Ireland’s third most popular TV service has lost the right to record BBC programmes such as Match Of The Day

More than 100,000 Eir TV subscribers have been told they can no longer record BBC programmes.

The move, which will affect popular shows such as Match Of The Day, is happening because of a disagreement over TV rights.

“From 16 July, the recording function for BBC programmes is no longer available to Eir TV customers, due to rights issues,” the company told its 106,000 TV customers this week.

“We are currently working on enhancing our TV functionality, including catch-up and will be in touch with news in the near future. We apologise for this change and hope you continue to enjoy the great value provided by Eir.”

Recording from BBC and RTE has been a contentious issue for home TV services that want to move to the cloud.

Virgin Media does not allow recording of BBC or RTE on its latest TV boxes, which work on a streaming basis.

Sky Glass, which is a TV that connects to Sky TV services over wifi instead of a satellite dish, has had issues recording BBC shows since its launch.

Major broadcasters are investing more in their own online player services as an alternative to on-demand giants such as Netflix. But BBC’s iPlayer is a UK-only service, with strict limitations on how it can be accessed outside the UK.

In contrast, previous-generation TV services from Sky and Virgin allow RTE and BBC programmes to be recorded and stored on the TV boxes provided.

Reporting on:independent.ie