RTÉ One is owned by RTÉ the Irish Public Service Broadcaster which is ultimately controlled by the RTÉ Board, chaired by Siún Ní Raghallaigh. Day to day operations and management of RTÉ is the responsibility of the RTÉ Executive Board, which reports to the RTÉ Board. The RTÉ Executive is a committee of senior management in RTÉ led by the Director General, and includes Directors of television, radio, news and current affairs, Heads of channels and content as well as heads of corporate divisions such as marketing, finance, legal and strategy. Following the RTÉ payments controversy, which emerged in summer 2023, new Director General Kevin Bakhurst disbanded the RTÉ Executive and replaced it with an Interim Leadership Team.

RTÉ Television overall reaches 34% of Irish adults during the peak viewing times of 6pm - 11.30pm everyday. In 2022 44 of the 50 most watched TV programmes in Ireland were on RTÉ Television. RTÉ One has a 19.74% share of the TV viewing audience.

TV broadcasting in Ireland began when what is now known as RTÉ One, Telefís Éireann launched on New Year’s Eve 1961. The launch of the flagship national television service was accompanied by the move of management of the state broadcasting out of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and the establishment of a Statutory State Organisation tasked with the management and operation of radio and television services in the 1960 Broadcasting Act. This Act included the establishment of the RTÉ Authority who oversee the running of the broadcaster ensuring that it serves the Irish public. In 1978 the station’s name was changed to RTÉ One with the launch of a second station RTÉ Two. 
Programming on RTÉ One includes a range of News and Current Affairs programmes, Light Entertainment, Lifestyle, Factual, Sports, Comedy and Drama. Its schedule includes a mix of content produced by RTÉ, independent Irish production companies and international content which RTÉ buys the rights to broadcast. The Late Late Show is one of RTÉ One’s flagship programmes. The live talk show was embroiled in the recent payments controversy as it emerged that RTÉ had been making additional payments to Ryan Tubridy, the former presenter of the programme, without declaring them as part of his annual salary. The programme is now hosted by Patrick Kielty.

News and Current Affairs programming on RTÉ One is led by Deirdre McCarthy, Managing Director of News and Current Affairs. RTÉ One is home to RTÉ main news bulletins at 1pm, 6pm and 9pm. Key national current affairs programmes are also broadcast on RTÉ One including Prime Time, Upfront with Katie Hannon, The Week in Politics and European Parliament Report. The station also carries live broadcasts of Leaders Questions from Dáil Éireann each week. They also broadcast syndicated content from Euronews overnight, usually between 3am-6am.

In 2009 RTÉ launched the RTÉ Player allowing viewers to access live and on Demand TV via their laptops or mobile devices. In recent years RTÉ has invested in content commissioned and produced specifically for the Player.

RTÉ One is funded through the dual funding model adopted by RTÉ with income derived from both the TV licence fee and advertising revenue. In the 2022 Annual Report the Financial Director highlighted slight changes in advertising spend that were impacting RTÉ with a drop in advertising revenue for TV spot advertising by 1.3% and an increase in sponsorship and product placement revenue of 5.7%.