Time to axe the Eurovision?

Sauve

So Poland and Portugal have pulled out of the Eurovision on financial grounds.
Is it time Ireland did the same?
Personally I hate the Eurovision, it's a complete waste of time and money, but Im a bit of a grumpy git at the best of times.
What do ye think?

bazza1

Yes! You are a grumpy git.

Micky Dolenz

Maybe just one more time, Whats another year?

iDave

The Eurovision has met it Waterloo

Shenshen

Sauve wrote: »

So Poland and Portugal have pulled out of the Eurovision on financial grounds.
Is it time Ireland did the same?
Personally I hate the Eurovision, it's a complete waste of time and money, but Im a bit of a grumpy git at the best of times.
What do ye think?

The sooner, the better, I think.

gobnaitolunacy

How come it could be staged and acts sent in the middle of the 70's/80's when there was even less money knocking about?

IMHO the concept has had its day, like the Calor Housewife of the Year and the John Player Tops.

FatherLen

i think we should have it twice a year.

LeinsterDub

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

How come it could be staged and acts sent in the middle of the 70's/80's when there was even less money knocking about?

Less channels , more advertising revenue ?

Captain Chaos

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

How come it could be staged and acts sent in the middle of the 70's/80's when there was even less money knocking about?

There was less money but there was also less debt. Not the 100s of billions of debt that Europe now faces.

Neewbie_noob

Sauve wrote: »

So Poland and Portugal have pulled out of the Eurovision on financial grounds.
Is it time Ireland did the same?
Personally I hate the Eurovision, it's a complete waste of time and money, but Im a bit of a grumpy git at the best of times.
What do ye think?

Should it not be a topic for referendum? If it affects the whole population then we should all have a say. The cost of one referendum would probably cost ca. the same as one Eurovision, and save millions in the long run.

getzls

Yes.

joydivision

Maybe they should try and make it more credible . Get rid of the cheese and get people watching it . Its stuck in the 50s and it has to evolve to survive .
Good songs and less focus on glitter and videoclips of men playing chess in the host country might help.

Oranage2

No!

How can we make old WW2 jokes about block voting if it's cut?

who the fug

joydivision wrote: »

Maybe they should try and make it more credible . Get rid of the cheese and get people watching it . Its stuck in the 50s and it has to evolve to survive .
Good songs and less focus on glitter and videoclips of men playing chess in the host country might help.

The Chese and Terry Wogan are what use to make it great, get rid of the songs and just have the voting with young Terance doing his bit, is the way forward

Solair

With a few public service broadcasting exceptions like the BBC, France 2/3 (and that will change), TVE etc most other European broadcasters of the Eurovision, including RTE have to sell advertising around it.

The only reason those channels would drop the Eurovision is because it is clearly not attracting viewers. It occupies prime time television slots on major channels in all the countries that it broadcasts. If it doesn't generate similar revenues to the programmes that it's replacing on the schedule, channels will drop it.

The cost of running it is the lost revenue that would have been generated by normal programming + any technical / broadcast costs and the cost of running a pre-eurovision song selection competition.

If those figures don't add up, then that's why the Eurovision song contest might get dropped. It has nothing to with the recession, and everything to do with the song contest turning into a long boring irrelevant thing that most people don't really care about.

Also, since the contest expanded to take in so many countries, the qualification rounds and all that stuff take up more air time and countries cannot even guarantee being in the finals. So, again viewers lose interest.

I think it's LONG past its best before date and perhaps approaching its use by date at this stage.

Also, all this stuff about 'bloc voting' is absolute nonsense. In most cases its because a style of music / singer / language are similar to what people like in a particular region.

It might be time to pull the plug. Public Service Broadcasters have better things to spend money on than a 1950s variety show that has rapidly declining viewer interest.

It's a cut throat business and these channels are up against endless competitors.

I really think the Eurovision has become a kind of cult classic tv show that is loved by a sort of niche market a bit like train spotting is a hobby enjoyed by a very niche market. Sometimes things just have to be wound up...

I mean, it's a bit like getting nostalgic about B&W television or something. It belongs in another era entirely.

Death and Taxes

Sauve wrote: »

So Poland and Portugal have pulled out of the Eurovision on financial grounds.
Is it time Ireland did the same?
Personally I hate the Eurovision, it's a complete waste of time and money, but Im a bit of a grumpy git at the best of times.
What do ye think?

Totally agree with you.
Its an outdated show that we can ill afford.

FatherLen

my favourite part is when the chemistry between the two hosts really shines through, like when one of them tells a hilarious joke....

