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

elperello · 19-09-2019 11:44pm

Fan of Netflix wrote: »

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/19/bbc-to-move-more-staff-and-services-out-of-london

Given the price of property in South Dublin should RTE consider following the BBC example and moving elsewhere in the country. BBC have a significant presence throughout the UK. Surely RTE must be sitting on massive value in Montrose ?

Interesting idea but so far closing Cork and Lyric (Limerick) have been suggested which would be going in the wrong direction.

Also a strong presence in Dublin would need to be maintained as it is the capital.

Atlantic Dawn · 19-09-2019 11:47pm

An RTE overseas channel lashed up on Sky TV for UK viewers would surely make more money than that idiotic idea to launch RTE1+1 and RTE2+2 when they already have money invested in the Player to cater for the home audience who have the RTE Player to catch up.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 8:21am

fritzelly wrote: »

On one hand you compare them to the likes of ITV then on the other hand dismiss comparisons to the BBC

No I didn't. It was in response to someone who mentioned revenue from quizzes.

fritzelly wrote: »

Even when mildly berating them if they cant at least break even you give them a cop out - increase the licence fee. Must be deluded if you think they could ever pay for themselves when year on year they are losing money

Or put another way I stated they should not get any more money until they go on a huge cost cutting exercise with aim of profit for 3 years and break even after 5.

fritzelly wrote: »

Go on to mention RTE streaming could compete with other streaming services -

No I didn't.

fritzelly wrote: »

RTE needs stripping back to the bare essentials - buying Eastenders for the very few who cannot watch it on satellite or thru all the other providers in the state is wasted money

You know that for a fact? You have seen the actual accounts and you can confirm it does not make justify itself?

Your proposed strategy, of sure tis on in England why should we broadcast. Is fair small minded thinking and exactly what we don't need if RTE are to better themselves.

How far do you go with that, ITV are showing the Rugby world cup with Irish Pundits, why are we bothering?

Again all I see is moaning and whinging, it is not unique to here, it goes on in Britain, it goes on all over the world.

The problem argument is, people compare RTE to the highlights package of colossal media giants and expect that to be a fair argument.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 8:29am

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Limerick FC are on the verge of being would up because of mismanagement. Seems an apt comparison.

You are almost agreeing with my point. RTE will never be as good as the BBC. Every house in Ireland has access to the BBC and the BBC produce programs such as Blue Planet or Top Gear RTE can only dream about.

RTEs public service content will always fall well behind, hence the argument in defence of it offering great public service is weak.

It offers the news, some documentaries and current affairs programs, but so do Virgin. A privatised RTE would be no great loss to the Irish people, particularly in an era of Satellite TV where hundreds of TV channels are available or Netflix which has many documentaries.

Again small minded sub servant thinking.

BBC are better so why should we bother, whilst ignoring the have a 4 billion budget. Also era of satellite?

We should have just closed it 20 years so.

Also Top Gear?

10 years ago maybe.

Also I have Netflix, €120 a year. It's largely shíté. That's on a budget of 15 odd billion?

Movies you'd find in a basket in Dealz and the entire back catalog of UK Gold. 47 documentaries about life in prison.

There content is about to get even more diluted.

Your solution is to privatize the state broadcaster?

You see no problem with that?

Uncle Dinny says Hi!

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 9:38am

Boggles wrote: »

Again small minded sub servant thinking.

BBC are better so why should we bother, whilst ignoring the have a 4 billion budget. Also era of satellite? We should have just closed it 20 years so.

Also Top Gear? 10 years ago maybe.

Also I have Netflix, €120 a year. It's largely shíté. That's on a budget of 15 odd billion?

Movies you'd find in a basket in Dealz and the entire back catalog of UK Gold. 47 documentaries about life in prison.

There content is about to get even more diluted.

Your solution is to privatize the state broadcaster?

You see no problem with that?

Uncle Dinny says Hi!

Got it in one

Its a failed entity, a bottomless pit into which we are throwing money, with the quality of output steadily declining. The fact that we are well into the Autumn season and yet the whole schedule is filled with repeats, while at the same time, they spend a sh*tload at events like the ploughing where they interview friends from the canteen plugging their new show, sums it up.

