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

Paywalled but I kinda get the idea - About feckin time.

Catherine also kicked the direct funding to touch as well a good while back -

That bold bit ^ was always why direct Exchequer funding could never be a runner

Well just in the last few months they've blown 80k on the Autumn launch, spent a huge (unknown) amount tarting up the Radio 1 studios and the icing on the cake, the massive amount burnt on the TSTM.

Lets just be grateful the MI crew weren't sent over to Davos for the week

Has RTÉ ever been involved or funded any part of an Irish Oscar success story?

TG4's CINE4 (which has co-funding from the Screen Ireland and the BAI) shows TG4's flexibility, I'd hope that if either of the co-sponsors decide to drop out of the project that TG4 would consider continuing it even if it is in a smaller scale. I am not sure how much each funding partner put into, perhaps TG4 put in little and almost all of the funding comes from SI and the BAI, it is however commission through TG4, so its TG4's team.

Just to rephrase RTÉ's statement on TSTM and relate it to TG4 funding of CINE4: -

Can you imagine what Dee Forbes and RTÉ would be saying all of yesterday had they been involved. It would be wall to wall RTÉ this RTÉ that RTÉ RTÉ RTÉ RTÉ.

This is there stance on a failure image how up their own arses they'd be on a success.

I would disagree with this analysis. I actually believe it is RTÉ who are bullying the government.

Take your Lyric FM example.

1. It starts with Prime Time being used to highlight that RTÉ could close Lyric FM completely (something that the report should have pointed out was unlikely to happen because RTÉ would need to get permission from the Minister, no minister would have agreed)
2. Over the next week, or so, RTÉ downplay it to "well we might have to close the Lyric FM studio" (I was in the Oireachtas as TD and Sentor from Limerick came into tell RTÉ that this cannot happen)
3. Then the government had an emergency meeting and a Dail debate was organized Dec 2019, which lead to Minister Bruton giving RTÉ an extra €10m in funding every year over the next 5 years.
4. In 2020 RTÉ reduced funding to Lyric FM by around €500,000 while increasing funding to an ever declining 2FM (RTÉ have funding 2FM from the licence fee since 2011, or so, previously it was self-sufficient something RTÉ were all to proud to announce).
5. All of this is along with, the return of funding to TG4 from the licence fee in 2019 worth an additional ~€8m to RTÉ per year, the move of the NSO in 2022 worth a saving of €8m per year to RTÉ (which should have happened in 2021 but for some apparent reason didn't happen).
6. That's an additional €26m that RTÉ will have in 2023, because of their strategic Begging Bowl (they also got an their Social Welfare money returned, not sure how much that was worth).
7. And then they go and fund a Theatrical Musical, can you imagine if either Screen Ireland, the BAI or TG4 did this?
8. My point is that RTÉ would be shouting it from the roof tops at their success at the Oscars and they would use it to build the idea for an increase in funding. Something TG4 is doing but its not getting as much air time as poor old ... ikell RTÉ, awh the poor ikle baba can't Plan, it just can't, no,it can't, here's €160 for you, here you go, yes you do.

Saturday night- Lines are now closed….. yeah, that’s because it was originally broadcast in April 2022…..

Pr1cks

He has to wait for someone else to come out with something new so he can copy it

I was hoping he'd guess correct each time which box the €250,000 was in each week on Deal or No Deal. It's amazing what the right presenter can do to a dull programme, and how a dull person can make it even duller.

I wonder if his agent is Noel Kelly? How else does one explain the many prolific chances he got?

My internet's been schizophrenic the last week or so, so didn't have access to netflix or other streaming services. Got stuck watching TLLS Eurosong thing... good god, I genuinely lost my mind during it. (Wanted to put on a Blu Ray or dvd, but got outvoted).

Bad would be entertaining, for all the wrong reasons. This was horrendous. The only joy I could find was when my Sky box cut out (happens when the internet is being dodgy) during the Eurovision 'medley'... I just cracked up laughing, even the Sky Q box was like 'Screw this muck-I quit!'.

And the nadir on the absolute diarrhea cake that this show now represents was Lottie Ryan (with some really dodgy looking 'cosmetic' procedures' that were distracting) and Jedward now judging Jonny Rotten... you couldn't write a worse script, but then fiction has to make sense...

There was a genuinely noticable issue with the sound mix. Oft times, you'd hear the music, but not the vocals. I know Jonny Rotten's song, for all the ten seconds I heard of it, was really bad. But then when I was trying to hear the 'Connolly' lass singing, I genuinely had trouble hearing her vocals.

