Defund RTE

Invidious wrote: »

Plenty of people in their 70s are successfully watching content on Netflix, Sky, and other platforms.

Your image of poor auld Biddy who will be cut off from the world unless everyone in the country keeps handing RTE €160 a year doesn't wash. It's tugging at people's heartstrings in order to keep them forking over the cash, a strategy that RTE itself has perfected over the years.

Next flick app is attached to many newer TVs now , isn’t it ? Many people have some form of iPad or whatever similar brands , so with a special lead they can hook to the the big tv . Getting around Netflix is fool proof . Think we are not giving auld people enough credit in their ability to adapt or like new technology

Christ , the 70 year olds of today have seen it all when it comes to all the changes in modern world. They have adopted and saw everything , the ya re well able to adapt to laptops . They literally were around to witnessed nearly all the major changes in technology and communication .Let’s give them some credit

Do we need two tv stations ? Maybe if done right

RTÉ 1 for the serious adult content - current affairs , news, sport and winning streak ���� and Late Late show (it still has its place ) and documentaries

RTÉ 2 - for kids (they were way better than the British for kids tv bar the weekends) , teens and up to 30 somethings (most of them should be fecking at work)

Content : sport - more the better, something RTÉ have a talent for , their pundits For the GAA , Horse racing (Ted Walsh , Tracey Piggott n Robert Hall) soccer (league of Ireland (Roddy Collins Lol) UCL and EPL ) and Rugby (least with Hookey, Popey n McGuirk) use to get people tuned in for their headline making cracks as much as the sport itself which was also aired in British stations . Even their Olympics coverage was good - even Peter Collins was good if stuck for late late night tv (he gets a lot of stick) . Granted today’s pundits can be a bit bland especially with Joanne Cantwell running Joe Brolly out the door (she knows her stuff and some won’t miss Joe) or Eamonn doing packing it in but the racing folk got some good replacements (Ruby is hardly a replacement but he merits a presence but the others are good too)

Between them and TG4 let them share the GAA club games held in October winter months , likewise league of Ireland (stuff is on times people are in pub so the whingers won’t watch anyway )

I note some will point out that Eir Sport is accessible to many , but it the costs of broadcasting aren’t prohibitive , still broadcast as some don’t have that station


the odd dramas like Ordinary People /love hate/ pure mule ie Irish stuff . We do have the actors , directors and writing talent (well, they dominate some of the current big British made dramas right now as we speak eg Peaky Blinders) Try and do more Irish sketch shows but give them free reign to be funny and controversial (but don’t hire the old usual suspects ) Soupey Norman was funny in parts . Bull island was so funny that the guberment of the day banned them - you all get what I’m saying , I’m sure many did like the shows I listed , I didn’t , they were just examples

It be no harm in having a music charts show like they use to in the 1990- early 2000s (I know chart music is soo 90s) or be controversial and do what TV3 did in the early 2000s with a text in for music videos late at night - MTV itself has forgotten what they use to be and the subscription music stations like VH1 and q (that still going ?) have gone to the dogs - have things gone that bad that YouTube has swallowed up that market too ? Genuine question

Surprisingly a lot of people from the 1980-1990s who watched Home and Away still watch it . RTÉ always seemed to get the latest show before the British too

As for RTÉ televising East Enders ? Why ? Most Irish have BBC . Fair City has ran its course

Other US imported stuff ? Don’t know, thing was there was a time when RTe would get the big shows before the British but maybe Netflix et all has changed things . Do getting film rights cost much ? Traditionally RTÉ were good at putting on a good film most weeks . Christmas tv schedule last year was bad though

Historically when RTÉ teamed up with BBC and BBC NI they produced some great tv dramas so their is justification for them

What to drop ? Ideally the crap on midday that have 3-5 presenters . I know they have to cater for the retired and the house wife but come on

Funny thing about the over payed presenters is, many of them are just piss poor and not likeable . I wonder would there be so much whinging if they genuinely (Miriam cough) were any good ?

The likes of Joe Duffy (I know he still commands an audience ) should be giving his marching orders , least from tv. What on earth does Des Cahill bring to the table ? Ryan Tubridity went off to Blighty for a summer to do BBC and they didn’t bring him back. We have seen Pat Kenny flop on tv for two independent stations doing what he was strong at (his radio show is fine)