Skyflyer1234

I always thought Eurovision was somewhat of a joke, first of all - the songs they perform are terrible anyway and when Jedward did it that was just taking the piss

Eve_Dublin

We're never going to win ever again so yes, I'd definitely be up for scrapping it. Any time I see the scoring part, it taunts the champions we once were. Do people not know who we are?! :mad:

seamus

The reason it was at its peak in the 70's and 80's when there was less cash to throw at it, was because of less competition. As a piece of entertainment it was relatively unique with a fairly captive audience. Satellite TV? Nah. For most people in small countries like Ireland that meant you had the choice of one or two domestic stations. Your options on a Saturday night in with the kids are to watch the TV or listen to the radio.

As the selection of entertainment options increased through the 90's to the current day, the budgets also had to increase with ever more enormous stages, elaborate stage shows and bigger spectacles. At this point it's just another talent show on 3 channels out of 100. If you watch the X-Factor, you'll see their budgets have gone through the roof in order to try continue to attract viewers. I wouldn't be surprised if it costs ITV about £500k to stage each X Factor show at this point.
The eurovision probably peaked in the 80's and officially became irrelevant in the early 2000's. Since then it's been propped up by the various countries' establishments as a tradition.

downwithpeace

Send over people that can't sing, let RTE make a little more in advertising, give me something to moan about and someone else something to get happy about.

UCDVet

If it's worth keeping, surely it will turn a profit.
If it doesn't turn a profit it means people don't really want it.

If you think it won't turn a profit, but that society benefits from it; take it upon yourself to donate money/raise money to keep it alive.

Just please, stop taking my money to support it.

im invisible

FatherLen wrote: »

my favourite part is when the chemistry between the two hosts really shines through, like when one of them tells a hilarious joke....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0ehaBTPBg#t=7m53s

M cebee

Neewbie_noob wrote: »

Should it not be a topic for referendum? If it affects the whole population then we should all have a say. The cost of one referendum would probably cost ca. the same as one Eurovision, and save millions in the long run.

it needs a referendum and an eu treaty to end it
that's the only reason it's wheeled out every year now

Capt'n Midnight

Skyflyer1234 wrote: »

I always thought Eurovision was somewhat of a joke, first of all - the songs they perform are terrible anyway and when Jedward did it that was just taking the piss

That's the whole point.

It's not for everyone, but there are a lot of people that watch it.

It's relatively cheap TV, unless you win of course



Simple question - which would you rather Eurovision once a year or
X factor et al all year ?




PS. Hands off the New Years Concert from Vienna :mad:

Sauve

M cebee wrote: »

it needs a referendum and an eu treaty to end it
that's the only reason it's wheeled out every year now

And a few reports, investigations, summit meetings and high court cases. Then we can shelve the whole idea only to begin it all again in a few years time.

Duggys Housemate

UCDVet wrote: »

If it's worth keeping, surely it will turn a profit.
If it doesn't turn a profit it means people don't really want it.

If you think it won't turn a profit, but that society benefits from it; take it upon yourself to donate money/raise money to keep it alive.

Just please, stop taking my money to support it.

A few points here.

1) RTE probably makes money on advertising for this show.
2) the point of the licence is to subsidise programs which are not otherwise viable.
3) but 2) probably does not apply - see 1)

Solair

The point of the TV license is to fund public service programming.
I fail to see what public service the Eurovision does anymore.

It's like a really bad geeky version of the X-Factor.

I'd rather see the money spent on actual public service programming i.e. news/current affairs, drama production, quality children's programming etc etc.

If the European Commission thinks its a good 'Europe building' exercise, then perhaps they should put some money into it!

However, it's gone so far stretched now that it's WAY beyond Europe and covers parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

RikkFlair

Marty Whelan would be at a bit of a loose end...

Duggys Housemate

Solair wrote: »

The point of the TV license is to fund public service programming.
I fail to see what public service the Eurovision does anymore.

It's like a really bad geeky version of the X-Factor.

I'd rather see the money spent on actual public service programming i.e. news/current affairs, drama production, quality children's programming etc etc.

If the European Commission thinks its a good 'Europe building' exercise, then perhaps they should put some money into it!

However, it's gone so far stretched now that it's WAY beyond Europe and covers parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

RTE also sells advertising. I bet the Eurovision breaks even or makes money thus subsidising other shows.

keithclancy

Imagine my shock sitting in a German bar and Jedward were on the telly.

tonycascarino

I think it is good entertainment.

BrensBenz

Ah no. Isn't is great gas listening to the annual build-up, nationwide expressions of assumptions of victory and then the whiney post mortems........on BBC? A bit like Wimbledon, really.

