How could RTÉ save money?

Elmo

Well TV3 are giving out to them about their licence fee, and they are stating they won't be making as much as previous years.

TV3 are suggesting they increase their rates for advertising on TV.

But is there anything RTE can do to save money?

Well there are the obvious ones that most companies could do but choose not to: -

1. Big earners should take a pay cut. (This would save RTE about 5million which is what they want to save).
2. Fancy parties and dinners could be reduce if not completely removed from the calanader.
3. Spend less on products provided by other companies, if you can.

RTE could always: -

1. Start investing in programme production with the aim of selling programmes abroad.
2. Advertising on steamed TV shows and increase adversting online
3. Save money by reducing the amount of money spend on International shows.

work2live

1) wouldn't save anything like 5m and 5m isn't anywhere near what they want to save. (See below from todays independent for example)
2) Will save very little but will be likely done anyway
3) Will save a lot only if major prodcuts aren't bought, i.e new projects
are cancelled or delayed

Second lot.
1) appears meaningless to me. Spend more money now with the 'aim' of
selling programmes abroad? Hardly a money saver.
2) This is already peaked and little room for more, advertisers are cutting back
on actual bread and butter, proven ad buys (TV and radio). The last thing they
want is more unproven advertising methods instead.
3) Fill the schedule with what exactly? International shows are
dirt cheap compared to anything homegrown and the bring in
ad revenue.

RTE on major economy drive as advertising slides by €24m

Friday September 26 2008

RTE is on a major economy drive as advertising revenues have slumped on the back of the slowdown in the economy.

Communications director for the national broadcaster, Brid Rosney, said: "We are monitoring all expenditure. It is a difficult era.

"At the moment, we expect to be well below budget and to make just a break-even figure for this year -- well below expectations."

Revenues could be down by some €24m on targets.

RTE has taken a big hit on TV advertising revenues, a bread-and-butter source of funding which had been booming since the late 1990s, but took a dive in tandem with the economy this year.

Big advertising spenders such as alcohol companies, retailers and banks, are no longer splashing cash on ads to the extent they did in the boom times.

It is the first time in over a decade that there has been a fall off in this guaranteed earner for the broadcaster.

Ms Rosney said that RTE does not expect any uptake in advertising revenue before the end of this year, even bearing in mind Christmas, its most profitable period for advertising earnings.

However, the broadcaster does not envisage redundancies "at this stage", but instead will be looking for economies "in all areas".

Licence

A significant hike in television licence price would be one possible way of drumming up funds, but the broadcaster would not be drawn on whether that was a possibility.

However, it's understood senior RTE executives are due to seek a new licence fee rate before the end of the year, with the annual rate of increase recently pegged at the average rate of rise in the consumer price index.

The national broadcaster told the Irish Independent that it now expected to see its commercial revenue -- meaning radio and TV advertising -- plummet by €20m due to the worsening economic climate.

"But in broad terms, we are forecasting to break even," a spokeswoman for the station insisted.

The sharp drop in its commercial revenue has led to a 20pc cut in the price of advertising on the station. Industry experts said the ad revenue fallout will be worse for the other TV broadcasters, such as TV3, TG4 and Channel 6.

Paul Moran, of media monitoring company Mediaworks, said yesterday: "RTE has seen single-digit decreases in its advertising revenue and this has resulted in reduced advertising prices, which puts a lot of pressure on the other stations."

Meanwhile, radio audiences and revenue from radio advertising has so far held steady, an advertising sales spokesman said.

"Radio advertising sales generally are up by 12pc," he said.

RTE has revenues of €400m per annum, around €200m of which comes from TV licence revenues.

- Senan Molony and Roisin Burke

Elmo

Fill the schedule with what exactly? International shows are
dirt cheap compared to anything homegrown and the bring in
ad revenue.

They could cut back on International shows or buy cheaper ones if all they are there to do is fill up the schedule. RTE spend 25,000,000 on 11,000 hours of Import TV.

Homegrown shows bring in the same advertising revenue but the cost more so they don't make as much of a return. If they make a return at all.

1) appears meaningless to me. Spend more money now with the 'aim' of
selling programmes abroad? Hardly a money saver.

No but they would own the shows and prehaps be able to sell them to Europe, it would be a new form of revenue.

1) wouldn't save anything like 5m and 5m isn't anywhere near what they want to save. (See below from todays independent for example)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0926/1222374595746.html

Speer

Sell off the site in donnybrook and move to somewhere cheaper like Finglas or Ballyfermot.

