Why do RTÉ do this?

ancapailldorcha

Just wondering, why do RTÉ purchase the right to popular US shows like 24 and then show them at 2am. I can't imagine that this would make them any cheaper to purchase, not that there's much of a point when everyone is either asleep or sloshed.

plein de force

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Just wondering, why do RTÉ purchase the right to popular US shows like 24 and then show them at 2am. I can't imagine that this would make them any cheaper to purchase, not that there's much of a point when everyone is either asleep or sloshed.

that's the only time RTE is on in my house anyway

Galen

They'd sooner waste our money on crap. Castle was a good show and they pulled that after one season.

Was it a repeat episode?

bonerm

They do it simply to stop the other Irish channels from getting them.

ejmaztec

They buy popular US programmes on the cheap, so that TV3 can't get their hands on them, then show them in the middle of the night, just to piss people off.

ancapailldorcha

ejmaztec wrote: »

They buy popular US programmes on the cheap, so that TV3 can't get their hands on them, then show them in the middle of the night, just to piss people off.

Sounds like something they would do. Still, one would think that having Jack Bauer on at the same time as Exposé would make more sense.

Biggins

bonerm wrote: »

They do it simply to stop the other Irish channels from getting them.

If thats true, its a disgrace, not just because of the petty bitchiness but just because its also a complete waste of money.

That said, its RTE we are talking about so I NEVER expect anything intelligible to come from them - and when it does its a rarity.

mikom

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Just wondering, why do RTÉ purchase the right to popular US shows like 24 and then show them at 2am. I can't imagine that this would make them any cheaper to purchase, not that there's much of a point when everyone is either asleep or sloshed.

bonerm wrote: »

They do it simply to stop the other Irish channels from getting them.

ejmaztec wrote: »

They buy popular US programmes on the cheap, so that TV3 can't get their hands on them, then show them in the middle of the night, just to piss people off.

All the while being propped up by the crutch that is the TV licence.
One of the reasons I don't pay that tax.

Myrddin

Sure what would Biddy be doing watching 24? Herself and Fargo would much prefer classic tv over that modern day tv malarky.

KeithM89_old

Its ****e - until i got sky a couple of years ago i had to stay up til 2am on school nights to watch 24 - they cant be getting many viewers at that time

I remember staying up for the season finale when i had a leaving cert exam the next day at 9am...

AnonoBoy

Keithm89 wrote: »

I remember staying up for the season finale when i had a leaving cert exam the next day at 9am...

And people say young folks don't have their priorities right......

KeithM89_old

AnonoBoy wrote: »

And people say young folks don't have their priorities right......

And look at me now!!

/checks social welfare forms


Not really...:D

Ruu_Old

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Just wondering, why do RTÉ purchase the right to popular US shows like 24 and then show them at 2am. I can't imagine that this would make them any cheaper to purchase, not that there's much of a point when everyone is either asleep or sloshed.

It is to cater for the drunks, the unemployed, angry loners..

bonerm

Ruu wrote: »

It is to cater for the drunks, the unemployed, angry loners..

... an ever increasing demographic in this country, as I'm sure RTE are glad to know.

ejmaztec

mikom wrote: »

All the while being propped up by the crutch that is the TV licence.
One of the reasons I don't pay that tax.

...and to stick it to people even more, they fuck up the time that the programmes are shown, so that when you set the recorder, you miss half the feckin programme.

Atlantic Dawn

Entourage, 24 and Mad Men were bought purely so TV3 could not show them. They do this with all shows they don't get to release same day or before the UK showing, no thought for anyone with only RTE/TV3, it's a disgrace.

jimmycrackcorm

Obviously because fair city is so good.

dr.bollocko

Moved from After Hours.

Kensington

Has anyone complained about it?

KeithM89_old

Kensington wrote: »

Has anyone complained about it?

I didnt but i no someone who did a few years ago and got some crap like "due to our schedules being full of quality shows, we dont have time to show all of them at primetime"

mikom

Kensington wrote: »

Has anyone complained about it?

