RTE seeking fees from Sky and cable operators for its channels

Donal55

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I don't get all the whinging about rte.
Advertising money is clearly not where it was.

Look at the soccer match last night - live on rte2.
How many that say 'I don't watch rte - I netflix/watch bbc' tuned into watch it last night.
The same for the Dublin Mayo AI final.

NI and Scotland had no free to air rights while Wales only had rights to a Welsh language broadcast on s4c.

It is said above that 15% don't pay the tv licence. How many wouldn't pay income tax if given the choice. Make people pay it.

If rte was pulled from sky people would still want to watch even if only for big once off programmes. Sky could hardly sell their basic packages without the Irish channels.

The last thing on my mind when I signed up to Sky was RTE. In fact the poor choice of programmes and number of repeats was probably the reason I signed up and as for the match last night it was also on Sky.

Tigerandahalf

Donal55 wrote: »

as for the match last night it was also on Sky.

For close to €100 p/m it would want to be.

Sam Russell

Donal55 wrote: »

The last thing on my mind when I signed up to Sky was RTE. In fact the poor choice of programmes and number of repeats was probably the reason I signed up and as for the match last night it was also on Sky.

Of course it was, it was on RTE 2 HD which is given free to Sky, but costs you about €50 per month. It would cast zero if you stick up a UHF aerial and connect it to your Saorview approved set.

icdg

To be fair to the OP the match was on a number of other Sky channels (Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, and, er, S4C).

STB.

Donal55 wrote: »

The last thing on my mind when I signed up to Sky was RTE. In fact the poor choice of programmes and number of repeats was probably the reason I signed up and as for the match last night it was also on Sky.

Thankfully it doesnt matter whether you personally signed up to Sky. The games in question are protected from non free to air reception only in Ireland.

That way those that do not have Sky Sports subscription can watch them also.

dublinman1990

icdg wrote: »

To be fair to the OP the match was on a number of other Sky channels (Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, and, er, S4C).

S4C is also in HD for free not only via Sky but also on Freesat or a FTA dish.

People who say that they don't watch RTÉ are leaving people out who do not have a Pay TV subscription & living in their own bubble by having such luxuries in their homes in the first place. RTÉ's remit to the country is supposed to provide a presence for Irish people from any walk of life including those who cannot afford to access these luxuries from Pay TV subscriptions. People here just need to be realistic about that just for a few moments.

If people here are hellbent in trying to give a nuclear option for an alternative to watching RTÉ; here is a summary of what could happen if that was approved.

If RTÉ's presence was shut down here for good; it would mean that Saorview & Saorsat could literally go through the floor because of a lack of suitable PSB's providing adequate support for these platforms. If you lose these services to people in the Republic; viewers numbers for other channels that were on Saorview in particular will have a permanent dip & will never recover those people through other means. TG4 could be in real trouble as it's remit is linked with RTÉ including Nuacht & RNAG. Ireland could also be in a lot of trouble because a breach of EU law if Saorview & Saorsat was not provided in this country. If it could go to a private entity like TV3; they could have full control of broadcast TV & radio solely done via private interests. But this is solely impossible because TV3 are owned by Liberty Global & Virgin Media. TV3 are the only commercial broadcaster here in Ireland that has a realistic chance of owning Saorview if RTÉ was scrapped. But if it has a business in the cable TV & broadband industry; people could say forget about it as they are wasting their time with TV3. Do people living here actually want that to happen in the near future? 2RN that is owned by RTÉ who currently owns the transmitter sites would have to sell & transfer them to another broadcaster like TV3 or to the BAI if no buyer can be found. RTÉ Player would literally be gone off any of the online options for every person living here who wants to access their programmes.

And......a myriad of other reasons could be highlighted if RTÉ had disappeared off the Irish airwaves for good. People here just need to think what those problems are. They have provided a lot of good to people in this country for a very long time. And people who want to see every bit of it shutdown are probably never happy in themselves by just solely relying on private interests to provide them for their entertainment for nearly the majority of their time.

johnner64

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

If rte was pulled from sky people would still want to watch even if only for big once off programmes. Sky could hardly sell their basic packages without the Irish channels.