Genuinely, the most excited the audience got was when Ryan announced he was giving away a hamper of peanut butter to everyone in the audience. I've noped out of watching the LLS so often. The one time I got stuck watching it, it had taken a turn far, far, far further down the toilet. They even brought on Niamh Kavanagh as 'eurovision royalty'... yeah, she won it once 30 years ago, but they sent her out to eurovision a few years back, and she didn't even qualify for the main event ... she's no Jonny Logan, just saying.

Then they brought on a woman who 'had the name Eimear Quinn'... but wasn't the Eimear Quinn who won the Eurovision all those years ago.

Lottie was there presenting a 'behind the scenes/ Green Room/ kinda deal... but that was pointless, because we saw the acts were sitting off to the side, where Marty Whelan was interviewing them... there were points where the audience 'should' have been clapping along to the 'Euromedley', and it cut to the audience, then swiftly cut away when you saw the 'Springtime for Hitler' reactions on their faces, and only one person clapping. Audio mix there was pretty bad too. Twitter was having a field day with 'what has Lottie done to her face?' questions.

The Valentines Day show is on next week. Just a fair warning, because as bad as the Eurosong show was, the Valentines Day one is far, far worse. I'll genuinely just sit in a dark room and avoid everything if the broadband is down that night.

True on that first point. But many who do remember her, will remember her from her last attempt-where she didn't win.

I can't vouch for what she's like as a person, only know her from tv.

It's not my cup of tea either. But had no choice. At least twitter kept me amused, tho that used up my phone data.

The Late Late Show line up for Friday... Jesus...

Remember when WWN posted this article, and everyone in RTE had a conniption when they clearly hadn't read the article?

He's just lost the will to host the show now... not even trying. And those guests get paid to appear on the show.

What can I add, great voice, lovely person and won Eurovision.

Not a bad CV.

Like I said I only watched up to PIL.

As for Valentines night I meant not to watch it but ended up seeing first 20 minutes.

The best I can say is that they all seemed to be happy and enjoying themselves.

I don't listen to LR on radio and hardly ever see her on TV.

She seems enthusiastic.

I don't think she inherited that natural talent that her late father had.

I never watched DWTS but was waiting for something else and ended up watching about 20 minutes of the first show this year.

I had always avoided it but I thought the bit I saw was well done.

JL did a nice job given the limitations of his voice and it was quite touching.

Maybe a separate show for Euro Song do you think?

I suppose poor old Ray gets blamed for everything else so you might as well hang that one on him too 🙂

"I don't understand RTÉ's obsession will Lottie Ryan, and I mean this not to offend Lottie it is just a criticism, but why exactly is she in RTÉ, she gets no additional feedback."

The clue is in her surname.

Not to mention that her agent could get a 9" cavity block a slot in RTE with an €80k pa salary

So, that dude is back, about that stuff you know, up in court, don't say anything but ...

The thing is ...reading twitter about it all, a tweeter pointed out that he's the only Irish Well Known Male Broadcaster that is 39, not saying that it is who we think it is but...

It just shows how RTÉ and other broadcasters have not developed many personalities meaning you can almost with certain identify the person in question... not that we will or would here on boards.

Another twitter user says ... The only famous 39 year old ?... prob no but he, whomever he is, fits the desciption ... if it is not him it is a bit it a huge embarrassment for him.

Is the Byrne there Claire Byrne? Lol, host a joke of a current affairs show, then quit it, here's an extra 100k.

At least they managed to give D'Arcy a haircut, 300k still a serious overpayment for his 'skills' though.

Derek Mooney was getting the same listeners while also presenting Winning Streak. I don't think he ever reach €200,000 per year while on the list of top 10 paid in RTÉ. You'd really wonder was The Ray D'Arcy Show on Saturday night worth €150,000?

I believe that there are others working for Indo producers getting just as much as many of RTÉ direct contractors and staff.

Dermot Bannon, Katherine Thomas, Mairead Ronan to name a few.

I remain surprised that Donacha O'Callaghan has not appear so far in the list considering his role on both 2FM and Ireland's Fittest Family. I'd also expect that the 2 presenters of DWTS should show up, and Jenny Z should have been their in 2021. Are both being paid through the production company?

3 presenters left RTÉ last year, all of them seem to be just floating on air, either they were well paid or they all came into some money. I can't imagine many people being able at 40 to be made redundant and not continue to work for a year or so, or even to risk moving country.

I remain convinced that much of this is the tip of the iceberg.

I'd love to know what RTÉ executives actually think about, I am sure they are doing something, but do they think. Do they realize that by cutting funding to Children's and Drama much of their programme sales are depleted?