They have a special filing system for such complaints....... here.

phasers

Sure who needs 24 when we have Grey's anatomy?

RolandIRL

phasers wrote: »

Sure who needs 24 when we have Grey's anatomy?

and the best of Podge & Rodge....the repeat show at 9pm and again at 10 !

i remember staying up for smallville a few years ago (back when it was good) til 4am.
load of shows on late that are class...united states of tara for one. at least 3e show them at a decent time. pity tv3 only show crap like "jordan's getting a boob job...find out why at 7pm only on 3"

both stations would want to cop on and put on better shows than the filth they're spewing out now.

Travel is good

You're all so right, I often wondered why the best shows were on so late. I'm a big fan of 24, so I'm recording those late night episodes on the ntl recorder, greatest invention ever!

I can't believe the amount of rubbish shown on RTE at primetime slots. I hardly ever watch RTE these days.

You've just made me think, what am I paying the licence fee for?

Biggins

Ruu wrote: »

It is to cater for the drunks, the unemployed, angry loners..

You mean the soon to be Fianna Fail ex-TD's? :pac:

Shea O'Meara

They out bid TV3 for Desperate Housewives a few years back. There were many complaints basically because it was a lot of money and their licence fee is supposed to support home grown Irish programming. As is the remit under which they get the licence fee.
By rights they should not be bidding for any foreign shows with tax payer money but they argue it's a competition/viewer rating issue.
It all goes back to, (in RTE's own head) are they state run or private? With advertising revenue and the licence fee they get mixed up in my view. Claiming to concentrate on home grown productions, but investing more money in an hour of US T.V. than they do in month of Irish.
Showing these US series at 1 or 2 in the morning is just idiocy, which is were the nepotism comes back into play.

ancapailldorcha

Just sent an email. Let's see what happens.

ancapailldorcha

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Just sent an email. Let's see what happens.

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Probably this.

I complained to them once about the scheduling of shows and got a reply along the lines of, unfortunately due to the numerous quality shows shown during prime time we are not able to allocate time to many of the shows we import. I replied asking why they couldn't replace the repeats of Father Ted which have been running for over a decade with one of the imports. I'm still waiting on a reply nearly 6 years later.

jill_valentine

It seems to me they play both sides of the "quality import" vs. "quality homegrown" game as and when it suits them.

Orizio

Ruu wrote: »

It is to cater for the drunks, the unemployed, angry loners..

I assure you, I am an angry loner and I do not stay up late to watch RTE...

ancapailldorcha

Papa Smut wrote: »

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Probably this.

Just got a reply back actually!!!

Thanks for the mail,

There is a limit to the number of US Acquired Dramas that we can play in peak time on RTE One and Two, we think long and hard about choosing the most competitive dramas for key peak time slots. We believe that 24 is not competitively strong enough to play in an earlier slot in comparison to the many other very competitive US dramas we have in the schedule.

mikom

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Thanks for the mail,

There is a limit to the number of US Acquired Dramas that we can play in peak time on RTE One and Two, we think long and hard about choosing the most competitive dramas for key peak time slots. We believe that 24 is not competitively strong enough to play in an earlier slot in comparison to the many other very competitive US dramas we have in the schedule.

In other words shove your views up your hole.
Even though Sky shows this "not competitively strong enough" show at a decent hour.

Elmo

RTÉ do not buy in programming so as to insure that TV3 or TG4 don't get their hands on the shows. This has been proven at European level.

However I agree that they are on far too late.

Except for TBBT which I think is put out at the perfect time

They out bid TV3 for Desperate Housewives a few years back. There were many complaints basically because it was a lot of money and their licence fee is supposed to support home grown Irish programming. As is the remit under which they get the licence fee.
By rights they should not be bidding for any foreign shows with tax payer money but they argue it's a competition/viewer rating issue.
It all goes back to, (in RTE's own head) are they state run or private? With advertising revenue and the licence fee they get mixed up in my view. Claiming to concentrate on home grown productions, but investing more money in an hour of US T.V. than they do in month of Irish.
Showing these US series at 1 or 2 in the morning is just idiocy, which is were the nepotism comes back into play.

