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PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTER RTÉ has proposed an increase in public funding in order to improve its services over the next five years.
The proposal was made in the broadcaster’s five year strategy, published yesterday.
The strategy said RTÉ has reduced its 2012 cost-base by over €100 million since 2008 and by 2013, its cost base will be 30 per cent lower than five years ago.
We have implemented severe cutbacks across RTÉ including reductions in pay. We have reduced our staffing levels by 20 over cent since 2008.
The range of RTÉ’s content and schedules has suffered and it has lost audience share, according to the strategy which added that this is not sustainable.
It pointed out that the Irish TV licence fee of €160 is “significantly below the European average” and has not increased since 2008.
RTÉ’s public funding has effectively decreased in recent years and will continue to erode due to inflation. In addition the Irish advertising market has shrunk by over 35 per cent from 2008 to 2011.
One option proposed is that the broadcaster keeps spending on programme content over the next five years broadly in line with what is spent this year.
Its second option proposes modest increases in public funding which it said “captures the full scope of RTÉ’s ambition”.
“As well as enabling RTÉ to significantly improve its service to audiences, these changes will also have the potential to offer real benefits to the broader creative digital economy in Ireland,” it continued.
“Without action there will be a decline in both RTÉ’s relevance and commercial viability, not today or tomorrow, but during the lifetime of this strategy.”
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They can feck right off. When you still have the audacity to pay your so called stars such inflated wages, you have absolutely no right to ask for more money! They don’t live in reality, do they?
And how many channels do these countries have for the fee? And in HD? And ad breaks?
RTÉ proposes ‘modest increase in public funding’ over next five years
Why?….are the BBC raising their prices?
Too right Louise, they get all the TV licence and they have adverts on both Radio and TV! Ive never needed to go to the RTE webpage but Im sure its full of adverts too. Bloody cheek.
RTE have to take advertisements because we have such a small population base here, and many other EU countries do the same.
I think there is a need for the government to take a new approach for the way public service TV is handled.
My suggestion is that the public should vote once every few years to award a public service TV contract to only one station. Who ever wins would get the licence fee.
Agreed Louise. RTE produce sh*te programmes and pay their ‘stars’ inflated salaries. Another hike with the new method of paying licence no doubt. I would rather pay it to BBC or Sky cannels who have stuff I watch.
‘channels’
Daniel, or how about this for a quirky system:
People use the money from not paying a broadcast charge and spend it on the television entertainment they actually want to watch.
What is public service TV anyway? Nationwide, Prime Time, the 6.1? They can all be offered by private companies (and more impartially). Oireachtas TV? Can be streamed online.
Sell RTE.
While you do have a point Neil, you have to realise that the Irish market is too small for any meaningful quality content to be produced and broadcast independently.
RTE do a decent job on home-grown stuff, especially documentaries. All of this tends to be spread-out across the three stations RTE operate. The opposite to this is TV3 who can only afford a few good imports and any in-house stuff they do is very budget and poor.
A basic example is the quality of GAA coverage when comparing TV3 and RTE. The soccer is similar. Have TV3 ever broadcast a Rugby game for instance? TV3′s documentaries usually are a mish-mash of youtube clips and their own newsroom re-runs – terrible fare.
If all the quality stuff RTE/TG4 do was condensed into one station (RTE1), cut RTE2 and TG4 loose to find their own way, then you would have one channel that would be worth say €100 fee per year that would deliver good local Irish TV -that I think would be good value for money.
There is a simple solution Daniel. Let those who want RTE pay for it. Make it subscription only. Problem solved.
Could someone more knowledgeable than me answer this, if I have for arguments sake, Sky TV, which also has RTÉ included in one of its packages, so far so good.
I assume Sky pays RTÉ a fee for the privilege of being able to retransmit their channels, which they then recoup from their customers, and I’d be one.
So I’m already paying RTÉ, via Sky, regardless of whether I avail of the opportunity of watching any of their channels on my Sky package through any available media or listen to any of the RTÉ radio stations, also available through my Sky TV package.
If I pay the Broadcasting Charge am I not paying for this opportunity twice? This argument is purely hypothetical as I’m sure UPC and possibly other providers will be in a similar position, I chose Sky as its probably the best known.
But louise they are obviously not paying inflated wages…. pat kenny bailed to newstalk. He hardly went on reduced wages
Tg4 deserves more money then any other. Slán leat RTE!
true Grayham
TG4 are the only ones who deserve to be called a ‘public service’ broadcaster.
This station has done a huge amount for the Irish language, culture & heritage.
RTE in contrast, only serve the interests of the bloated egos of their ‘star’ presenters.