That makes no sense - as RTÉ is freely available NOW. People aren't signing up to Sky, paying fortunes, for RTÉ alone.

Sam Russell

johnner64 wrote: »

That makes no sense - as RTÉ is freely available NOW. People aren't signing up to Sky, paying fortunes, for RTÉ alone.

It is inertia that has them staying with Sky, plus the mistaken idea that it is somehow illegal/dodgy to receive UK TV for free. RTE do not publicise the fact at all.

When Saorview started there was slow take up until analogue was switched off, and RTE treated the switch off as if it was the launch. If RTE was to be taken off Sky, there would be a rush to get aerials up, and then a rush to buy Freesat/combi boxes as people start cancelling Sky.

If only 10% of Sky subscribers cancel, it is a huge loss to Sky but I think it would be nearer 35%. It would be a Pyrrhic victory for them. One euro a month per subscriber would yield about €12 million per year to RTE, just to put it in perspective. That is equivalent to €5 on the license fee.

On the other hand, reducing their 'Stars' pay could save a few million as well. Forcing the non-RTE channels to go HD would save RTE €2 million a year. It all adds up.

galtee boy

Sam Russell wrote: »

It is inertia that has them staying with Sky, plus the mistaken idea that it is somehow illegal/dodgy to receive UK TV for free. RTE do not publicise the fact at all.

When Saorview started there was slow take up until analogue was switched off, and RTE treated the switch off as if it was the launch. If RTE was to be taken off Sky, there would be a rush to get aerials up, and then a rush to buy Freesat/combi boxes as people start cancelling Sky.

If only 10% of Sky subscribers cancel, it is a huge loss to Sky but I think it would be nearer 35%. It would be a Pyrrhic victory for them. One euro a month per subscriber would yield about €12 million per year to RTE, just to put it in perspective. That is equivalent to €5 on the license fee.

On the other hand, reducing their 'Stars' pay could save a few million as well. Forcing the non-RTE channels to go HD would save RTE €2 million a year. It all adds up.

There are other reasons why people have Sky, it's a one box solution, all channels, including Irish and UK terrestrials on the one EPG, recordable with series link, most in HD, the Irish catch up services are on it, box sets on it, remote record from an app on your phone, watch on other devices with Sky Go, very slick epg, very user friendly etc etc. People pay for that standard of service and if RTÉ go from Sky, a lot of Sky customers will not be happy. One box solution is gone, at best, the purchase of a Walker Saorview pvr would be necessary and now you are switching between two boxes. A big step backwards.

Elmo

You all seem to forget that all of RTÉ sporting events are available on the RTÉ Player and Sky could FTV their coverage if they want for those that don't subscribe to Sky Sports, it wouldn't provide coverage of a lot of games but it takes up most sports.

I don't get all the whinging about rte.
Advertising money is clearly not where it was.

No but it is also down to losses of viewers not just economic downturn or brexit.

flaneur

I wish they would make the RTE Player a bit more usable though. The web version is just not a pleasant experience to use.

Sam Russell

galtee boy wrote: »

There are other reasons why people have Sky, it's a one box solution, all channels, including Irish and UK terrestrials on the one EPG, recordable with series link, most in HD, the Irish catch up services are on it, box sets on it, remote record from an app on your phone, watch on other devices with Sky Go, very slick epg, very user friendly etc etc. People pay for that standard of service and if RTÉ go from Sky, a lot of Sky customers will not be happy. One box solution is gone, at best, the purchase of a Walker Saorview pvr would be necessary and now you are switching between two boxes. A big step backwards.

Well, yes, you might be right that many users of Sky are willing to pay for such service. However if as many as 10% decide not to continue, it will be a major own goal for Sky. It might also be an own goal for RTE as well, but if the move goes to 35%, then Sky will have to admit defeat.

Sky are trying to stop the tide. If RTE succeed, will other broadcasters in other jurisdictions (like the BBC) not try the same? That is why they say NOOOOO! However, if eir, Vodafone, Virgin say YES, then subscribers might well move to them. Then Sky have a problem.

But yes, some people are quite happy to pay for free stuff because it is convenient.

Tigerandahalf

I presume it is RTE's own ads that are carried on the Sky platform.

Could Sky decide to pull this and put their own ad streams on the rte channels if forced to pay transmission costs?

Macy0161

dublinman1990 wrote: »

People who say that they don't watch RTÉ are leaving people out who do not have a Pay TV subscription & living in their own bubble by having such luxuries in their homes in the first place.

They're mainly also bullsh!tting anyway imo. They don't watch RTE, shouldn't have to pay a licence fee etc., but then seem to be able to comment on lots of RTE programming, RTE sports output, RTE current affairs etc.

Elmo

Macy0161 wrote: »

They're mainly also bullsh!tting anyway imo. They don't watch RTE, shouldn't have to pay a licence fee etc., but then seem to be able to comment on lots of RTE programming, RTE sports output, RTE current affairs etc.

I agree. But the issue surrounds RTÉ use of funding. I went through a troubling number of facts at RTÉ. 25% drop in funding for Children's TV, 10% increase in top presenters earnings, 45% repeats on RTÉ2 alone in prime time, a relocation expense of 50,000 to the new DG, 70,000 pa contract to Red C for Audience research for 3 years and IMO this is just the tip of the iceberg. All of this while the loss 20million, sell land for 100million and hibernated in 2017.

On top of this is RTÉ asking for more money and what seem like waiting for a hand out. How long has this been on the cards, why haven't RTÉ explored other ideas.

As I said Sky could make GAA and International Soccer FTV across all platforms and TV3 hold 6 nations while RTÉ hold out.

Many other programmes are available to their subscribers via the RTÉ Player, would RTÉ deliberately slow down upgrading their Player?

Donal55

Macy0161 wrote: »

They're mainly also bullsh!tting anyway imo. They don't watch RTE, shouldn't have to pay a licence fee etc., but then seem to be able to comment on lots of RTE programming, RTE sports output, RTE current affairs etc.

I pay my tv licence and listen to the radio. The missus is watchng emmerdale, followed by corrie or eastenders or whatever, then we'll have a bit of boardwalk empire .

It really isnt that difficult to live without rte tv.

Elmo

Donal55 wrote: »

I pay my tv licence and listen to the radio. The missus is watchng emmerdale, followed by corrie or eastenders or whatever, then we'll have a bit of boardwalk empire .

It really isnt that difficult to live without rte tv.

And it possibly wouldn't be that difficult to live with out the above programmes. Only Boardwalk Empire requires Sky, I assume you could take up NOW TV to get it, mixed with Saorview and FTA Satellite, could reduce costs and still retain the above programmes.

Donal55

Elmo wrote: »

And it possibly wouldn't be that difficult to live with out the above programmes. Only Boardwalk Empire requires Sky, I assume you could take up NOW TV to get it, mixed with Saorview and FTA Satellite, could reduce costs and still retain the above programmes.

True. But I like the sport etc plus all the box sets. We had got the saorview but trying to watch the masters or matches etc on an internet web link was a nightmare.

I actually only have Sky this past 10 months as part of a 12 mth contract. As I said I had the saorview. I can afford Sky, I like the product, will I renew, more than likely.
Would I leave Sky if RTE pulled plant? No.

satguy

I may have posted this before,, but here it goes again, If RTE suddenly stopped broadcasting, it could be a whole month before I noticed.

Bar Love/Hate from a while back, RTE is a "Desert" , a D4 social club where the members get paid to call in a few days a week.