RTÉ spend 23.6million on US imports equaling 11,000 hours of TV or €2000 per hour. Unfortunately DH is on during prime time :mad:

RTÉ spend in the region of €183million on Irish programming (ex News). They spend far more on Irish programming.

I don't see how playing US programming at 1 or 2 or anytime has anything to do with Nepotism????

Again I do agree, but really lets get the facts right.

NormanNicetouch

mikom wrote: »

In other words shove your views up your hole.
Even though Sky shows this "not competitively strong enough" show at a decent hour.

Or maybe, in other words, 'our schedule can not be designed exclusively for you and we hope you have the cop-on to realise it.'
Shows like 24, The Wire, Mad Men etc. attract quite small cultish audiences here and in the UK so I don't really blame RTE for not putting them out in primetime.
Anyway, there's always those new-fangled video recording thingies. I'd say Betamax is the one to watch for the future.

Elmo

NormanNicetouch wrote: »

Or maybe, in other words, 'our schedule can not be designed exclusively for you and we hope you have the cop-on to realise it.'
Shows like 24, The Wire, Mad Men etc. attract quite small cultish audiences here and in the UK so I don't really blame RTE for not putting them out in primetime.
Anyway, there's always those new-fangled video recording thingies. I'd say Betamax is the one to watch for the future.

24 was getting 150,000 to 200,000 on RTÉ 2 when it first aired. It has nearly 3million viewers in the UK and that doesn't include repeats, and was highly popular on BBC2. Anyway you can't always describe Ireland in relation to the UK. RTÉ doesn't have the money to provide a 100% home produce schedule for example BBC3 has a budget of €100million alone and it still doesn't manage to fill an 8 hour schedule. American programming is more popular in Ireland than in the UK.

Oink

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

[...] Still, one would think that having Jack Bauer on at the same time as Exposé would make more sense.

:eek: YOU CRAZY ???????


Have you ever watched The War of The Roses?

Don't be giving them ideas man, there'll be blood.

Elmo

Oink wrote: »

:eek: YOU CRAZY ???????


Have you ever watched The War of The Roses?

Don't be giving them ideas man, there'll be blood.

?????

In relation to a 6pm show of 24, 24 is far to violent for that hour. They could easily show double episodes on Saturday Nights on RTÉ 2 from 9.

Oh and now I get the reference to War of the Rose :rolleyes: It's The Simpsons time for me Xposé or other womans TV isn't getting in the way of that.

mikom

NormanNicetouch wrote: »

Shows like 24, The Wire, Mad Men etc. attract quite small cultish audiences here and in the UK so I don't really blame RTE for not putting them out in primetime.

More cultish than "baz's extreme codswallop" or the now defunct "Flash Forward"?

Minstrel27

I remember when I used to be up during the small hours that RTÉ was a godsend. For anything on there now that I want to see I record it.

NormanNicetouch

Elmo wrote: »

24 was getting 150,000 to 200,000 on RTÉ 2 when it first aired. It has nearly 3million viewers in the UK and that doesn't include repeats, and was highly popular on BBC2. Anyway you can't always describe Ireland in relation to the UK. RTÉ doesn't have the money to provide a 100% home produce schedule for example BBC3 has a budget of €100million alone and it still doesn't manage to fill an 8 hour schedule. American programming is more popular in Ireland than in the UK.

Initially 24 was reasonably popular but its audience was declining season by season so it got shifted.
I think RTE2 serves fans of US tv quite well even if you need to record a show in the early hours. Surely everyone has that capability these days?
I mean, there are hardly any American shows on terrestrial in the UK anymore - they've all gone to cable and satellite.

Travel is good

I agree, nearly everything now I like I have to record, as the programmes are always on so late. I rarely watch anything scheduled for prime time TV. It's definitely worth investing in a recorder, or get sky plus or the ntl version.

The ntl recorder has definitely changed my life! No more watching ads, I love it!