They seem to call the shots at RTE. Not the ordinary public, who pay their wages.
Only five countries in europe have a higher TV licence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence#Europe
Also I’d like to know how many of the other countries allow their public broadcaster to chase commercial revenues through advertising.
8
After the new Jason Byrne programme last night we should all be getting a rebate on our licence
And what about those stunning documentaries, the one were RTE presenter Brian Ormond marries Pippa whosit and the upcoming masterpiece former were RTE Fade St person Vo-Gue tries to get a job on Home and Away.
When they stop producing this tripe then they can.ask for an increase.
Those countries with a higher tv licence fee dont have commercial advertising …of the rest that have advertising only Austria and Switzerland are more expensive with the other 10 cheaper – wonder where they get their statement “significantly below the European average” …..??
If it wasn’t for the potential hysteria of the blue rinse brigade, the very same ones that watch fair city and the late late show, we’d have a serious chance of privatising RTE and cutting it loose.
I propose a modest increase in my wages…..any takers?
RTE’s idea of a documentary is to find the most depressing subjects and make them even more depressing – weekly.
What’s the idea of buying things like mad men and broadcasting them in the small hours. Just so tv3 can’t show them at prime time and get some extra revenue?
Nasty carry on with our money.
The two spanish public channels have been forbidden of any kind of commercial advertising as a “public service” is not to pursue profit. Since then, those two channels have improved massively their content to a point that it is one with the most viewers in Spain.
Technically we have two public stations as well. TG4 is another waste of space IMO. Most people I know watch it for the occasion English speaking film. I wouldn’t know where to find it on the channel selector.
Upcoming masterpiece former were RTE Fade St person Vogue – I thought if I typed it out I might be able to make some sense of it but no.
Lived in Spain for 22 years. TVE 1 & 2 are complete and utter shite stations too, nothing has improved except the party political spin for Mariano Killjoy of the conservative corrupt party.
Sorry John, my bad. A combination of a phone, fat fingers and incandescent rage. Although, except for getting the order of ‘were former’ wrong I think it holds up but I’ll parse it for you:
“the” (you left that bit out in your quote) “upcoming masterpiece were former RTE Fade St person Vo-Gue tries to get a job on Home and Away.”
Fade St was a reality program on RTE a few years back and Vo-Gue was a person in it. I refuse to use the word star.
Vo-Gue as opposed to Vogue as that’s phonetically how I pronounce it. No reason why.
So Rte’s cost base has been reduced by 30% and it has saved 100 million. Why then does my licence still cost so much?? I don’t even watch those bloody channels!!
A bunch of cocooned parasites.
if you cant pay your way then shut down
And they can’t pay their way. RTE is running a huge deficit every year. Still would be even if they got rid of their overpaid presenters. Guess who’s going to end up paying for that, boys and girls?
Pat Rabbitte only stated this morning on Newstalk that he was not going to increase the licence fee. I bet he’ll find some way of doing a u-turn.
No Way. He would never!!!
It’s more disgusting that the new broadcasting charge was sold to us as a way raise more money by eliminating the licence evaders to the tune of 30 million extra for RTE . Now why the fcuk do they need to raise it more. This is a huge scam and I can’t wait to see rabbit bold back down that hole.
Has stated he wont increase licence fee, this is going to be replaced with a broadcast charge. No promises there. Its the usual political spin. “I promised not to increase the fee, I never said anything about the broadcast charge.”
Heard an interview with the Rabitte about 6 weeks ago where he was specifically asked about the UBC, he fluffed it and said he would “do his best” to keep it the same amount.
I think we all know what that means.
I’d their getting more people to pay it, then surely the price of it should come down??
Joan Burtons talking about a welfare cap and Pat Rabittes talking about an RTE cap and boy do we need them to hide the haircut we’ve all taken!
Crap,
Remove the fee and leave RTE deal with reality, if they can’t compete with TV3 on a level playing field then they need to restructure and drop wages.
Increasing the fee gives them an unfair advantage over other radio and tv company’s and is anti competitive,
TV3 is just car crash TV, it’s terrible!!! However RTE are not too far behind!!
I propose a modest decrease in RTE ‘s top presenters salaries. A cap at 100 k€ p.a. should be fair. If the likes of Miriam don’t like it, give other talents a chance instead …
They can’t all go to Newstalk so a cap shouldn’t be a problem.
I’ve said it before and ill say it again:
Put RTE as a option on any sky or upc package at €160 per year and see how many people subscribe to it.
Channel is utter shite.
RTE’s relevance has already declined and it’s nothing to do with funding.
