Who watches RTE at 1 in the morning?

briany

Like, seriously.

So, if I envision someone who watches RTE as a rule, I envision someone who either is so technologically-challenged that it's their only choice, or else someone who just watches it as a rule. These conditions kind of feed into each other maybe, and in both cases I imagine a decidedly older set who'd be well in bed by one AM anyway.

And I don't think there is too much overlap in a Venn diagram between these and, say, shift workers who'd be generally below the age of 65.

So, that leaves, as Homer Simpsons said, 'drunks, angry loners, the unemployable...'

Although even these could more likely be on their phones these days or browsing Netflix.

The graveyard schedule on weeksdays is unbelievably banal (and this is from reading the schedule, not firsthand experience) - Telly Bingo - Shortland Street - Euronews - Doctors. Friday into Saturday's not much better. The most you'd get for late-night or early morning is a film.

Why couldn't there be something like The End today? Something low budget at that time slot where you just give one or two comedians a small studio and a very small budget and just say, 'go'? Something where there is a benefit in watching it live with audience participation as opposed to Sky + it? Or weird short films? Or weird long films? Or weird anything? Why not?

Shakyfan

"So, if I envision someone who watches RTE as a rule, I envision someone who either is so technologically-challenged that it's their only choice, or else someone who just watches it as a rule."

Or someone who has different tastes to yourself and maybe enjoys the content that is on at that time. Just because you don't like something that doesn't mean that everybody else has to feel the same way. It's called personal choice.

briany

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121677645#Comment_121677645

I'm going to make a not so wild speculation that the cohort who are up in the early hours of the morning and making the choice to watch Doctors, Shortland Street, Telly Bingo or Euronews is vanishingly small, and that if RTE, or indeed any terrestrial channel, were to take advantage of the lack of mainstream audience during these hours to put on cheap but experimental/offbeat programming, the audience would increase. Not to anything like a daytime share, but an improvement over the maybe dozens of people actively watching the aforementioned programmes on either RTE at that time.

ejmaztec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121678317#Comment_121678317

I think you're giving RTE too much credit if you think that they can produce cheap offbeat and experimental TV programmes for viewing in the early hours. Any offerings would probably cure insomniacs because they'd go straight back to bed traumatised by what they'd seen on the TV. 😛