K4t

phasers wrote: »

Sure who needs 24 when we have Grey's anatomy?

Which leads me to a point, does anyone else feel rte caters more for female viewers rather than male viewers in terms of the shows they show at peak times. I mean, rte's two biggest shows at peak time are Grey's Anatomy and the terrible Desperate Housewives. I know less than a handful of lads who follow these series whereas pretty much every girl I know follows them religiously. Tuesday nights in college you can always find gangs of girls crowded around the tv in every house and Wednesday mornings you are bombarded with their thoughts on facebook. Then there are the soaps shown on rte1 like Fair City and Eastenders. Likewise, I know barely any lads who watch these but several girls who do. And the same goes for Home and Away and Neighbours on rte2. Where are the shows for males (or girls who don't look for a few hot guys dressed as doctors in deciding what shows they watch). Granted, you could say LOST was targeted at both genders but in the end I just didn't think it was very good and fizzled out in terms of quality after season three or four. And how long ago is Prison Break now, which only had two good seasons but that's for another discussion. Just a thought. Anyway..

Mick Daly

K4t wrote: »

Which leads me to a point, does anyone else feel rte caters more for female viewers rather than male viewers in terms of the shows they show at peak times. I mean, rte's two biggest shows at peak time are Grey's Anatomy and the terrible Desperate Housewives. I know less than a handful of lads who follow these series whereas pretty much every girl I know follows them religiously. Tuesday nights in college you can always find gangs of girls crowded around the tv in every house and Wednesday mornings you are bombarded with their thoughts on facebook. Then there are the soaps shown on rte1 like Fair City and Eastenders. Likewise, I know barely any lads who watch these but several girls who do. And the same goes for Home and Away and Neighbours on rte2. Where are the shows for males (or girls who don't look for a few hot guys dressed as doctors in deciding what shows they watch). Granted, you could say LOST was targeted at both genders but in the end I just didn't think it was very good and fizzled out in terms of quality after season three or four. And how long ago is Prison Break now, which only had two good seasons but that's for another discussion. Just a thought. Anyway..

Flashforward?

I didn't bother starting to look at it as it could suck you in like LOST but it doesn't seem to be up to much anyway. Seems pretty banal if you ask me.

Shea O'Meara

Elmo wrote: »

RTÉ do not buy in programming so as to insure that TV3 or TG4 don't get their hands on the shows. This has been proven at European level.

Well it was in newspaper reports that RTE outbid TV3 and the cost involved in regards to licence fee payers was the point of the reports. Unsure what 'proven at european level' means.

Here is a little quote:
RTE is aggressively outbidding TV3 on international markets and offering significantly higher prices for imported shows and films in a bid to outperform the independent channel in programme acquisition.
http://www.iftn.ie/broadcast/WhosWho/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=214&tpl=archnews&force=1

Elmo wrote: »

RTÉ spend 23.6million on US imports equaling 11,000 hours of TV or €2000 per hour. Unfortunately DH is on during prime time :mad:

RTÉ spend in the region of €183million on Irish programming (ex News). They spend far more on Irish programming.

I don't see how playing US programming at 1 or 2 or anytime has anything to do with Nepotism????

Again I do agree, but really lets get the facts right.

I was not citing from an academic or journalistic piece on the subject merely voicing my view that they should'nt be spending vast amounts of money on foreign programmes while claiming to be a champion for home grown to justify the licence fee. Also whining about the lack of money in their coffers when people complain about production quality, guests etc. of Irish shows.
RTE can come across as amateurish in decisions, production and scheduling, which I put down to the rampant nepotism within the organisation.

MisterAnarchy

Elmo wrote: »

RTÉ spend 23.6million on US imports equaling 11,000 hours of TV or €2000 per hour. Unfortunately DH is on during prime time :mad:

RTÉ spend in the region of €183million on Irish programming (ex News). They spend far more on Irish programming.

