I'd like to talk about our State Broadcaster RTE

Motley Crue

As an Irish man born and bred in Dublin, I have just two questions about RTE, that I'm hoping someone can help me with. I come from a Media background - I was educated in Dublin and did some work for a time in Newstalk106.8FM before it became a National radio station, I have also worked extensively in Media in Scotland and England.

1. If we take the BBC as an example, this is a state broadcaster who is dependant upon the taxpayer and the license fee holder, and as a result funds their activities directly from this revenue. Recently, for example, BBC was investigated when several hundred pounds of computer equipment went missing or was declared lost/stolen. The amount was equated into over 1,000 license fees because that's where it gets its money.

My question is why RTE seem to depend upon a third income, namely revenue from sponsorship and advertising, since as a state broadcaster they shouldn't need this? In rejecting advertising revenue, it would create a chance for other TV companies to either take this revenue - and therefore increase their chances of competing with RTE - or it would allow for the possibility of a new station to be founded which would capitalize on this market. Again, if we take the BBC as an example, ITV has faced financial trouble in the recent past, but remains competing with the BBC because it has advertising revenue and the BBC might want that but as a State Broadcaster will not take it.

2. Why does RTE not realise that with so many young people leaving Higher Education courses every year that claim to teach you skills and experience in Media, some of which do and some of which don't, that there is a wealth of young writers and passionate film-makers waiting in the wings. Doing a talent show, or holding a competition to pick one from 1,000 entries or more is all very well and good, but what about the other 999 entrants?

The reason I say this is because RTE continues to remake programmes like the Weakest Link and Dragon's Den and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire - programmes that have been successful in the UK for at least a few years before Ireland pick them up. The Irish programmes usually fail, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that most Irish viewers are switching over to UK channels and Digital, and RTE doesn't seem to realise it's population can view English channels. I know these remakes provide jobs for those who work on them, but surely we can do something else, something original - or just something not so blatantly ripped off.

I wouldn't mind a remake of a popular show except Ireland seems to copy it down to a fine line, they don't even rename it (the American's renamed Dragon's Den Shark Tank for example) and there's nothing original about it.

In the same way, TV3 reverts to ITV programming for Soaps - surely there are writers out there who can revitalise Fair City and actors out there who can do that kind of show justice. Surely, Fair City could compete with Eastenders, if we found the right storyline and invested our money into home grown Irish talent instead of constantly flicking over to see what the English are watching.

Can someone explain this to me?

RolandIRL

Motley Crue wrote: »

1. If we take the BBC as an example, this is a state broadcaster who is dependant upon the taxpayer and the license fee holder, and as a result funds their activities directly from this revenue. Recently, for example, BBC was investigated when several hundred pounds of computer equipment went missing or was declared lost/stolen. The amount was equated into over 1,000 license fees because that's where it gets its money.

My question is why RTE seem to depend upon a third income, namely revenue from sponsorship and advertising, since as a state broadcaster they shouldn't need this? In rejecting advertising revenue, it would create a chance for other TV companies to either take this revenue - and therefore increase their chances of competing with RTE - or it would allow for the possibility of a new station to be founded which would capitalize on this market. Again, if we take the BBC as an example, ITV has faced financial trouble in the recent past, but remains competing with the BBC because it has advertising revenue and the BBC might want that but as a State Broadcaster will not take it.

dunno about your second point. that's just stupidity on RTE's part. but for your first question, the BBC gets much more license fees than RTE, Britain having a much larger population = more people paying license fee = more money for the BBC. given that britain has a population of roughly 60 million, compared to ireland's population of 4 million, means the BBC has much more license money to draw on. RTE wouldn't draw as much money as the BBC and therefore needs to resort to advertising to get more money.

Minstrel27

Another tv licence thread. Just what this website needs.

mikom

whiteman19 wrote: »

the BBC gets much more license fees than RTE, Britain having a much larger population = more people paying license fee = more money for the BBC. given that britain has a population of roughly 60 million, compared to ireland's population of 4 million, means the BBC has much more license money to draw on.

This gets trotted out time after time by the Rte apologists.
Here's the value British population get for just their licence fee alone...........

