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Lyric FM - 15 years and 75 million Euro

  • 29-04-2014 11:34am
    #1
    Expunge
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,096 ✭✭✭


    On Thursday, May 1st, Lyric FM will be on air 15 years.
    I reckon it has cost approx 75 million Euro to run since then.

    I have come to that figure by skimming through some of the RTE reports on line and seeing that, for instance, in 2004 Lyric took 5.786 million Euros of license fee to run, bringing in revenue of 489,000 Euro.
    Net cost of almost 5.3 million that year.
    In the 2012 report, it says that Lyric cost 4.32 million Euros to run.

    You can quibble with my cost estimation if you wish but considering it's no longer an arts and mainly Classical music channel any more (only in patches) and 96% of the surveyed population never listen to it, is it time to shut this version of Lyric down?

    I would like RTE to run an arts and classical music channel, as they promised to do.
    I support public service broadcasting, but with a cost base like this and with output so poor at times, may be shutting it down and handing back the 4.32 million quid might be better.


Comments

  • #2
    reg114
    Registered Users Posts: 687 ✭✭✭reg114


    Expunge wrote: »
    On Thursday, May 1st, Lyric FM will be on air 15 years.
    I reckon it has cost approx 75 million Euro to run since then.

    I have come to that figure by skimming through some of the RTE reports on line and seeing that, for instance, in 2004 Lyric took 5.786 million Euros of license fee to run, bringing in revenue of 489,000 Euro.
    Net cost of almost 5.3 million that year.
    In the 2012 report, it says that Lyric cost 4.32 million Euros to run.

    You can quibble with my cost estimation if you wish but considering it's no longer an arts and mainly Classical music channel any more (only in patches) and 96% of the surveyed population never listen to it, is it time to shut this version of Lyric down?

    I would like RTE to run an arts and classical music channel, as they promised to do.
    I support public service broadcasting, but with a cost base like this and with output so poor at times, may be shutting it down and handing back the 4.32 million quid might be better.

    I would have to go along the lines that lyric is an elitist station with a miniscule listenership that much like RnG is purely a needless expense.


  • #3
    tom_tarbucket
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,083 ✭✭✭tom_tarbucket


    reg114 wrote: »
    I would have to go along the lines that lyric is an elitist station with a miniscule listenership that much like RnG is purely a needless expense.

    Awful waste of money.

    Seems like RnG can be picked up in the north pole :)

    No matter what bleak corner of Ireland I am in, and do a search for radio stations, I always pick up RnG across multiple different frequencies.


  • #4
    Expunge
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,096 ✭✭✭Expunge


    reg114 wrote: »
    I would have to go along the lines that lyric is an elitist station with a miniscule listenership that much like RnG is purely a needless expense.


    Yes but, that's the thing. Is it elitist? All the time?
    I would say no and when ,for example, Marty Whelan is on, it's the opposite - trying too hard to be the everyman station.
    I would see the likes of an arts and classical music station as needed - okay not by a huge number of listeners - but could only be provided by a public service broadcaster.
    Same with R na G - a full service Irish language radio station available to all in Ireland is needed by some.
    If Lyric cost 75 million Euros over the last 15 years, R na G was probably a lot more over the same period.


  • #5
    SaveOurLyric
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,138 ✭✭✭SaveOurLyric


    If your estimate is correct, them €5M a year looks pretty reasonable. Just about. It all depends on the quality of service provided. Certainly it would be a bargain if it had stuck to its original policy rather then the misguided dumbing down of recent years.

    Subsidising minority interest arts is always expensive if looked at from the perspective of how much its costs against how many it appeals to. Same for funding to theatre, opera, writers, orchestras, ballet, etc. But fortunately for us, the hands on the purse strings are generally those of the cultured minority, who divert to these pursuits as much as they can get away with without raising too loud an objection from the common man to be ignored.

    Sadly, the common man seems to have gotten his hands on the levers of power at Lyric. And on its current downward trajectory to wider appeal, I can agree that it is very close to looking like money down the drain.


  • #6
    Gloomtastic!
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,625 ✭✭✭Gloomtastic!


    As we never watch any Irish TV, the only reason I can justify paying a TV licence is because we listen to Lyric.

    However, 5 million divided by 365 days, divided by 24 hours is equal to €570.00 per hour.

    How much does John Kelly earn? :eek:


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  • #7
    Expunge
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,096 ✭✭✭Expunge


    SaveOurLyric wrote: »

    Sadly, the common man seems to have gotten his hands on the levers of power at Lyric. And on its current downward trajectory to wider appeal, I can agree that it is very close to looking like money down the drain.


    And in comes Hugo/Yvonne/Save to derail yet another lyric thread that may feature criticism of his beloved Marty Whelan.

    And as for it's 'current downward trajectory to wider appeal', there's no sign of that wider appeal yet. The story may be different in tomorrow's JNLR. As of now it's still ignored by the vast majority of the listening public and isn't even an Arts and Classical service any longer.
    All the while racking up big bills.


  • #8
    More Music
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 873 ✭✭✭More Music


    Never listen to it, and it seems not many people do.

    It will still cost €4.5m per year to run even if they do go back to the less popular heavy classical remit.

    So that will €4.5m divided by fewer listeners again, making it even less economical to run.

    Most PSB have state subsidised classical, arts and orchestra depts. Wouldn't be viable otherwise.

    Of course the argument could be made in these times do we need this stuff. I suppose we don't really, but we don't need 50" plasma TV's, iPads or broadband either.


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