VIEWERS HAVE EXPRESSED their frustration about issues with the RTÉ Player in complaints sent to the State broadcaster.
Audience members have complained about the streaming service buffering and crashing, as well as the level of adverts.
Several complaints sent to RTÉ in recent months have been released to The Journal via a Freedom of Information request.
A number of viewers referenced the cost of the TV licence fee (which is €160 a year) and the pay controversy that surrounded RTÉ this year.
The national broadcaster was plunged into crisis in June when it confirmed it had under-declared fees to Ryan Tubridy, its then-highest-paid staff member. Tubridy ultimately left the broadcaster over the issue and the scandal widened as a series of other financial and governance issues emerged.
In November the Government approved interim funding of €56 million for RTÉ, subject to conditions. At the same time, the broadcaster unveiled a series of cost-cutting measures including voluntary redundancies.
‘Quite insulting’
One email sent to RTÉ on 25 October noted: “Just by way of feedback I had the misfortune of trying to use the RTE Player tonight for a family member and it is functionally useless, stuck on buffering/loading for 10 mins, several refreshes later and same result.
“Funnily enough the 3/4 30 second advertisements queued before the video all played without issue (and replayed each time the page was refreshed).
“Personally I don’t use RTE but given recent happenings over the summer and the fact this has been a known issue for many years now I think it’s quite insulting to provide such a lacklustre service whilst insisting on the €160 licence fee.”
In an email sent on 20 October, another viewer wrote about issues they had when trying to stream a programme.
“I find it unbelievable that in this day and age with all the technology available that RTE cannot have a proper Player for its customers. After all it is the National Broadcaster for which people pay a License Fee. [sic]
“Thankfully at this stage of my life I get a free TV License because if I didn’t I certainly wouldn’t want to pay for the service that RTE provide,” they said.
‘Long suffering Irish people’
On 3 October, another person expressed their frustration with the service, saying: “I’m writing in disgust at the performance of your absolutely disgustingly terrible RTE Player”.
“I don’t watch much RTE because of the absolute crap that is served up on a daily basis. I don’t even have it on my TV. I pay my licence so I should not be bombarded by Ads.
“The streaming service keeps crashing and when I refresh I have to watch the Ads again.
“I should be able to watch or listen to the streaming while reading in another tab. Why can I not have another tab open and keep the player going, why is that.” [sic]
This viewer was particularly annoyed and referred to some of the Player’s features as “evil”. They wrote:
What evil person thought that this was a great idea to annoy your involuntary customers like this. Absolutely disgraceful treatment of people who are forced to pay for this service.
“I have two monitors connected to my PC, at one stage while watching the player, as I adjusted the volume the player expanded and took over both screens, is this another evil feature to annoy the long suffering Irish people.”
They signed off by saying: “Get your act together and don’t forget who is paying your wages.”
‘Pure dirt’
On 3 September, one emailer told RTÉ that the Player had “reached a new low, having fallen from the rift of constant buffering to the depths of having sound but no vision… with the absurd exception that the introduction to any particular program and the adverts play adequately”. [sic]
“Please sort it,” they added.
In a complaint sent on 29 October, another person wrote: “Your player on the rte Android news app IS PURE DIRT!!! ITS ABSOLUTE RUBBISH, NEVER WORKS!!! EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE EXCELLENT SIGNAL!!!” [sic]
Other emails asked if there are any plans to improve the service and said the Player paled in comparison to other streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus (which, it should be noted, have much bigger budgets).
Record-breaking year
Despite the issues some people experienced with the RTÉ Player, 2023 was the biggest year ever for the service. Streams of the Player are expected to hit 100 million by 31 December, reaching 1.8 million unique users per month.
The most watched programmes on the Player this year were soaps – EastEnders, Home and Away and Fair City, followed by drama Kin and sports broadcasts such as The Saturday/Sunday Game and the Rugby World Cup 2023.
The most watched sporting event on the Player this year was the Republic of Ireland’s match against Australia in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on 20 July.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for RTÉ said ongoing investment has improved the Player’s “functionality, user experience and design” in recent years.
They also noted that the broadcaster receives relatively few complaints compared to the large number of people who use the service.
The spokesperson added that the launch of the Player on additional Sky devices earlier this year “means more homes than ever are being reached via the RTÉ Player App”.
“RTÉ is committed to continuing to invest in RTÉ Player to continuously improve the service and deliver the best possible user experience,” they said.
In terms of the number of ads played on the service, the spokesperson noted that RTÉ is “mandated to monetise its services across linear and digital”.
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