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

Jimmy Garlic

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Sure,they need all the €160's they can get.
This is just another scandal.

https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/tv/4322892/rte-eurovision-costs-tel-aviv-revealed/

Essentially a free holiday all expenses paid for all involved. RTE seem to have policy of sending acts that haven't a snowmans hope in hell of coming anywhere close to winning and that's costing the bones of half a million euros every single year.

NIMAN

That was 2103 licence fees.....all wasted.

Bass Reeves

Bass Reeves wrote: »

RTE are of the opinion that all houses should have a licence. Free licences such as for some carer's and over 70's are paid for by the state. The rules regarding a TV licence is that you are required to have one if you have a TV. Over the last 10 years we have more and more rented houses. Rented houses by there nature are harder to collect from and there will be gaps in payments when tenants change.

Another point is that many rented and student flats no longer have TVs. Everyone has a laptop, people are more and more just watching their media on their laptop. The assumption that every house in Ireland has a TV and therefore should have a license is just silly in 2019.

Boggles

Deleted User wrote: »

The assumption that every house in Ireland has a TV and therefore should have a license is just silly in 2019.

Not really. It is a way fairer assumption now then it was when the license system was introduced or at any point since in reality, the figures may have moved marginally over the past 5-6 years, but the vast vast majority of homes have TV's.

Officially though they don't assume, that's one of the reasons they have inspectors.

In 2019 it's never been "easier" to do without a TV and therefore a license.

RabbleRouser2k

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Sure,they need all the €160's they can get.
This is just another scandal.

https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/tv/4322892/rte-eurovision-costs-tel-aviv-revealed/

Cripes!!!

All that for 2 dancers, and one singer (allegedly)? And there was like a diner 'table' too?

Jesus-still, it's 5 grand more than they spent on that Brendan Murray guy. And it was literally him and a balloon on the stage.
Who the hell got all that money?

Boggles

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

RTE seem to have policy of sending acts that haven't a snowmans hope in hell of coming anywhere close to winning and that's costing the bones of half a million euros every single year.

How much would you think winning it and having to host it would cost?

I'm happy enough with not winning it for the time being TBH.

That said

An average of 242,000 viewers tuned in over the course of the three nights representing a 21 per cent audience share

3 nights of Telly at 21% audience share, if that wipes out the cost and makes a profit, I'm all for it.

The majority of the gouge it seems is from the host nation and whatever private companies become "partners".

Hotel costs came to €48,875, while there was a representation bill of €831 and a food and subsistence tab of €16,384

Fúcking Hell!

RabbleRouser2k

Boggles wrote: »

How much would you think winning it and having to host it would cost?

I'm happy enough with not winning it for the time being TBH.

That said



3 nights of Telly at 21% audience share, if that wipes out the cost and makes a profit, I'm all for it.

The majority of the gouge it seems is from the host nation and whatever private companies become "partners".



Fúcking Hell!

Jesus.... 240 000 viewers watching the Eurovision... there was a time when RTE would have dropped the Eurovision for ratings that low.
RTE 2 would usually get those ratings. For Home and Away.

That's bloody awful.

The Late Late Show

redlead wrote: »

Pat Kenny is an excellent broadcaster. Probably the best around on Irish or British radio for serious discussion / debate. The notion that everyone that's ever walked through the gates of montrose are rubbish is a nonsense one. Are they grossly overpaid? Yes undoubtedly but thats a different matter altogether. Mariane Finucane is a other example of a very overpaid but very good quality broadcaster.

I think Tubridy is very poor considering his pay but if he sticks to more light hearted stuff then he's fine. The problem with the late late is more the quality of guests they get. 90 percent of them were just rounded up in the rte canteen and people just don't care. To be fair, in a small country like ours it's very hard compete with the likes of BBC with big international guests.

I agree that not everyone who is a broadcaster is rubbish. I do not consider Kenny to be rubbish but do consider him both overpaid and overrated (based on the programmes he did). Marian Finucane is good at what she does and perhaps here is an example of someone underused by RTE.

I'm sure Kenny has more potential than the RTE (and subsequent employers of him) allowed. Stuff like The Frontline were awful and wallowed in extreme negativity. Last night, I watched on RTE a very interesting documentary on Saudi Arabia (RTE 1 11.15) and this is precisely what Kenny should have been doing on The Frontline rather than going on about the same banking topic week in week out. I blame The Frontline for why Mrs Brown's Boys became so popular! Negative poison needed an antidote!!

RTE's canteen guest mentality is damaging the chatshows too I agree 100%. The presenter is often irrelevant. RTE's chatshows have clique-ish obsessions with certain people and with music and comedy for example, it is a closed shop reserved for certain people only.