RTE friends interviewing RTE friends about their upcoming show on which they also interview RTE friends. That's RTE in a nutshell. And us mugs paying for it.

Diceicle · 20-09-2019 9:38am

Boggles wrote: »

Again small minded sub servant thinking.

BBC are better so why should we bother, whilst ignoring the have a 4 billion budget. Also era of satellite? We should have just closed it 20 years so.

Also Top Gear? 10 years ago maybe.

Also I have Netflix, €120 a year. It's largely shíté. That's on a budget of 15 odd billion?

Movies you'd find in a basket in Dealz and the entire back catalog of UK Gold. 47 documentaries about life in prison.

There content is about to get even more diluted.

Your solution is to privatize the state broadcaster?

You see no problem with that?

Uncle Dinny says Hi!

Do you work in or for RTE?
Whether you do or not, what meaningful changes should they broadcaster make? Its obvious something needs to change. High salaries, nepotism and industrial scale waste is not a strategy for future success in a rapidly changing industry.
IMO RTE should downsize massively. Live within its means. Stop competing for attention with US Sitcoms, make a couple of original dramas (maybe).
I'm not the audience for them, but keep Lyric and programs like Nationwide etc, I can see the benefit in some non-commercially viable activity.

Diceicle · 20-09-2019 9:42am

sligojoek wrote: »

More than €1.1 Million in Taxpayers money right there.
Thats salary - would there be expenses on top of that?

tylercheribini · 20-09-2019 9:49am

Diceicle wrote: »

More than €1.1 Million in Taxpayers money right there.
Thats salary - would there be expenses on top of that?

Serious tax avoidance going on too, all 'companies' in their own right.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 10:12am

Diceicle wrote: »

Do you work in or for RTE?

No. Also pointing out the folly of comparing RTE with 30-40 billion worth of programming being beamed in the majority of free does not mean I pro RTE and everything to do with it.

It's silly and lazy and adds nothing to debate except ironically Joe Duffy style whinging.

Diceicle wrote: »

Whether you do or not, what meaningful changes should they broadcaster make? Its obvious something needs to change. High salaries, nepotism and industrial scale waste is not a strategy for future success in a rapidly changing industry.

100% agree.

Diceicle wrote: »

IMO RTE should downsize massively.

Or here is a train of thought that isn't defeatist.

Upsize.

Firstly. Concentrate on what we are good at. Current Affairs and Sports.

We get absolutely shafted when it comes to sporting rights in this country, an example would be premier league rights, we get put in the pot largely with Britain which last time I checked is a separate bunch of countries.

Portugal broadcast the premier league for absolute pittance. 7 odd million the last I checked.

ITV 4 picked up La Liga rights for absolute pittance.

There is no reason RTE should not extend it's sporting portfolio.

Sport = Revenue.

Like I already said previously for drama, more collaborations with the likes Canal, Channel 4 or the Beeb.

But the biggest opportunity is to cherry pick programming from the big streamers, who are about to absolute cannibalize one another.

The opportunity is there, down sizing to something no one watches or the lunacy of privatization are 2 equally bad ideas IMO.

Doblin · 20-09-2019 10:22am

Some people defend RTE, fair enough, but can anybody honestly defend the 6 million a year of licence fee money that they give 2fm ? 2fm sounds like every other generic pop music station on the FM band it does absolutely nothing that Today FM, FM104, Spin1038, Beat FM, Red FM, Spin SW & I radio already do without tax payers aid.

tylercheribini · 20-09-2019 10:29am

This is a job for the Citizens Assembly.

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 10:37am

Boggles wrote: »

No. Also pointing out the folly of comparing RTE with 30-40 billion worth of programming being beamed in the majority of free does not mean I pro RTE and everything to do with it.

It's silly and lazy and adds nothing to debate except ironically Joe Duffy style whinging.

100% agree.

Or here is a train of thought that isn't defeatist.

Upsize.

Firstly. Concentrate on what we are good at. Current Affairs and Sports.

