The UK media regulator Ofcom has told the Stormont economy minister that the geo-blocking of Irish sporting events in Northern Ireland is an insoluble problem and may get worse.

Geo-blocking restricts access to streamed content based on a viewer's location, meaning sporting events on RTÉ and other Irish channels are frequently unavailable in Northern Ireland.

Ofcom said it does not have the power to stop geo-blocking and there are no technical measures offering a complete, low-cost and universally applicable solution.

The regulator was asked to review the issue by Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, following an earlier review in 2015.

Ofcom identified two constraints driving geo-blocking: territorial content rights, especially for major sport, and limitations in using IP addresses to identify that a viewer is in Northern Ireland.

The regulator said it cannot require a rights holder to license content on an all-island basis, and it is not aware of any regulatory mechanism to force internet service providers to reserve IP addresses for Northern Ireland.

RTÉ and TG4 try to buy sports rights on an all-island basis, but Ofcom said international sporting organisations often sell separate packages for the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with Northern Ireland included in the UK package.

Bespoke arrangements for Northern Ireland are not always commercially available, and where available, the additional cost may be disproportionate for relatively small public service broadcasters.

Ofcom suggested that the British and Irish governments review their 2010 Memorandum of Understanding on cross-border access to digital terrestrial TV, to assess whether its scope should cover IP-delivered services.

Archibald said the geo-blocking of RTÉ content is completely unacceptable and must end. She has written to the British and Irish governments to seek their engagement on resolving the issue.

As television output increasingly moves to streaming services, Ofcom noted the problem will affect a growing part of television consumption.