Crikeys that is some waste of money,over half a million euro a day on Irish programming ! How in Gods name can they spend that much money ,most of their homegrown stuff is utter garbage made on a shoestring budget and about half is just an Irish version of an international idea.
Bloody cheaper just to buy in good US imports,€2000 per hour is buttons.

Elmo

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Crikeys that is some waste of money,over half a million euro a day on Irish programming ! How in Gods name can they spend that much money ,most of their homegrown stuff is utter garbage made on a shoestring budget and about half is just an Irish version of an international idea.
Bloody cheaper just to buy in good US imports,€2000 per hour is buttons.

Home produced programming is always more expensive to make. A cheap TV show for 30mins cost about 50,000 euro to produce. Why do you think TV stations buy in American Programming?

Unfortunately the tastes of the day are for international formats, their are other shows that RTÉ produce right across a variety of genres and like most TV channels the majority of stuff that they will produce will be fairly ****, however if you take BBC who spend prob 10times as much on home production the amount of **** is over power by the phenomenal amount of programming that they actually produce.

The problem with buying in programming (from US and elsewhere) is that you don't employ very many people to do it for you, hence the economy of Ireland isn't helped. Regardless of what you think of either TG4 or RTÉ the amount of money that they spend in Ireland goes straight back into the economy via PAYE, PRSI, VAT, spin off services, living costs etc etc etc.

Personally I would like to see higher quality programming rather than filler programming which seems to be happening right across Irish TV (and internationally). You can have some filler programming to extend your schedule but it should not be your main focus.

Elmo

Shea O'Meara wrote: »

Well it was in newspaper reports that RTE outbid TV3 and the cost involved in regards to licence fee payers was the point of the reports. Unsure what 'proven at european level' means.

Here is a little quote:
RTE is aggressively outbidding TV3 on international markets and offering significantly higher prices for imported shows and films in a bid to outperform the independent channel in programme acquisition.
http://www.iftn.ie/broadcast/WhosWho/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=214&tpl=archnews&force=1


I was not citing from an academic or journalistic piece on the subject merely voicing my view that they should'nt be spending vast amounts of money on foreign programmes while claiming to be a champion for home grown to justify the licence fee. Also whining about the lack of money in their coffers when people complain about production quality, guests etc. of Irish shows.
RTE can come across as amateurish in decisions, production and scheduling, which I put down to the rampant nepotism within the organisation.

TV3 caused competition the cost of imported programming in 1998 was bound to increase.

However the EU's report a few years later pointed out that RTÉ and TV3 did not bid on similar programmes due to CanWest ownership of the channel from 1998 to 2006.

CanWest owned one of the biggest exporter of programming FireWorks which TV3 took most of the international programming from. Then in 2001 Granada bought 45% of TV3 again giving TV3 access to some of their most popular shows such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale, shows that had previously been shown by RTÉ and shows that will not go up for resale until 2013. Both owners of TV3 effectively pushed RTÉ out of deals with ITV and Fireworks.

TV3 are also spending around €23 million on acquisition.

Mr Cawley

K4t wrote: »

Which leads me to a point, does anyone else feel rte caters more for female viewers rather than male viewers in terms of the shows they show at peak times. I mean, rte's two biggest shows at peak time are Grey's Anatomy and the terrible Desperate Housewives. I know less than a handful of lads who follow these series whereas pretty much every girl I know follows them religiously. Tuesday nights in college you can always find gangs of girls crowded around the tv in every house and Wednesday mornings you are bombarded with their thoughts on facebook. Then there are the soaps shown on rte1 like Fair City and Eastenders. Likewise, I know barely any lads who watch these but several girls who do. And the same goes for Home and Away and Neighbours on rte2. Where are the shows for males (or girls who don't look for a few hot guys dressed as doctors in deciding what shows they watch). Granted, you could say LOST was targeted at both genders but in the end I just didn't think it was very good and fizzled out in terms of quality after season three or four. And how long ago is Prison Break now, which only had two good seasons but that's for another discussion. Just a thought. Anyway..

World cup

JP Liz V1

I wouldnt mind RTE repeating Prison Break from the start