We get absolutely shafted when it comes to sporting rights in this country, an example would be premier league rights, we get put in the pot largely with Britain which last time I checked is a separate bunch of countries.

Portugal broadcast the premier league for absolute pittance. 7 odd million the last I checked.

ITV 4 picked up La Liga rights for absolute pittance.

There is no reason RTE should not extend it's sporting portfolio.

Sport = Revenue.

Like I already said previously for drama, more collaborations with the likes Canal, Channel 4 or the Beeb.

But the biggest opportunity is to cherry pick programming from the big streamers, who are about to absolute cannibalize one another.

The opportunity is there, down sizing to something no one watches or the lunacy of privatization are 2 equally bad ideas IMO.

I would hazard a guess that the main reason they can't is the cost of salaries involved. You could pick up sports rights for an event for 500,000 but if the salaries for all the presenters, guests and support staff such as producers etc comes to a couple of million, it makes it unviable.

That's the RTE style. Noting is done slimmed down. They wouldn't just send a commentator and a producer to La Liga. They'd send a commentator, co-commentator, pitch side reporter, producers, editors, the works, all needing to be accommodated. Then a presenter in studio and 3 pundits.

And then they wonder why the budget doesn't allow them to bid for sports events.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 10:53am

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

I would hazard a guess that the main reason they can't is the cost of salaries involved. You could pick up sports rights for an event for 500,000 but if the salaries for all the presenters, guests and support staff such as producers etc comes to a couple of million, it makes it unviable.

Salaried presenters get paid regardless. I also doubt the sports department would be the highest paid in RTE.

In terms of outlay for the event itself, no Salaries would not be quadruple that.

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

That's the RTE style. Noting is done slimmed down. They wouldn't just send a commentator and a producer to La Liga. They'd send a commentator, co-commentator, pitch side reporter, producers, editors, the works, all needing to be accommodated. Then a presenter in studio and 3 pundits.

Am yeah, that's what it takes to cover a sporting event. The commentator and co commentator are usually the pitch side reporter in the champions league, they may need a producer and tech, but can't see why they would need an editor.

Unless you want George Hamiliton ringing in the commentary from his phone watching it on Sky in his house.

ednwireland · 20-09-2019 11:54am

Boggles wrote: »

Salaried presenters get paid regardless. I also doubt the sports department would be the highest paid in RTE.

In terms of outlay for the event itself, no Salaries would not be quadruple that.

Am yeah, that's what it takes to cover a sporting event. The commentator and co commentator are usually the pitch side reporter in the champions league, they may need a producer and tech, but can't see why they would need an editor.

Unless you want George Hamiliton ringing in the commentary from his phone watching it on Sky in his house.

thats exactly what other companies do particularly eurosport they have guys in a studio watching all the live feeds and commentating. no "expert analysis" which is where i normally turn off

Boggles · 20-09-2019 12:16pm

ednwireland wrote: »

thats exactly what other companies do particularly eurosport they have guys in a studio watching all the live feeds and commentating. no "expert analysis" which is where i normally turn off

Live feeds of which sport?

Eurosport Uk is the last company we should try and emulate.

Volley ball, tour snooker and tour cycling are probably the biggest ratings killer out there. It is the yellowpack of sports channels.

The big hitters that do it properly Sky, BT, Canal Sport, etc. Have proper analysis and commentary for 2 reasons. It's what the majority of people want and extends the show therefore revenues.

And before anyone says they have huge budgets.

Diema Sport Bulgaria does the same.

We don't need to be as flashy as sky - which we aren't anyway, but context and buildup is what the majority want, also it's not the expensive relative to the event.

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 12:19pm

Boggles wrote: »

Live feeds of which sport?

Eurosport Uk is the last company we should try and emulate.

Volley ball, tour snooker and tour cycling are probably the biggest ratings killer out there. It is the yellowpack of sports channels.

The big hitters that do it properly Sky, BT, Canal Sport, etc. Have proper analysis and commentary for 2 reasons. It's what the majority of people want and extends the show therefore revenues.

And before anyone says they have huge budgets.

Diema Sport Bulgaria does the same.