But I also agree that getting good international guests depends on who is in the country. For example, Tubridy did a very good interview on the radio with Margaret Atwood (writer of The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, etc.) but it was in June 2018 outside of his TV time. She was actually supposed to be in Ireland in March that year but due to the snow, the event she was to be at was cancelled. She could well have been on one of the TV chatshows if she was here that March.

ednwireland

The Late Late Show wrote: »

Marian Finucane is good at what she does and perhaps here is an example of someone underused by RTE.

she really isnt, shes adequate at best if shes interested in the person or subject otherwise snappy and disinterested, the replacements are usually a breath of fresh air when shes not there.

Tokyo

Moved from AH > CA.

ohnonotgmail

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

Jesus.... 240 000 viewers watching the Eurovision... there was a time when RTE would have dropped the Eurovision for ratings that low.
RTE 2 would usually get those ratings. For Home and Away.

That's bloody awful.

viewing figures in general are down across the board for all tv stations.

Elmo

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

Jesus.... 240 000 viewers watching the Eurovision... there was a time when RTE would have dropped the Eurovision for ratings that low.
RTE 2 would usually get those ratings. For Home and Away.

That's bloody awful.

RTÉ2 would be lucky to get that for Home and Away in the last 20 years.

Boggles

The Late Late Show wrote: »

I blame The Frontline for why Mrs Brown's Boys became so popular! Negative poison needed an antidote!!

Jaysus, you are not going to let that one go are you?

Simply No. Pat Kenny had absolutely nothing to do with the popularity of Mrs Bown's Boys.

It's popular for numerous reasons, the main one being the English networks (and RTE) forgot about that audience for that sort of comedy. They turned their back on them in favor of the under 30s demographic with "Edgy" or "Clever" comedy, the majority of which were "quiz" shows, basically the same 2 dozen celebs doing the circuit across the networks.

The critics absolutely eviscerated it when it was shown here and in Britain, of course in their forced snobbery they forgot the golden rule, comedy is subjective but above all else it's about entertainment and it's about being funny.

Some of the reviews.

infantile, talent-deficient and entirely unfunny

lazy, end-of-pier trash rooted in the 1970s

the worst comedy ever made

Jaw-droppingly past its sell-by date

Around 7 million people watched the last Christmas Special. Have they ever been so wrong?

Elmo

Boggles wrote: »

Around 7 million people watched the last Christmas Special. Have they ever been so wrong?

TBH I think its below most all other sit-coms even from the 1970s, I think it purely a case of the lack of sitcoms on TV more than its 1970esq comedy. It's like most Chuck Lorrie sit-coms from the states, there are no other sitcoms in competition with them, why do you think 2 and a Half men last so long, same goes for TBBT.

But true its purely subjective.

Boggles

Elmo wrote: »

TBH I think its below most all other sit-coms even from the 1970s

Your not factoring in the fact it is 2019.

What was the alternative in 1975, go out in the cold and dark? Yeah people largely watched what was on, because the alternative was to watch nothing.

Elmo

Boggles wrote: »

Your not factoring in the fact it is 2019.

What was the alternative in 1975, go out in the cold and dark? Yeah people largely watched what was on, because the alternative was to watch nothing.

Your forgetting that that type of Comedy was much more prevalent in the 1970s, don't think you can get much more alternative than The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin.

I'd say scripted comedy in the last decade has been in a bad state with a few exceptions. But if Netflix want to bring back Full House who am I to complain.

RabbleRouser2k

Elmo wrote: »

TBH I think its below most all other sit-coms even from the 1970s, I think it purely a case of the lack of sitcoms on TV more than its 1970esq comedy. It's like most Chuck Lorrie sit-coms from the states, there are no other sitcoms in competition with them, why do you think 2 and a Half men last so long, same goes for TBBT.

But true its purely subjective.

I saw a video of the forgotten sitcoms from the 70s and 80s... like, the crap that NEVER get's re-aired (I hadn't heard of any of em).And sadly, Mrs Browns Boys would actually be superior to many of them.

Yeah, even I was shocked to say that. But then again, when one of the sitcoms stars Jim Davison, it's hard to not see Mrs Browns Boys as superior. Unfortunately, many of the sitcoms that are airing in the UK and the US are absolutely awful.
The sitcom is in trouble at the moment. Has been for a while now.

sxt

I presume there would have to be some kind of a review done on Rte before they could increase funding again?

Or are Rte considered unique like the Vatican city?