Elmo

Sell off the site in donnybrook and move to somewhere cheaper like Finglas or Ballyfermot.

They could move outside of Dublin altogether.

Speer

Elmo wrote: »

They could move outside of Dublin altogether.

Personally I'd love to see the lot of them go somewhere like the Blasket Islands.

work2live

Elmo wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0926/1222374595746.html

but thats 5million between now and the end of the year? How would they save that in 4 months by people taking pay cuts. I presume you weren't suggesting 5million was possible in that time?

Elmo wrote: »

No but they would own the shows and prehaps be able to sell them to Europe, it would be a new form of revenue.

It wouldn't be a new form of revenue, shows are sold on all the time. However they are never developed with a view
to doing this, they are developed for the Irish audience.

Elmo

It wouldn't be a new form of revenue, shows are sold on all the time. However they are never developed with a view
to doing this, they are developed for the Irish audience.

Indeed I am suggesting that if they are planning to produce something like RAW which could be based in any country that such shows should be sold aboard and more of theses types of shows should be made. RAW and Single Handed where not developed for Irish Audiences.

but thats 5million between now and the end of the year? How would they save that in 4 months by people taking pay cuts. I presume you weren't suggesting 5million was possible in that time?

Big players should get an automatic pay cut of 100,000 euro each, I know it isn't a nice thing to do but it would save the company 5,000,000 from now until this time next year. Not 4 months but it would help towards those 4 four months.

I mean getting rid of free coffee isn't exactly going to do it either.

mike65

Formats sell, trouble is RTE have only ever stumbled across one that anyone liked - Lyrics Board (shockingly enough) and I wonder how much RTE actually receives from sales (Andy Ruane and Philip Kampff actualy invented it and I guess thier company Like It Love It Productions Ltd takes a fair % of revenue)

Mike

work2live

Elmo wrote: »

Big players should get an automatic pay cut of 100,000 euro each, I know it isn't a nice thing to do but it would save the company 5,000,000 from now until this time next year. Not 4 months but it would help towards those 4 four months.

I mean getting rid of free coffee isn't exactly going to do it either.

agreed on the free coffee, very little of that anyway. However it is something you can cut. All the big earners I presume are on contracts, you can't cut what you pay them until it comes time to renew there contracts. Certainly there is no way to save much if anything in the next couple of years?

Even if you could, 50 people taking 100k pay cuts? who are these people exactly? Isn't the 10th biggest earner on <300k, hate to imagine what number is 50 is on, 100k probably, you are leaving the poor chap with nothing!

Elmo

Formats sell, trouble is RTE have only ever stumbled across one that anyone liked - Lyrics Board (shockingly enough) and I wonder how much RTE actually receives from sales (Andy Ruane and Philip Kampff actualy invented it and I guess thier company Like It Love It Productions Ltd takes a fair % of revenue)

I don't think RTE got much from that, I think the original broadcaster only gets 15%.

I am suggesting more mainstream drama, less culturally specific drama, so that their drama could sell abroad.

Even if you could, 50 people taking 100k pay cuts? who are these people exactly? Isn't the 10th biggest earner on <300k, hate to imagine what number is 50 is on, 100k probably, you are leaving the poor chap with nothing!

I would be surprised if there are 50 people in RTE get above 100,000 euro each year. The spread it over those 50 people disregarding anyone under 150,000 euro.

E.G. Pat Kenny (earns 900,000) takes a pay cut of 300,000 euro, Cathal Goan (earns 441,000) takes a pay cut of 100,000 euro etc etc. A person on 150,000 euro takes a 10,000 euro pay cut.

mike65

Generic drama would be a folly - it would have to be co-financed for a start. Even in this era of 57 channels (and nothing on) the technical resources/standard required over 26 epidode series would be beyond RTE. So any co producer woud be bigger and would have the lions share of the cut.

Mike

Elmo

Generic drama would be a folly - it would have to be co-financed for a start. Even in this era of 57 channels (and nothing on) the technical resources/standard required over 26 epidode series would be beyond RTE. So any co producer woud be bigger and would have the lions share of the cut.

I never suggested 26 episodes. Raw will probably be taken up by somebody. The clinic has been sold to many countries already and they also get advertising revenue. I don't know how much the sponsorship deal with Opel is worth.

Axe Fair City and invest the money in this sort of programming.

It's just a suggestion. It would be nice to hear others rather then to discuss mine.