We don't need to be as flashy as sky - which we aren't anyway, but context and buildup is what the majority want.

FFS, Eurosport are excellent at what they do, light years ahead of RTE when it comes to sports. Probably the main channel I miss on the SKY basic package.

They have to cover every sport in about 10 languages, that means 10 teams of presenters, co commentators, pundits, etc.

RTE can barely manage it in one language.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 12:25pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

FFS, Eurosport are excellent at what they do,

Big fan of Volleyball?

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

The reason for the "yellow pack" coverage is they have to cover every sport in about 10 languages, that means 10 teams of presenters, co commentators, pundits, etc.

No it isn't FFS.

The reason for Eurosports UK lack of sport is because they can't compete with Sky, BT, ITV and the BBC which is understandable.

In different regions they have better sports offerings, including the Premier League.

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 12:33pm

Boggles wrote: »

Big fan of Volleyball?

No it isn't FFS.

The reason for Eurosports UK lack of sport is because they can't compete with Sky, BT, ITV and the BBC which is understandable.

In different regions they have better sports offerings, including the Premier League.

They cover dozens of sports, and are the main channel for cycling as well as athletics.

I'd watch volleyball over your mates in RTE any day.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 12:36pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

They cover dozens of sports, and are the main channel for cycling as well as athletics.

Eurosport UK?

Wow, 24 sports at least.

Off with you then, list them.

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

I'd watch volleyball over your mates in RTE any day.

Personally I wouldn't watch it over the Champions League or the Hurling Championship. But each to there own I suppose.

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 1:01pm

Boggles wrote: »

Eurosport UK?

Wow, 24 sports at least.

Off with you then, list them.

Personally I wouldn't watch it over the Champions League or the Hurling Championship. But each to there own I suppose.

More of your winding up. The Eurosport schedule is easily available.

end of the road · 20-09-2019 1:34pm

fritzelly wrote: »

On one hand you compare them to the likes of ITV then on the other hand dismiss comparisons to the BBC

Even when mildly berating them if they cant at least break even you give them a cop out - increase the licence fee. Must be deluded if you think they could ever pay for themselves when year on year they are losing money

public services lose money. that's just how it is .

fritzelly wrote: »

Go on to mention RTE streaming could compete with other streaming services - you can't even use the RTE player to start with. My god how many millions did they spend revamping that to end up in a worse place

well it can be made usable if the correct people are got to do the job.
they got the wrong people to do the job, hence it doesn't work properly.
that's their fault, but the over all product can be sorted out and made workable.

fritzelly wrote: »

Only thing you seem to vaguely agree on is a coupla radio stations "may" not be fit for purpose which is endemic of the value RTE place on themselves

RTE needs stripping back to the bare essentials - buying Eastenders for the very few who cannot watch it on satellite or thru all the other providers in the state is wasted money

not to those who watch it, it seems. programming for the minority is exactly one of the remits of rte. rte is never going to be able to provide programming that every single one of us would watch, in fact no tv provider would be able to do that.

fritzelly wrote: »

Thinking repeating the same series ad nauseum doesn't get the goat up in people is deluded - tho I'm sure that will only increase

perhapse if the same people got their goat up over the mountains of tv channels showing repeats which are wasting space then i could get on board with them having their goat got up by rte showing repeats multiple times.
don't get me wrong, i'm not happy with rte showing multiple repeats multiple times, but at the same time, i would also like to see serious improvements across the board in terms of tv content across all providers.

fritzelly wrote: »

RTE should be split to a purely state sponsored (via tax) channel, everything else stands on itself via advertising or closes

the majority of their channels provide public services. just because you or i don't like parts of what they provide does not change that fact.
what channels that don't provide an over all public service can be swapped with one of the ones that do, at least where radio is concerned.

fritzelly wrote: »

They still think it's the 1980's. Everyone and their dog knew the pope's visit wasn't gonna be anything like the last one but RTE spent a fortune on it and then uses it as an excuse for extraordinary spending that it doesn't normally have to do - jaysus it could have been covered by a dozen crew throughout the day not the multitudes they sent to report on every aspect of it.

how do you know how many people they sent down to report on it? did you perhapse watch it? well, that is exactly why they covered it heavily. because for whatever reason, people watched it by the looks of it.

end of the road · 20-09-2019 1:43pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Limerick FC are on the verge of being would up because of mismanagement. Seems an apt comparison.

