Is RTÉ a sinking ship? Boycotts, 'bailouts' and bygone eras
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
There were, and I think many of you know, a lot of rumours and rumours about J. Harley from Barbara. There were a lot of people saying that she was pregnant and that she was pregnant because she was pregnant and that she had a child. There were a lot of rumours about that, maybe a lot of things like that from the family. And there wasn't much to say about those rumours and there wasn't much to say about that.
On the latest episode of Real Health with me, Carl Henry, we are chatting all things happiness with Professor Ian Robertson.
If you start gauging or making them your targets, you're almost certain to be less happy because they're competitive. There's always someone richer, more famous, more successful, bigger celebrity than you, better looking than you, slimmer than you, fitter than you, runs faster than you. So competitive goals are almost the recipe of the opposite.
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Hey there, we are Indosport with me, Joe Molloy, and we have things like this. They're sensational, Joe. They really are. And in terms of how good they have been in the knockout stages, when England played against DR Congo, I was watching the game and thinking, God, your midfield is quite advanced and your defence is detached. So there's a big gap between those units. And it was around the time I was watching France and I thought, oh my God, if you come up against France, they're going to dismantle you. No doubt about that in terms of how good they are. This is an Irish Independent Podcast.
We're three years into reform, but what I'm not hearing is a credible plan for RTE to be able to self-sustain itself. RTE look to be further floundering in their finances. the national broadcaster has gone before the Public Accounts Committee looking for an even bigger increase in funding from government.
RTE has revealed that they estimate that they will need €54.7 million in direct funding from government. This is 32% more than the station received in direct funding from the Exchequer last year.
The reason? Volatility in licence fee revenue. But as the number of households without a television continues to grow, is the licence fee becoming a relic of a bygone era?
There is a number of people who are accessing RT content who are not paying a TV licence. They're accessing it on iPads or they're accessing it on social media.
Or is RTE a sinking ship that needs to be cast adrift from the taxpayers' purse strings?
Apple makes a billion dollars in profit every 50 hours. Amazon makes a billion dollars in profit about every four or five days. Even Netflix, which is much smaller than those companies, makes a billion dollars a month in profit. How do you compete against those organizations?
I'm Tessa Fleming and today on the IndoDaily, I'm joined by Irish independent technology editor Adrian Weckler, entertainment correspondent for the Irish independent Melanie Finn and political reporter at the Irish independent Aisling Maloney to examine the future of the TV licence and whether the broadcaster is facing yet another financial reckoning. Melanie Finn, RTE Director General Kevin Backhurst, appeared before the Public Accounts Committee last week and it seems that RTE need more money. So what exactly were they looking for? Of course, I mean, after what happened with the financial crisis, they had to get the bailout. So they agreed with government a package worth €725 million. Now, this wasn't a lump sum by any means.
It was like biannual amounts that were spread out over the course of three years. Catherine Martin has worked extraordinarily hard on this. And what you will see today is a significant milestone, I believe, in increasing extracurricular support for public service broadcasting. So they're going back to the Public Accounts Committee and they are going to ask for another separate tranche of funding after 2027. And one of the reasons they're doing this is because they're facing various challenges with regards to funding. So one of those key ones is the fact that a lot of people do not have a TV licence anymore.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–8:22
2
Why is RTÉ asking the Public Accounts Committee for more state funding?
8:22–9:45
3
How much extra money does RTÉ say it needs and why is licence revenue volatile?
9:45–22:53
4
How many households no longer own a TV and how does that affect the licence fee?
22:53–28:27
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Indo Daily
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