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/virgin-tv-chief-wants-review-of-rt%C3%A9-before-grant-of-extra-funding-1.3947946?mode=amp

Elmo

sxt wrote: »

I presume there would have to be some kind of a review done on Rte before they could increase funding again?

Or are Rte considered unique like the Vatican city?

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/virgin-tv-chief-wants-review-of-rt%C3%A9-before-grant-of-extra-funding-1.3947946?mode=amp

BAI already did a review. Virgin Media (aka TV3) were bought for €265m in 2006, bailed out by the government and then sold for €80m, lost millions in revenue in 16, 17 and into 18, now it relies on ITV soaps and Love Island. I think we’d do well to ignore those brainiacs in ballymount

Atlantic Dawn

Elmo wrote: »

now it relies on ITV soaps and Love Island. I think we’d do well to ignore those brainiacs in ballymount

And then RTE is so foolish they basically freely advertise Love Island each and every day for them with the time given when it's on...

Love Island continues on Virgin Media Two at 9.00pm.

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/

Calhoun

Looks like the might be making a run at this again

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tv-licence-fee-to-be-replaced-by-charge-on-all-households-38367892.html

Will be interesting if it catches flak as a household charge, could just be kiteflying but who knows.

Idbatterim

Alternatively they could get on with building more housing , which would in turn increase tv license funding. Useless b*stards!

Boggles

The new charge, the price of which has not yet been set, is intended to capture the one in 10 Irish homes that legally avoid the licence fee because they do not have a traditional television

I fully endorse this.

We should also charge everyone road tax to capture the people who are legally avoiding the tax because they don't have a vehicle.

The Late Late Show

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

And then RTE is so foolish they basically freely advertise Love Island each and every day for them with the time given when it's on...

Cannot see why this type of drivel is hyped (well, I can) and why so many people fall for the hype (this part I can't). Reality TV like this is all about accounting: make the cheapest drivel possible and then market it to the gullible, and hey presto, you get enough ratings to justify making this drivel over and over without attempting to address audiences for other types of TV.

OU812

They collected €186m in 2017 in licence fees.. With approx 2.25m electricity connections (meters) in the country, this is approx €82 per connection, not allowing for costs of collection.

They should drop it to €120 per year, and put it on the electricity bill. That would bring in over €80m more (€270m), including businesses etc with no cost of collection or legal or processing. €2.50 a week on your electricity bill is nothing. People who have licence exceptions would be automatically taken care of.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.thejournal.ie/tv-licence-fee-3-4750114-Aug2019/

Another poll showing hardly anyone agreeing with the new proposals, like MUP for alcohol. I have no doubt they'll implement this, and again, why wouldn't they? They can continue the Montrose Mafia and we'll complain a little down the pub but that's about all.

Calhoun

I think when it comes to this charge, its more because its mostly going on RTE that people complain.

Pa ElGrande

RTÉ has welcomed the development, but questioned why it will take five years to implement.

A spokesperson said the broadcaster “has been making the case for reform of the TV Licence system for many years, and it has been made in numerous independent reviews”.

“While this decision by government to tender for collection services is welcome, nonetheless the decision to defer implementation of a revised media charge system means that the crisis in the funding of public service media will continue.

source

Same old story government ministers pulling their usual stunt of 4 or 5 year time delay for legislation which will cost them votes. By the time it hits our pockets a new government is in and the blame can be laid on the previous administration and there is nothing we can do about it. . .


RTE should also be asked about the lack of a subscription service offering on their site today? I don't consume their service so maybe I am wrong and they do.

I've not been able to find a link to the publication of the proposed legislation yet, does anyone have it. thanks in advance.

Elmo

Pa ElGrande wrote: »

RTE should also be asked about the lack of a subscription service offering on their site today? I don't consume their service so maybe I am wrong and they do.

I've not been able to find a link to the publication of the proposed legislation yet, does anyone have it. thanks in advance.

What do you mean lack of Subscription service?

Pa ElGrande

Elmo wrote: »

What do you mean lack of Subscription service?

The idea of an annual tax on television sets is past it's sell by date and the government ministers are proposing to extend that tax to other devices, however rather than continue with this method with inefficient expensive collection methods, simply switch to a subscription model that is graded on service - so if all you want is news, weather, party political broadcasts and public announcements you buy a basic subscription package and if you want more service then you buy an upgraded subscription or you can use a pay by use model? or even open up to the diaspora with a special package so you can extend the number of subscribers beyond the Republic. This way you are free to increase (or decrease) costs for consumers which become a proper reflection of the costs to run the service and do not depend on government intervention to raise the tax rate. This also means that people you don't consume your service are not burdened with unnecessary taxation.