You are almost agreeing with my point. RTE will never be as good as the BBC. Every house in Ireland has access to the BBC and the BBC produce programs such as Blue Planet or Top Gear RTE can only dream about.

RTEs public service content will always fall well behind, hence the argument in defence of it offering great public service is weak.

it's weak to you, but not as a whole. for people who understand what public service broadcasting actually does, we understand the arguments in full, and we understand that it cannot simply cater to personal tastes.

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

It offers the news, some documentaries and current affairs programs, but so do Virgin.

having watched virgin, they provide nothing to the standard of rte in terms of their current affairs programming, which i reccan would probably be dropped if it was possible.

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

A privatised RTE would be no great loss to the Irish people, particularly in an era of Satellite TV where hundreds of TV channels are available or Netflix which has many documentaries.

it would be a massive loss as we would end up with another channel offering nothing at all. the public service element, including what current affairs stuff they do would likely be dummed down or even worse, removed altogether. virgin would also have no incentive to keep providing what they provide either.
if you think rte is bad now, a privatized rte would be way worse. and not everyone watches netflics either. as for the hundreds of channels that are available, barely anything on them either.

Boggles · 20-09-2019 1:51pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

The Eurosport schedule is easily available.

Yeah, I know, that makes your spooking even more bizarre.

Muahahaha · 20-09-2019 2:02pm

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 2:09pm

end of the road wrote: »

it's weak to you, but not as a whole. for people who understand what public service broadcasting actually does, we understand the arguments in full, and we understand that it cannot simply cater to personal tastes.

having watched virgin, they provide nothing to the standard of rte in terms of their current affairs programming, which i reccan would probably be dropped if it was possible.

it would be a massive loss as we would end up with another channel offering nothing at all. the public service element, including what current affairs stuff they do would likely be dummed down or even worse, removed altogether. virgin would also have no incentive to keep providing what they provide either.
if you think rte is bad now, a privatized rte would be way worse. and not everyone watches netflics either. as for the hundreds of channels that are available, barely anything on them either.

You call a whole day of repeats public service? I certainly don't.

I call public service educational, cultural, sport, current affairs and some entertainment.

I don't call endless repeats of the likes of At Your Service or Daniel and Majella visiting B&Bs public service. But RTE seems to think it is.

RTE are hopeless at public service and hopeless at the commercial side too.

ohnonotgmail · 20-09-2019 2:16pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

You call a whole day of repeats public service? I certainly don't.

I call public service educational, cultural, sport, current affairs and some entertainment.

I don't call endless repeats of the likes of At Your Service or Daniel and Majella visiting B&Bs public service. But RTE seems to think it is.

RTE are hopeless at public service and hopeless at the commercial side too.

People like me that listen to Lyric FM would disagree with you.

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 2:30pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

People like me that listen to Lyric FM would disagree with you.

That is a massively subsidised station and you can find numerous stations like it using Tune in, Alexa or Google Home.

elperello · 20-09-2019 2:57pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

That is a massively subsidised station and you can find numerous stations like it using Tune in, Alexa or Google Home.

It's €6m a year.
Lyric is FM radio.

ToBeFrank123 · 20-09-2019 3:06pm

elperello wrote: »

It's €6m a year.
Lyric is FM radio.

Virtually every house in the country and certainly the middle class homes who listen to Lyric have access to the internet. They can access any number of classical radio stations, many far better than Lyric.

There was an argument for Lyric when it was first launched and FM radio dominated. But that argument is gone now with the advancements in technology.

Its a heavily subsidised station appealing to a small and likely declining audience. I'm not surprised RTE are reviewing its operations.

ohnonotgmail · 20-09-2019 3:10pm

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

That is a massively subsidised station and you can find numerous stations like it using Tune in, Alexa or Google Home.

of course it is subsidised. it is public service broadcasting. public service broadcasting does not exist to make mony.

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

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