night’s sports awards after advertisement breaks interrupted the pivotal moment when boxer Katie Taylor won Sports Person of the Year.
The moment when it was announced Taylor had won the coveted accolade, the state broadcaster cut to an ad break.
Taylor was up on stage by the time the advertisements had run their course but her acceptance of the award and interview was then interrupted by another round of ads.
A statement from the broadcaster read, “RTÉ would also like to apologise for a technical problem the occured during the end of tonight’s live broadcast.
“The issue is currently being investigated and we regret this interruption to viewers.
“The final part of [the] programme will shortly be on the RTÉ Player uninterrupted.”
As of 8:30am this morning, 55 comments had been posted by TheScore.ie readers, in our Sunday story about Taylor’s achievement, and a number were critical of the advertisement breaks aired at a crucial period of the broadcast.
“RTÉ what an embarrassment!” read one. “The sports persons award interrupted with advertisements. Overall a cheap show for incredible people.”
Upon accepting the award, Taylor told host Daragh Maloney, “It’s an amazing moment for me. It has been such an amazing year for Irish sport.
“It’s a privilege to get this award and I couldn’t have done it without my family around me, all the lads in the boxing team, Billy [Walsh] and Zaur [Anita].”
RTÉ has also released a two-minute YouTube piece of the moment Taylor received her award.
YouTube credit: rte
RTÉ made another apology after mistakenly including the name of Archdeacon of Cork Michael O’Brien in a sporting obituaries piece. RTÉ Sport tweeted this on Sunday evening:
The uninterrupted final part of the show is now available on the RTÉ Player.