Scrap the TV license and let RTE sink or swim
RTE delivered the Presidential election for Michael D Higgins and Pat Rabbitte and Labour owe them ….Watch Rabbitte agree to the hike in the license after Christmas and justify it by saying RTE is doing a great public service….
Spot on.
Noel Curran should’ve been sacked last year along with half his fellow board members. Pat Rabbitte had a chance to get rid of that diseased lot after the prime time debacle, but completely bottled it. We can’t afford this bunch of reality dodging vermin and the quicker the government deal with them, then the better for the general public.
spot on Linda,
The RTE presidential debate fiasco, ensured that Labour got their man as president.
The questions surrounding ‘tweetgate’ have never been answered by RTE.
But Pat Rabitte & Co will always be fighting their corner.
RTE have been the architects of their own misfortune.
The obscene salaries paid to their so called ‘stars’ – Kenny, Duffy, Finucane, Tubridy etc. have almost ruined them financially, & the taxpayer has to pay the price.
Pat rabbitte is just a (for the want of a better word) man that likes to hear himself talk.
The general public proposes “that RTE should take a long walk on a short pier”.
RTE is one seriously brutal TV station! Overpaid useless presenters! Politically biased propaganda. Shut it down!!!
it is, thats who runs it, them shower. its their little machine to reach out to rural areas, their propaganda, telling all the grannies to vote for them and hiding the facts. Sure we can’t rely on them to use the internet on their laptops and Pay to subscribe to RTE. Its plain to be seen. BURN IT!
Goodbye RTE we dont want you anymore.
Shut it down!
Let RTE go to the wall! TV3 are proof that you don’t need this massive amount of public money to survive! No to TV licence hike!!!
Start off by scrapping Fair City!!!
Or ‘Fairly Shitty’ as it’s commonly known.
Damo and Ivor was brutal.
I agree, it really was cringe worthy.
Yes it was terrible, and as for that Mario Rosenstock – would someone please tell him that he is not funny, in fact cringeworthy is the term I would use.
Too true. He is not funny he never was and those insurance ads put me in a bad mood. Get that fool off the tv!!!!
I wonder linda how he would like it if someone took him off.
I heard yesterday that they may not show Season 4 of Love/Hate until later because apparently it does not make enough money to cover its cost. If they can’t make money out of the most popular Irish tv show since the Late Late then there is something seriously wrong with that company.
Sure you have home and away sic
It was announced that the new series will go out on first of October.They were bringing it Forward from the Original planned time in later winter.
The taxpayers of ireland propose that rte fkk right off.
How can you pay some a 6 figure salary to talksh!te hour after hour.
Bolleaux
I have a sky freeview card that cost 25 euro. I have no Irish channels at all for the last five years. Have I missed it? I can genuinely say the ONLY programme I missed was the Late Late Toy Show as it has been a tradition to put up the tree and watch it to herald in the Christmas season. (I link up the tv to the laptop and watch it on the iPlayer). Last year though, even the kids thought it was crap.
I still pay my license fee as I have a tv but I refuse to pay more! If they increase the fee, I will stop paying what I am currently paying and they can take me to court.
They will eventually bring in a licence to cycle a Bicycle. The government will suck everything they can out of us like the parasites they are.
In all fairness, some cyclists have no business being out in public.
Thought I was seeing things. Modest INcrease? It’s not April 1st is it?
Can we have a referendum on the 2 choices. I bet everyone would go for the first choice.
Time to bury RTE, we need closure on this ;-)
I saw that yesterday it would make your blood boil. I think RTE. should be like any other channel and go on a pay per view. I am sure that very few people in Ireland actually watch it. Rte is very much spread out with Internet news also trying to keep a few radio services going If it cannot afford to keep them going they should Improvise and only run two stations one Television Channel and radio. People have more of a choice now and are not depending on RTE alone.I think the TV licence is more than enough for them. 160 euros is a lot of money out of a family s budget. They sat that other countries are paying more but they may have three or four channel’s run by the same company.RTE are available on sky but you have to be on a package to get it .
“captures the full scope of RTÉ’s ambition”-haha, I did chuckle at this.
That’s why it’s a “modest” incease: in line with “scope of ambition” which is modest at best.
They should blow that place up!
can we have broadband free to air signal with that broadcasting fee then please? i mean, it is digital isn’t it? it can be broadcast can’t it? this fee is to improve the digital service isn’t it? or wait, its just TV? just TV?? i’ve no TV, so i to have a licence for my computer? and pay to get internet? wow.
Modest increase, love that turn of phrase.
it took rte almost 50 years to have hit love/hate so when L/H finishes up so should rte.
What’s next, dog licence increase…
No bloody way will I pay any increase.
