When Dukes first started, we had three channels, but now we have satellite and cable TV offering hundreds of channels depending on how much you want to pay. Ireland has fewer free-to-air terrestrial channels than the UK, but both can get between 50 and 100 free channels on satellite. Note that both the UK and Ireland have mandatory TV license fees of about $200 per year to pay for the state broadcasters and public service programs. In the UK that means that the BBC is able to provide a handful of commercial-free TV channels as well as many commercial-free national and local radio stations..