RTE considering future of Lyric FM

He didn’t say the “future existence” of Lyric is being considered. He said the “future” of Lyric.

There’s a big difference between the two phrases and how it can be taken.

The “future” of Lyric could involve a move from Limerick back to Donnybrook HQ to save money.

Should be a wider discussion about trimming the fat at RTÉ. There is an argument for making lyric and r na g streaming services only to save cost of fm transmission. Also RTÉ gold and 2fm should swap networks. Perhaps r na g could be moved to LW 252 and taken off fm?
Should all of the digital channels survive?
The orchestras should be the first to go.
As for tv RTÉ should be slimmed down and all imported material available elsewhere removed. If that means reduced broadcast hours so be it.
Why broadcast EastEnders when most viewers can and do watch it without adverts on bbc1?
Unsure about fair city and ros na run. Could money be saved by not making these ‘dramas’?
RTÉ should be about news, current affairs kids tv and community type stuff like nationwide.

They've been playing the same time for the last 15 years

As mentioned by another poster this is kite flying by RTE .

Earlier this year RTE News Now was about to be chopped !.

Is there an election on the way ??

There are fundamental long term problems with RTEs current business model - no different from other state broadcasters - and no different from many of the radio broadcasters.

More kites to be flown in this one !

Pa ElGrande wrote: »

Both Lyric and 2FM should be put up for sale on the open market as having the best commercial potential under new management.

Maybe Classic FM is the UK would be interested in Lyric FM if offered if only to avail of the transmission network.

The Orchestras can be moved to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht where they can be bought under the auspices of the national concert hall and hired out to various parties (not just RTE) when needed.

2fm is a waste of money in this day and age. Plenty of competition in commercial radio, local and national. Lyric, on the other hand, is something that you couldn't see having a big enough market in Ireland to be commercially viable, it'd be the definition of public service to keep it going. Same for R na G...

Infoanon wrote: »

As mentioned by another poster this is kite flying by RTE .

Earlier this year RTE News Now was about to be chopped !.

Is there an election on the way ??

There are fundamental long term problems with RTEs current business model - no different from other state broadcasters - and no different from many of the radio broadcasters.

More kites to be flown in this one !

Yes.
Nice job by the leaking RTE manager. Lyric staff take the bait and start a little social media campaign which triggers the luvvies and musos. The whataboutery then begins - 2FM etc.
The primary concern in this is the Lyric staff like living in the nice parts of Limerick and the Mid West and don't fancy schlepping to Donnybrook or Cork or working in a (slightly) more pressurised part of RTE. They then dress it up on Twitter and elsewhere as a crusade to save public service broadcasting. I don't believe them.
The day a TV game show host started playing Abba and Bing Crosby, having the 'banter' with the AA people and doing recipes with Neven was the day Lyric became a candidate for the chop.
It's a 6 million Euro mess and might be a good start to the long overdue cost-cutting.
The reality is there'll be another round of voluntary redundancies and a bit more automation and 'delay and pray' will continue.

But, it's ok, you can still enjoy the 'banter' in the mornings!

Here is an idea, why not take Lyric FM private and run it as a club like the GAA? It's got about 200,000 listeners in the Republic of Ireland, if they become members of the Lyric FM club they can collectively have a say in ho the station is run and start to drive innovation. Would that not be real "public service" broadcasting?

Let say a €50 annual membership fee x 200,000 members would be €10 million per annum. Or you could do it for €20 (€4 million) membership fee + sponsorship which would cover its costs. The members get to approve the salaries and contribute to the content and drive the station. This allows for sponsorship and cultural events and classical or even Irish traditional music training.

Those of you who value Lyric FM and want to save it should be looking to separate it from RTE which is an organisation that has spread its resources much too thin and in the process wastes its resources and in the process outputs a lot of filler to occupy its bandwidth allocation that nobody values. The RTE organisation needs to undergo a period of financial examinership, there is no getting around that.

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

RnaG at times resembles local radio for the Gaeltachtaí along the western seaboard. In other words, areas with a serious lack of broadband infrastructure. Making RnaG a streaming-only service would be like broadcasting Tipp FM in Cork instead of Tipperary.

Yes, I know people in Dublin listen to RnaG, I'm one of them; I'm just saying it's an important resource for the continuation of the language, and the last thing anyone should be doing is cutting it off from areas with the greatest numbers of fluent speakers.

The only proper alternative radio show broadcast on FM by our ''Public Service Broadcaster'' is on RnG, which is the main reason I tune into that station. And I don't even speak the bloody language. In their quest to make 2FM as dumb as humanly possible over the last few years they've dropped anything promoting a shred of good taste. The same can be said for their TV output. And they expect me to pay a licence fee for this crap??!! They can **** right off.

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

Asking people to shell out €50 a year for Lyric FM is a big ask.

They would need €50 the first year to get it off the ground (say 100,000 members) and build a reserve fund after that €20 + sponsorship deals would keep it going for the members assuming you can convert a significant number or their 270,000 listeners to members and keep them engaged (member votes at AGM, discounts for concerts and other social events and competitions and promotional material) + funding from charity tax write offs.

Both Lyric and 2FM listeners must realise that both stations fall into the category of light entertainment, they are non essential to the RTE organisation and can be switched off now to free up resources for the parent organisation. For Lyric listeners now is the time to act as the parent organisation is weak and there would be buy in from the political parties to keep RTE in their box. Offloading the orchestras, Lyric and 2FM would probably close their current deficit, however it would not deal with the underlying structural problems at RTE in the 21st century using an outdated model from the middle of the 20th century.

ford fiesta wrote: »

a subscription service to Lyric is a silly idea and subscriptions wouldn't be consistent. A good proportion of their listeners, may be elderly and are not too far off illness (being unable to listen for whatever reason) or end of their life. And I doubt their relatives or children would continue the subscription.

just being realistic about it.

I would expect membership to fluctuate but the station also has to stay engaged to keep its members. It does seem there is an underlying argument being made in relation for RTE that is is a service tailored for the elderly and those who grew up with it while the under 30 audience has gone a different direction in which case its just a case of setting a sunset date for RTE of say December 31 2029 and agreeing the funding until then.

Lyric is a light entertainment station that costs over €4 million per annum to run. It needs a new business model if it is to survive and attract a new audience into the future. By becoming a club they can have social gatherings where members can meet and enjoy their shared interests built around the station.