Television

* BBC UK
o Free-to-Air (Analogue, Freeview, Cable, Satellite)
+ BBC One
+ BBC Two
o Digital-only (Freeview, Cable, Satellite)
+ BBC Three
+ BBC Four
+ BBC Parliament
+ BBC News (Also Online for UK users)
+ CBBC Channel (7-12 year-olds)
+ CBeebies (1-6 year-olds)
+ BBC HD (High-Definition channel)
+ BBC Alba



BBC national radio stations

* BBC Radio 1 – popular music aimed at a young audience
* BBC 1Xtra – hip hop, garage, RnB, drum & bass & dancehall, aimed at a young audience
* BBC Radio 2 – adult-oriented popular music
* BBC Radio 3 – classical, jazz and world music, culture, drama
* BBC Radio 4 – spoken-word programmes
* BBC Radio 5 Live – news and sport
* BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra- news and sport
* BBC 6 Music – rock, funk, alternative
* BBC Radio 7 – archive comedy, drama and children's programming
* BBC Asian Network – Indian and British content aimed at British Asians (some areas on analogue, nationwide on digital)
* BBC Radio Switch – popular music aimed at a young audience hosted mainly by younger djs

BBC regional radio stations

* BBC Radio Scotland
* BBC Radio nan Gàidheal – Scottish Gaelic language
* BBC Radio Shetland – Scotland (Shetland)
* BBC Radio Orkney – Scotland (Orkney)
* BBC Radio Wales
* BBC Radio Cymru – Welsh language
* BBC Radio Ulster – Northern Ireland
* BBC Radio Foyle – Northern Ireland (Londonderry)

BBC English local radio stations
East

* BBC Essex
* BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
* BBC Radio Norfolk
* BBC Radio Northampton
* BBC Radio Suffolk
* BBC Three Counties Radio

East Midlands

* BBC Radio Derby
* BBC Radio Leicester
* BBC Radio Lincolnshire
* BBC Radio Nottingham

London

* BBC London 94.9

North

* BBC Radio Humberside
* BBC Radio Leeds
* BBC Radio Sheffield
* BBC Radio York

North East & Cumbria

* BBC Tees
* BBC Radio Cumbria
* BBC Radio Newcastle

North West

* BBC Radio Lancashire
* BBC Radio Manchester
* BBC Radio Merseyside

South

* BBC Radio Berkshire
* BBC Radio Oxford
* BBC Radio Solent

South East

* BBC Radio Kent
* BBC Surrey
* BBC Sussex

South West

* BBC Radio Cornwall
* BBC Radio Devon
* BBC Radio Guernsey
* BBC Radio Jersey

West

* BBC Radio Bristol
* BBC Radio Gloucestershire
* BBC Wiltshire
* BBC Somerset

West Midlands

* BBC Hereford & Worcester
* BBC Radio Shropshire
* BBC Radio Stoke
* BBC WM
* BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

BBC international radio stations

* BBC World Service BBC World Service


Makes for sober reading.

whiteman19 wrote: »

RTE wouldn't draw as much money as the BBC and therefore needs to resort to advertising to get more money.

Fuck them.
Drop either the licence tax or else the advertising.
If they can't survive on that, then drop a station or two........ or maybe a concert orchestra.

Mr E

Probably better suited to the Broadcasting Forum (moved from Television).

Poly

mikom wrote: »

This gets trotted out time after time by the Rte apologists.
Here's the value British population get for just their licence fee alone...........


If they can't survive on that, then drop a station or two........ or maybe a concert orchestra.

+ the BBC website, probably the most comprehensive in the world.
If I lived in the UK I would gladly pay the license fee.

RolandIRL

mikom wrote: »

This gets trotted out time after time by the Rte apologists.


Fuck them.
Drop either the licence tax or else the advertising.
If they can't survive on that, then drop a station or two........ or maybe a concert orchestra.

i'm not apologising for them. OP asked a question, i answered it. but then again, people always like to rant on about rte and you sound as though you need a good rant. feel better now?

Sam Russell

mikom wrote: »

This gets trotted out time after time by the Rte apologists.

BBC international radio stations

* BBC World Service BBC World Service

This is paid for by the British Foreign Office, not the BBC.

You missed all the orchestras.

You missed all the income the BBC gets from BBC Enterprises and BBC World.

