I'm not sure about the rest of the world but in Ireland due to rugged landscapes most people don't recieve their TV directly from the transmitter. There are loads of smaller relay stations all over the country filling in the gaps. So you can't say that RTE 1 is on Channel I or Network 2 is on channel J etc. It varies from place to place.
Normally you'll find RTE1 and Network 2 on VHF and possibily at 2 different locations on UHF (Same for TV3 and TG4) we seem to be in the footprint of a main transmission site and 2 relays.
As for the UK television in West Cork. That area, west cork and kerry has particular problems with UHF. There are more relays operating in the region than anywhere else and for technical reasons VHF seems to give a more reliable signal in mountanous regions than UHF although that's being fixed by just doubling the number of relays. It's nearly as bad as a cellular telephone system! Although it does give excellent reception. It's possible they needed to be on a VHF Band III channel or that they were tuning into VHF with a UHF antennaa
There is also a UHF relay (technically illegal but no politician could stop them and get elected again) "south coast community television" re-broadcasting HTV Wales, BBC wales (1/2) and Channel 4 They have a large number of UHF relays around the region but tend to require a roof mounted wideband antenna and a lot of amplification to get a good signal. A portable tv wouldn't pick up much.
one scary fact. If we disconnect all the cables from our television it still receives the four main networks (RTE1, Network 2, TV3 and TG4) in good quality!
No antenna, no cables, just from coax socket in the back! I think we're being fried by UHF / VHF tranmitters!
Typically in West Cork on UHF you'll pick up RTE1, Network 2, TV3, TG4, BBC1, BBC2, HTV and Channel 4 (the last four being illegally rebroadcast)
