LAST UPDATE | 1 Nov

THE INDEPENDENT BROADCASTERS of Ireland has called for “meaningful” government support for the sector after Virgin Media announced a reduction in its weekly output of The Tonight Show.

The Tonight Show is Virgin Media’s flagship current affairs programme and is co-hosted by Claire Brock and Ciara Doherty.

It is set to be reduced from four nights a week to two, in part due to a lack of financial support from the government.

The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland said this reduction in output “reflects the real pressures throughout the sector”.

‘Challenging market conditions’

Virgin Media Television’s managing director Áine Ní Chaoindealbháin said the broadcaster “remains committed to Public Service Broadcasting and will continue to invest in our News and Current Affairs output”.

She pointed to “challenging market conditions” and a lack of government support as the reasons behind the decision.

“Due to challenging market conditions and the fact that our ask of government to financially support our public service content has not been met, we have been forced to make the difficult decision to reduce The Tonight Show weekly output,” said Ní Chaoindealbháin.

In July, Virgin Media described a new funding plan for RTÉ as a “reward for inefficiency and all-round bad practice” and added that it “further distorts the market”.

It came after the Government announced that RTÉ would receive €725 million in public funding over the next three years, with €225 million of this coming next year.

Speaking in July, Ní Chaoindealbháin cautioned that Virgin Media Television “has no alternative but to review all options including our position with regards to our existing Public Service Broadcasting commitments”.

She added that the funding package for RTÉ disregards Virgin Media’s “25-year record of delivering extensive Public Service content and the 93% of the population that we reach on an annual basis”.

‘Failure by policymakers’

In a statement today, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland said financial issues within the sector “have been raised with policymakers for years without sufficient or meaningful action being taken”.

The spokesperson said the reduction in the Tonight Show’s output is “very regrettable and is a consequence of failure by policymakers to heed warnings about the economic pressures faced by independent media”.

“A healthy pluralist media needs strong support for as many alternative media options for consumers as possible,” said the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland.

“This is particularly the case when misinformation and disinformation are rife on social media.

“Independent radio and TV deserve a level-playing field.”

The spokesperson noted that the independent sector has been impacted by “massive economic disruption as advertising has been hoovered up by social media”. 

“High quality news and current affairs will always be costly, but those services also bring great societal value, and that needs to be recognised by policymakers,” added the spokesperson.

The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland have called for “fair, accessible and meaningful support” for the sector and noted that the “very modest recent schemes announced are not expected to be operational until this time next year, which is far too late”.

Also announced in July was a €4 million increase to the Broadcasting and Media Fund, which independent broadcasters can apply to.

But this extra funding, which will see the available funding for the wider media sector reach €22.2 million, does not come on stream until next year.

“The State must tackle the issue of ensuring far quicker access to fair support for independent broadcasting on radio and TV,” said the spokesperson.