I will happily load up my tv and radio into the car and drive Montrose and f*** them through their window.
Let rte sell the vast prime site to cover their costs .
I’d rather pay less TV license than get more RTE.
How many programmes do we have to watch over and over cut the wages of the high earners its obscene. Them people have nothing in common with ordinary people pay them tv3 wages.
Will they not be getting a substantial increase in funding now that all households will be forced to pay? But they are only looking for a modest increase in funding. Ergo, Broadcasting Charge should be lower that the current rate for TV Licence. Win!
If Fair City employs Jon Hamm then I’ll gladly pay their ransom. Don Draper could really shake up Carrigstown.
Make RTE pay per view. Ends all messing about.
They don’t have the confidence as they know numbers will drop further. Its the Governments TV show, they’ll make you pay for it, more than likely now bully you with Revenue threats and force you to watch RTE. Thats basically it. Where in the world. Its unreal. “Sorry, we have to cut your dole/wages this week as you need to watch RTE, compulsory viewing”
I’m not sure I buy into the whole “every country needs a properly functioning public broadcaster” argument. Why do we need one? There are lots of perfectly fine countries out there that don’t have one (US, Portugal, Finland, New Zealand to name just a few).
Could we not just get by with a good broadcasting regulator who insists that all media (newspapers, radio, tv, etc.) includes some minimum level of public services content (news, sports, arts, irish language content, etc.).
If RTE were funded directly by the government instead of by the TV license, then they would have had to deal with cutbacks like every other government body (I know they are a semi-state company; but as statutory body which we are forced to be customers of, I don’t see a huge distinction there.). They would have had to justify their cost to the exchequer versus the value they deliver to the country. At the very least they would be forced to be as efficient as possible in order to reduce their costs. It seems incredible that we are cutting back on essential services like health, policing and education, and yet our funding for RTE only ever increases.
If they were funded via subscription or exclusively via advertising, then their income would be related to how many customers, and therefore based on the quality of their programming versus the amount of disposable income people have.
Because they are funded by the TV licence, there is no relation between their value for money and the amount they charge. They aren’t really subject to tightening budgets as the government can’t reallocate their funding elsewhere and the people can’t avoid being their customers. Whenever they feel like they want more money, they just ask the minister in charge, and he is usually happy to comply because the negative reaction doesn’t really affect the government (where as having RTE angry at you probably would). I probably wouldn’t choose to be a customer of RTE, as I never watch it, but I don’t have a massive objection to a public funded broadcaster, I do thing it is a service worth having available. I just wish they were funded in such a way that they were answerable to their customers.
What’s a modest increase ?
If I’m earning 250k annually then ‘d say €500 is modest, if I’m unemployed mortgaged up to the hilt kids to put through school or college pay all the levies introduced over the last 6 years then 20 Cent is too much, “Am I been just to modest ?
RTE should be sold off! Privatise them!’
RTE can kiss my ass, TV 3 manage without funding, Mr Curran needs a slap of the wake up stick and cut the salaries more and get rid of the likes of Tubridy.
Well well well. BBC lite.
Pay up fools. Joe Duffys cavier won’t pay for itself.
Bullshit
RTE is too big that’s why it needs license increase.
Best to sell off 2FM Dept of Gaeltacht could get TnaG
RTE guide should be sold off and the website is unfair competition should also be sold.
Then no licence increase needed for 25 years.
Regards..
RTE deserves every cent it gets! A modest rise is fine. Comparing RTE to TV3 is like comparing budget and first class flights! No contest. Admittedly TV3 is beginning to improve after 16 years on air but RTE still wins by a country mile. Every country needs a fully functioning public service broadcaster.
No we really don’t. Back in the days when it was all you could get on the ariel on the top of the telly RTE was a necessity. Now it’s carried by larger companies like UPC and SKY who deliver channels that RTE simply cannot compete with. They would have died long ago without the unwilling support of a public who have no interest in watching their programming.
That is grand if you have a free TV. Licence. Excluding that One has to be realistic there is real competition out there and RTE are just like everyone else they have to compete.AS I said 160 Euros is a lot from a family to ask with all the other utility Bills they have to pay.
I clicked on your name thinking for sure that you work for RTE. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you live in Downpatrick!! You don’t even pay the TV license! People like you – preaching about what a great service it is, worth every penny, etc, when you don’t have to pay for it – sicken me.
Presumably, you’re getting RTE for free? If you think it’s so great you can send me a cheque for the €160 you’re not paying.