Capt'n Midnight

Solair wrote: »

I fail to see what public service the Eurovision does anymore.

You get the montage of all the countries and national costumes

the voting is fun - trying to work out where all the expats are


isn't there a eurovision drinking game ?

pickarooney

I don't really see how Eurovision is an outdated concept when X Factor is so popular.

Hippies!

But what show will RTE put Talentless Nobody No.1, Talentless Nobody No.2, Talentless Nobody No. 3 and Talentless Nobody No.4 on?

gobnaitolunacy

Just because X factor is popular, it doesn't follow that it's any good.

Both Eurovision and XF has done music a disservice. The Eurovision (with a few exceptions) is a graveyard for performers and by and large the stuff put out is pretty maudlin.

H3llR4iser

Sauve wrote: »

So Poland and Portugal have pulled out of the Eurovision on financial grounds.
Is it time Ireland did the same?
Personally I hate the Eurovision, it's a complete waste of time and money, but Im a bit of a grumpy git at the best of times.
What do ye think?

If they insist on sending Jedward then absolutely, pull out ASAP - will do a huge favour not just to Ireland but to the whole Europe, which might actually send some more money as a sign of gratitude.

Amazing that a country that produced so many international level singers and bands is now represented by two kids with a mild case of ADHD.

kupus

Solair wrote: »

Also, all this stuff about 'bloc voting' is absolute nonsense. In most cases its because a style of music / singer / language are similar to what people like in a particular region.

It might be time to pull the plug. Public Service Broadcasters have better things to spend money on than a 1950s variety show that has rapidly declining viewer interest.

It's a cut throat business and these channels are up against endless competitors.

I really think the Eurovision has become a kind of cult classic tv show that is loved by a sort of niche market a bit like train spotting is a hobby enjoyed by a very niche market. Sometimes things just have to be wound up...

I mean, it's a bit like getting nostalgic about B&W television or something. It belongs in another era entirely.

Please dont let it go, Save the eurovision........
as a part time gambler this is a money spinner, ok since the intro of votes being decided by one half popular tv vote nad the other half a voting jury, it has become a bit tricker, but with a bit of research before the finals of all the countries still makes it a money spinner.....mostly down to voting patterns i.e voting blocs.
Thank you Eurovision for giving me extra pocket money these last few years

Casillas

In the 90's everyone watched it - then came Netflix, next-gen consoles and smartphones.

People have just moved on.

stupidfishy

Hippies! wrote: »

But what show will RTE put Talentless Nobody No.1, Talentless Nobody No.2, Talentless Nobody No. 3 and Talentless Nobody No.4 on?

Fair City?

Leslie91

Yes........ F the Eurovision. Leave it to one of those countries that fell out of the break up of another.

Waste of money (like Bertie and Brian's pensions).

Cee-Jay-Cee

It should be completely scrapped and if Eastern European and Baltic states want have their own competition where they only vote for their neighbours then let them go ahead. The whole competition is a joke, it's not about singing ability or talent anymore. I

Black Leather

The Eurovision Song Contest is the longest running TV show in the world as it has been running since 1956. It would be a pity to see it go, as it brings together all the peoples of Europe in a festival of music and song and its great fun.

Emeraldy Pebbles

joydivision wrote: »

Maybe they should try and make it more credible . Get rid of the cheese and get people watching it . Its stuck in the 50s and it has to evolve to survive .

But that's why the people who like it watch it. The kitsch value!

Can't stand it myself, but I don't think everything I don't like should be done away with. :P

lucylu

heard on the rte1 radio that The Eurovision Final tickets for Malmo sweden 2013 went on sale this morning and were sold out in 22 minutes..

ScumLord

Maybe we don't have to axe the whole thing but if we could just axe murder one or two of the acts it would make me happy.

gnfnrhead

We're never going to win it again so why bother with anything more than joke entries? Even our serious entries seem to do crap. Just keep sending comedy acts like Dustin and Jedward. Eventually someone will figure out we are taking the piss and kick us out. Problem solved :pac:

Latchy

I much preferred the Eurovision of old before the knockout stages when decent songs ,regardless of the language, were sung before novelty acts like Dustin and Jedward ruined it .

Capt'n Midnight

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

The Eurovision (with a few exceptions) is a graveyard for performers and by and large the stuff put out is pretty maudlin.

Oh Lordi :rolleyes:

kfallon

The X Factor and the likes would do well to replicate the Eurovision and get it all over in a few hours so we can 364 days of peace from it. :rolleyes: