Dee Forbes banging the RTE TV licence drum again 60m uncollected fee *poll not working - pl ignore*

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484320#Comment_118484320

Is this just a hunch or can you confirm it ?

RandomViewer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485819#Comment_118485819

Hunch but it's been mentioned too often to not be a possibility

satguy

Won't be anywhere near €500.

I think RTE will be lucky to get the €160 the already get now.

We have other channels for soaps and game shows,, what we need from RTE is a good unbiased news channel, and that is all.

No reruns / repeats,, No bought in from USA sh!t,, that was already on ITV or BBC. No stars dancing, or fixing my living room Sh!te..

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485937#Comment_118485937

Thanks, just checking.

Can't see €500 myself.

I prefer the direct exchequer funding model.

No licence, no evasion, no collection costs, every one pays a bit and TV is free at point of use just like radio is today.

Capt'n Midnight

Across the pond Nadine Dorries is trying to privatise the BBC and Channel 4 freeze out out the licence fee.

So the fee will being kept at £159 and it's estimated this will result in a drop of £2Bn drop in income for the BBC over the next six years. the current licence fee funding deal expires in 2027"

As well as that - She said "the days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors" were over. After removing the govt paid for OAP licences this is another way to defund the BBC by encouraging license evasion.

See also The Government should think twice about privatising Channel 4

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118486403#Comment_118486403

Not at all surprising that the Tories would be trying to undermine the BBC and dumb down what is probably the best Public Broadcasting Service in the world.

Weaker BBC means less questions which is good when you are running out of answers.

Using pensioners as a justification is just nonsense.

If they really cared about pensioners why don't they give them a free licence like we do?

Arthur Daley

Britain has some politicians and some media that won't spend all of their time appeasing the loony left.

There was a lot of love for the BBC up to 10 years ago, but it's become a jokeshop in recent years.

Potential-Monke

Well, I used the RTE player for the first time in ages last night. Binged the 5 episodes of The North Water (it's good enough, Farrell is excellent). Each episode is around 55 min long.

Before each episode:

• 3 normal ads ranging from 10-30 seconds
• 1 audio/visual warning for the content of the show

20ish minutes later

• 5 normal ads ranging from 10-30 seconds
• 1 audio/visual warning for the content of the show

20ish minutes later

• 5 normal ads ranging from 10-30 seconds
• 1 audio/visual warning for the content of the show

I'm never watching anything on that again. It was the most painful experience (for a first world resident) I've had in a long time. It completely ruins the flow of the episodes, and the extremely bright and louder ads contrast the dark, quiet tones of the show. Never again. I'll pirate before I use it again. In a time when the rest of the world is speeding up (Netflix et al have no ads, PS5/XSX has near instant loading), RTE are dragging me back to the 90s with their forced terrible ads. Never again.

RabbleRouser2k

I think the government in the UK is playing hardball. There's been a very, very left wing vein running through the Beeb at the moment. Hence why shows got the chop, they were trying to appease the government.

Whereas the likes of Sky have gone right-wing, the Beeb has steered to the left. But Sky isn't funded by the TV license, whilst the BBC is.

StevenToast

Yes, RTE needs a huge scaling back.....lose RTE2, 2FM...trying to cater for an audience that is not interested....

100% public service broadcasting...news, some good researched Irish Documentaries, Irish Sport.....absolute zero tolerance for bought in American shìte....

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118486674#Comment_118486674

Just on the public service broadcasting, they've become the government spin machine with journalists and presenters that like to tell you what your should think and how you should feel, instead of reporting what's happening. I avoid for this reason

StevenToast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118486742#Comment_118486742

Agreed they have turned into a government mouthpiece....however, there is a duty to have good, unbiased, well debated news coverage....thats why i wouldnt scrap RTE entirely....just a good number of personnel changes...in front of and behind the camera

Gen.Zhukov

Yeah, that direct funding model would work out beautifully. We'd be right up there with some of the best.

Zimbabwe.

Angola.

Russia (RT)

Congo (DRoC)

Nigeria.

I'd be confident enough to say the average Chinese or N.Korean lad doesn't fork out a whole pile of money to watch the equivalent of our outstanding stars either. If you said anything nasty about 'Jo Jung Duf' you'd find yourself being re-educated PDQ.

In light of recent polling, RTE have decided to postpone their new 24hr news channel.

Pa ElGrande

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484320#Comment_118484320

No. They have been eyeing up local property tax as a collection vehicle for a while, after the Irish Water debacle Irish politicians backed off and the political party Labour lost power (Labour politicians are always in favour of more money for RTE and were actively pushing until political reality intervened, they are pushing a "broadcasting charge") Other political parties are more non-committal and the revenue are not that interested in enforcing it and the internet service providers have said no. Only Serbia and Romania use electricity bills, the Greek broadcaster national broadcaster ERT was funded from electricity bills until 2013 (the Greek financial crisis, saw them almost shutdown.). The trend has been to do away with the separate TV tax (e.g. New Zealand, who also have a public interest journalism fund.) Funding matters will be coming to a head by 2023 as the 5 year collection contract will be coming up by 2024. It may well be possible that future funding does come from electricity consumption since environmental taxes are the new growth area in taxation and the government policy is to push more electricity consumption, the ESB dividend is probably not enough to cover RTEs OPEX.

padd b1975

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118486626#Comment_118486626

The BBC should be neither left or right.

That's the problem and it's a big one when your cornerstone is impartiality.

BBC license fee to be abolished in 2027

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/16/bbc-licence-fee-to-be-abolished-in-2027-and-funding-frozen

Please do the same in Ireland with RTE.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118489775#Comment_118489775

Yeah but it's not clear what will replace it, assuming the story is true

The BBC will have to negotiate with the government over an entirely new funding model when the final licence fee funding deal expires in 2027 – with potential options including a subscription service, part-privatisation, or direct government funding.

Would you be happy with the last of those options, which is what the Future of Media Commission proposed for us?

Ballycommon Mast

It's interesting that there is a big hoo ha  in the UK at the moment about freezing the fee for the next two years but here in Ireland it's been frozen for the past 15 years.

Pa ElGrande

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118494160#Comment_118494160

The debate over the BBC in the UK has been simmering for a while even during the Blair era. A drop of 700,000 licenses in a year is significant. The British public has similar gripes like we do woth RTE over the amount BBC pays to some of its presenters and celebrities, repeats, bias and yougov polls are consistent.

My right hon. Friend will be aware that, last year, the number of TV licences purchased fell by 700,000, and that more and more young people are now saying that they do not need to watch the BBC because of the enormous amount of choice through the streaming services. Does she agree that, even despite that increase in content, we will still need public service broadcasting and the BBC, and therefore it is right to have a debate about the future funding model not to undermine the BBC, but to ensure that it can survive going forward?

source

ButtersSuki

I fully support Dee 4bes’ latest call for an increase. How is Joe Duffy supposed to survive on just €400,000 a year for 75mins work a day , 4 days a week, over 40 weeks a year? The license fee should be doubled immediately and top talent like Duffy, D’Arcy and Tubs should have their fees (on which they pay fock all tax btw) doubled as well as each given a €10m tax free bonus for their stellar broadcasting.

Anyone who disagrees is just a nasty internet troll and a begrudger. Shame on you!

wassie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118486776#Comment_118486776

The Australian public broadcaster ABC manages to operate on the direct funding model effectively despite the usual political shenanigans by the right-wingers. They produce good independant news (who readily take the Govt to task unlike the RTE monkeys), local productions and have a good online streaming service. Ask any Australian living there what a TV licence is and they will think you are bonkers.

Ballycommon Mast

RTE announced a load of cuts back in November 2019 and the only one they have actually implemented is closing the 4 DAB radio transmitters which has only saved Four thousand euro per year

political analyst

https://extra.ie/2022/01/19/news/irish-news/rte-to-seek-license-fee-hike

If there is going to be a household broadcasting charge instead of the licence fee, would there be an administrative process for householders who have neither TV nor Internet to prove that so that they can be exempt from the charge?

Why don't RTÉ managers stop running scared of the unions instead of seeking a fee increase?

Why does RTÉ bother to have its two main channels running overnight?

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499587#Comment_118499587

On that note, FM in the UK won't be switched off until 2030 at least.

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2021/10/no-fm-switch-off-in-the-uk-until-at-least-2030-says-dcms/

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118489775#Comment_118489775

I don't think that plan is set in stone.

Wonder what the rights for the six nations set them back? Must have been a pretty penny if they had to go halves with Virgin Media.

fritzelly

15% have no TV so don't need to pay - any other business would make cutbacks to deal with a dwindling customer base instead of demanding more money

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118486626#Comment_118486626

Sky News is still legally obliged to be impartial - it's accountable to Ofcom.

Gen.Zhukov

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499554#Comment_118499554

I don't really know much about ABC TV tbh. Perhaps they don't have 2 orchestras (Christ, I wonder how much we paid for them on the wage sub scheme) Perhaps ABC don't have presenters earning circa €400k for maybe...10 hours radio presenting or €300k for 4 hours work (I'm looking at you B0'C)

Just had a quick look there. Their top sals/fees seem to be around $460k AUD which is about €292k. It should be noted at this point, Australia has a population of 25.7m

Maybe ABC don't have a Noel Kelly Management type agency earning huge commissions supplying these sub-par presenters.

Perhaps the oz government wouldn't put up with any of that type of sh!t...EDIT (see below) but then again, maybe they would.

There are of course some eerie similarities with RTE :-

The ABC refused a government request to disclose the salaries of its 150 highest-paid staff, but revealed 20 of its top stars earned between $225,000 and $460,000. 

satguy

I think that even if Gerry Ryan's daughter never had to do an interview for that very nice little job she got.

I think she should still be made go out and buy a new dress, get her hair done, and take a day off work. And sure it's only right, that sons and daughters of RTE staff should get handy jobs when they finish school.