Elmo

Donal55 wrote: »

True. But I like the sport etc plus all the box sets. We had got the saorview but trying to watch the masters or matches etc on an internet web link was a nightmare.

I actually only have Sky this past 10 months as part of a 12 mth contract. As I said I had the saorview. I can afford Sky, I like the product, will I renew, more than likely.
Would I leave Sky if RTE pulled plant? No.

The Box Sets are most likely on NOW TV and other services. Not sure how Sports work out on NOW TV.

BTW I am arguing both sides. To this equation.

RTÉ does not have to be on any other platforms outside of Saorview, and there options for Sky/Virgin/Eir while mixing with RTÉ Player and even Saorview

OR

Customers could move to FTA Satellite, Saorview mixed with Online Pay services such as NOW TV, NETFLIX and so on.

These customers most likely have a good broadband service.

Antenna

Somewhat ironic to read that RTE could possibly be withdrawn from Sky considering Sky was the only means that many in the Southern end of the country could receive RTE TV yesterday and into today considering the many Saorview relay sites (including ones serving a large population) put off the air by the hurricane.

(OK there's also Saorsat, but I do not know of anyone who receives it)

_Kaiser_

Antenna wrote: »

(OK there's also Saorsat, but I do not know of anyone who receives it)

Yea, putting it on a different satellite than Astra is just a non-runner for most average people who would need either 2 LNBs (and boxes) to receive it and the UK channels.

I'd be one of those... I got rid of Sky earlier in the year but my apartment can't receive Saorview (even though the TV would support it) without an external aerial which isn't an option as I'm renting.

If Saorsat was on 28E I could have it and the Freesat channels, but as it's not I just got a Humax box and live without RTE/TV3 (which to be fair I'd only rarely want to see anything on anyway).

Sam Russell

Antenna wrote: »

Somewhat ironic to read that RTE could possibly be withdrawn from Sky considering Sky was the only means that many in the Southern end of the country could receive RTE TV yesterday and into today considering the many Saorview relay sites (including ones serving a large population) put off the air by the hurricane.

(OK there's also Saorsat, but I do not know of anyone who receives it)

Actually, the wind moved my satellite dish but it did not move my Saorview aerial. I wonder how many Sky dishes moved in the wind? I saw one blown off a wall in the news last night so I would assume a good many got shifted out of alignment.

byte

Antenna wrote: »

(OK there's also Saorsat, but I do not know of anyone who receives it)

Saorsat wouldn't be so bad if it actually replicated ALL the services and programmes that are on Saorview. But without TV3, 3e, be3, and some live sporting events, you'd really need to be really devoid of all other options for it to be worth any consideration.

Johngoose

Can we afford such raw talent as Joe Duffy and Ryan Turbridy? Do we want risk losing them to foreign broadcasters? We should be happy to pay for a t.v. license and pay extra to Sky if R.T.E. decide to charge Sky for broadcasting Irish channels.

PabloAndRoy

Johngoose wrote: »

Can we afford such raw talent as Joe Duffy and Ryan Turbridy? Do we want risk losing them to foreign broadcasters? We should be happy to pay for a t.v. license and pay extra to Sky if R.T.E. decide to charge Sky for broadcasting Irish channels.

I think you forgot the /s

/s (?)

political analyst

satguy wrote: »

I may have posted this before,, but here it goes again, If RTE suddenly stopped broadcasting, it could be a whole month before I noticed.

Bar Love/Hate from a while back, RTE is a "Desert" , a D4 social club where the members get paid to call in a few days a week.

Speaking of a desert, I enjoyed that World War Two documentary about the siege of Tobruk on RTÉ 2 last night.:D

thomas 123

Id love if they made RTE a paid to access service. As in you must pay to have it in the first place. Would love to see how long it lasts.

icdg

I fear this thread is turning into a general “moan about RTE” thread, maybe we can go back to the topic at hand. This isn’t a place to dump any old RTE related gripe