Your right Kevin the question isn’t a contest , tv3 is independent not funded by taxpayer and operate with around 150 people , Rte is funded by taxpayers ,permitted to sell ads ( tax funded operators are not always permitted to do so ) have over 2000 people in the operation and should be forced to cut their cloth accordingly , buying in rubbish repeats for rte2 that can be seen on other channels is an obvious waste of money but there are plenty of ways to cut their cloth and become more efficient without having to tap the taxpayer again , 2000 staff , anybody who knows how media operations work can tell you that’s bloated for a start.
Kevin are you working for rte
Kevin,
the problem is that RTE no longer seems to be a ‘public service’ broadcaster.
It seems to exist, just to inflate the already obscene salaries (and egos) of their ‘star’ presenters.
They are totally out of touch with the ordinary people.
They are a wealthy & influential elite, who live in their own bubble of pampered privilege.
Kevin I don’t know weather to agree with you or not. You’re right every country dose need a properly functioning public broadcaster. The problem is RTE is not properly functioning. They have no real reason for their cost over run’s or poor programming. As for the highly inflated wages they pay their so called stars. ( D List at best). Its unacceptable.
As for the comparisons with TV3 there really is not that much of a difference. Its not so much apples and oranges as it is apples and papples. The channel that is worth its salt TG4. I don’t even speak Irish.
RTE has not earned this.
more money. would rather close rte down pure rubbish on it anyways
Just shut it down! There’s no point to Rte. Make it one news channel and forget the rest of it. It’s July pointless
NOOOOO !!!!!!!
This comment section, in my opinion, is full of unnecessary hyerpole demanding RTE to be shut down. Without doubt there should be significant cost reductions, such as selling off 2fm, capping ‘star presenters’ salaries etc.
But to actually countenance the ridding totally of a state broadcaster is totally OTT and lacking foresight. What commercial entities would carry Irish language output for instance? Irish made documentaries, comedies, short films, current affairs… Fair enough let’s continue to slag off Fair City, Damo & Ivor and whatever else one deems to be tripe. But in this globalised village of ours, let’s not advocate a significant decrease in Irish t.v. output in part due to the malcontents, that populate forums, such as this one…
An increase in the broadcasting charge… F#*^ off!!!
“It pointed out that the Irish TV licence fee of €160 is “significantly below the European average” and has not increased since 2008.”
LYING SACKS OF SHITE!!
Do they think we are complete idiots and morons who will belive them
A quick google of this gave me the following for EU prices.
Switzerland the most expensive @ 385 euros followed by Norway,Sweden,Austria,Germany,Denmark, Ireland,France Italy.Cheapest is Albania at a fiver!!
Plenty of EU countries have abolished it or dont bother collecting it . We are in the top ten most expensive in the EU.
goes to show you cant belive anything RTE produces or says either.;
why do everybody call it a tv licence as far as i can see it should be called by its real name a RTE licence ,an the rte also means REPEAT TELEAFIOUS EIREANN
A few facts people. RTE does not have over 2000 people working for it, there are approx 1,200 working for it and that’s right across the organisation, so in Donnybrook, region studios, concert hall, orchestras etc.
It does not get all the licence fee money, some of it goes to independent stations(TV3 etc) and some of it goes into the national broadcasting fund, independent program and film makers etc can then get a grant from the fund.
Even if RTE was shut down it wouldn’t do anything to your TV license, you would still have to get one. Your licence is so you can watch your TV as a whole and not just RTE.
That’s the stupid situation in 2013 Ireland. We pay for the privilege of having a telly in the house. I pay Sky who carry RTE but if I cancel my Sky subscription then I also loose RTE unless I buy a saorview box. I also have to pay the TV licence fee even if I cant get RTE.
I don’t work for RTE. I just think it’s a valuable service and works well as an All Ireland broadcaster.
All Ireland?? Im pretty sure they block some sports events in the north.take your head out of your hole
Kevin.
I admire and respect your views but don’t share the sentiment.
Personally I think rte is a biased broadcaster based around a bunch of dinosaurs.
Let them sell Montrose and use the money to support themselves.
Yeah, great all-Ireland broadcaster. Pity that all-Ireland isn’t paying for it then.
RTE is showing a lot of British Program’s like Cornation Street Eastenders to name but a few. I do not watch those programs. Also most of their program’s have already been shown on Channel 5 and others.
But not all Ireland wants it.
Is this to pay for the Fair City cast getting their souls back?
you are losing the audience because very few people watch rte they have no interest in rte you should be self funding instead of public funding i do not watch rte and i know of many who do not watch it yet we are forced to pay for it and on top of that those at rte are over paid people are having to pay twice for everything in this country they pay through the sky or other providers to get the stations they want to watch why don’t you do a pay per view funny is it not that people are forced to pay for something they do not use
Rte loves jerry adams
have your say