RTE has always had advertising on TV and on radio for as long as I can remember. They had sponsored programmes on to fill the shutdown in the afternoon period on radio, so they have had sponsored programmes for a long time as well. It all goes back a long way to when we used to be broke (like we are now, but more so).

We are fewer in number and each of us has less dosh than those in the UK. That is the long and the short of it.

mikom

whiteman19 wrote: »

feel better now?

Every time I switch on my unlicenced TV I feel good.
You?

mikom

Sam Russell wrote: »

You missed all the income the BBC gets from BBC Enterprises and BBC World.

.

Income from good work.
Other countries want to buy quality programming............... now there's a surprise.
Still, I suppose we did sell the "lyrics board" to the world.

Does not say much for the value we receive.

Sam Russell wrote: »

We are fewer in number and each of us has less dosh than those in the UK. That is the long and the short of it. .

We are the crutch.
If I can't afford something, I scale back or make things last, not piss it away.
Example.

€113,000 to build the new set for Tubridy Late Late Show.
€174,155 spent on the set for former presenter Pat Kenny in 2007.
This means that almost €300,000 was spent on set design for the show in just two years.

RolandIRL

mikom wrote: »

Every time I switch on my unlicenced TV I feel good.
You?

much better since i started downloading shows to skip the ads

although i find it very strange that you're ranting on about this. it's not your money that you feel is being wasted but i'm not in the mood for an argument so i'm leaving this thread. bye bye o/

Kensington

mikom wrote: »

This gets trotted out time after time by the Rte apologists.
Here's the value British population get for just their licence fee alone...

Fuck them.
Drop either the licence tax or else the advertising.
If they can't survive on that, then drop a station or two........ or maybe a concert orchestra.

Except the BBC is not funded by the licence fee alone. They have a highly succesful commercial arm, BBC worldwide, which posted a turnover figure of over £1bn last year. Thats before one shiny penny of licence fee money is collected.

mikom

Kensington wrote: »

Except the BBC is not funded by the licence fee alone. They have a highly succesful commercial arm, BBC worldwide, which posted a turnover figure of over £1bn last year. Thats before one shiny penny of licence fee money is collected.

See above.

mikom

whiteman19 wrote: »

although i find it very strange that you're ranting on about this. it's not your money that you feel is being wasted

I was never sexually assulted either, but I know I do know it's wrong, and I can have a negative opinion on it.

STB

mikom wrote: »

Every time I switch on my unlicenced TV I feel good.
You?

And not too behind the door when it comes to gloating about either I see.

mikom wrote: »

We are the crutch.

If I can't afford something, I scale back or make things last, not piss it away.

No. YOU ARE the crutch.

Like the Tv licence ? Just as well I and many others pay for it to subsidise your goodself.

mikom

STB wrote: »

And not too behind the door when it comes to gloating about either I see.

No gloating about it.

STB wrote: »

Just as well I and many others pay for it to subsidise your goodself.

Not in my name.
Don't cod yourself into thinking that 100% licence compliance would reduce this tax one cent.
It would just give the wasters carte blanche to continue.

STB wrote: »

Have you got one for an epiparasite............. one that feeds on another parasite

watty

Only a suggestion...

mikom

STB

I hope when they do catch you that you take the determined stand you have in this thread.

Wasters ! Yes well I wouldnt be an expert there, but I can spot one from within 5cm in a thread anytime.

I agree with you Watty, this gob****e has to be a troll and I wont give him anymore FREE food for thought.

mikom

STB wrote: »

I agree with you Watty, this gob****e has to be a troll and I wont give him anymore FREE food for thought.

Less of the personal abuse.

Motley Crue

It's a pity there's nobody around to answer the second question, perhaps some person with a Media background, some college student passionate about film making who will feel like Graham and Arthur before them they have to flee Ireland in order to make the incredible programmes they did.....

......in a way I am sick of seeing Irish talent in the hands of England and Scotland, surely Ireland must embrace its own flock and at least give them the chance to make the state broadcaster something more then a massive repeater/remaker of US and UK Tv

icdg

The original post had a lot of merit in it, but mikom and STB, take it somewhere else please. If I see EITHER of you at this again you're getting a ban.

Thread closed.