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

But it was well known for years that the 2022 World Cup would take place in winter. If the documentary had been scheduled in as much advance as any other programme is then it would still get a significant number of viewers.

Audience numbers are massively down, you have to remember that Autumn and Winter are the biggest months for TV. Most new programming still premiers around this time of year. Outside of the Toy Show RTÉ this autumn hasn't had any major programme gaining an audience or even critical acclaim.

The Late Late Show itself is down massively from previous years, Nationwide is still getting the same audience that it ever had yet TLLS drop below it for the first time, Nationwide would be consider just a standard show with an average audience of 250,000 to 300,000 viewers, on the other hand TLLS would expect 350,000 to 400,000 viewers.

RTÉ next week looks threadbare, if TLLS doesn't get a bounce from The Toy Show where does that leave its stalwart show and channel. I some how doubt a normal episode of TLLS gets anything like 303,000 streams that the Toy Show got, if you go by that a show averaging 300,000 viewers is only getting about 50,000 to 60,000 streams, even then I think you'd be lucky to get those kinds of numbers for TLLS.

RTÉ should have seen the death of TLLS in 2019. But as I have said before, the sad passing of household names and lockdowns kept the audience somewhat alive, prior to that TLLS audience had had as bad a start to its 2019/2020 season, and that is now being replicated this season.

This is coupled with the fact that RTÉ cut so much, and did so in such an arbitrary manner, without considering the consequences of such cuts.

They are so unaware of the problems that resulted in those cuts they though that moving Sports over the RTÉ ONE would improve its audience share, but would have ultimately destroyed RTÉ2. Last month RTÉ2 was beaten to 3rd place by BBC1, and it just came in ahead of VMTV2.

RTÉ are afraid to look at their own internal problems, thus putting both RTÉ2 and 2FM on life support without any real plan, other than to whine about their public funding for the last decade if not more.

If you cut programming from RTÉ2 you automatically cut it on the player and the player's own output is basically bottom of the barrel stuff with no real budget given to them, I am not saying such content can't work but you need a bit of imagination... something that RTÉ don't have.

You would wonder who in RTÉ thought "The Love Experiment" would work as an hour long piece of TV, at best its 22 mins at worst its Blind date dressed up in some quasi-pseudo-academic-psychology-experiment.

But that is where we are, and unfortunately there aren't enough people aware of it or willing to state it.

The unions know they won't let it sink - win win

Whilst unions have some good attributes ultimately their subscribers are all that matters

I hope to god this pay rise does not apply to all those big earners

I think, but I have no real evidence, that the Soaps are holding up online, you have to remember most soaps are repeated due to +1 channels, daytime repeats and additional broadcasts on extra channels.

But they are nothing like where they were in the 1990s (that's near 30 years ago!) Home and Away was getting 300,000 on Network2, with the intro if the lunch time broadcast that has largely died. The only broadcast soaps still retaining their audience is Emmerdale and EastEnders (from the point of view that they were never as large as either Fair City or Coronation Street).

As for The Americans and other imports, RTÉ2 simply give up on them, fail to even promo them, The Americans could still be available on the RTÉ Player (It's not) and the lack of promotion is clear, though when The Americans first aired on RTÉ2 it was well promoted, nothing is promoted really except for brand and sure what kind of brand does RTÉ have for foreign imports nowadays?

Internal working practices its seems, RTÉ are still on a 31 week year, how is it that Today only goes out between October and May every year but Ireland AM is 52 weeks a year, Imagine the staffing costs for Today well out pass that of Ireland AM. I can see the difference in quality but do we actually need that from a daytime show?

Changing the many pay scales in RTÉ. The management is far more at fault than the Unions (but yes it is win-win for the unions), but I would wonder how RTÉ staff feel about their product particularly TV. As I said in the TLLS thread, I can't say anything about the Toy Show because: -

1. I didn't watch it
2. Think of the Children
3. Think of the money raised.

One RTÉ staff on twitter praised the Toy Show got a relatively benign anti-toy show reply and replied in defense of the show with out much thought.

Either motivation levels in RTÉ are at an all time low or they are completely unaware of the problems that exist.

Anyone in RTÉ want to reply as we come towards the end of the year.

Good choice, she has experience as a TV executive and as a Board member. But she has a hard task taking over from 2 do nothing chairs over the last 15 years.

Nor Fergal O'Rourke, whoever he is, the other guy on the shortlist. Must have felt a need to broaden the search...

RTÉ ONE should not really feel the effects of the world cup, its a largely different audience. Their worry is weather or not audience will return. If RTÉ in total get a 26% share in both Nov and Dec they won't really care. I am only giving an opinions based on what few figures I have seen/can get over the last decade or so. All of which is available to everyone, I am not involved in the industry.

@iseegirls might have a different view point, they've seen the same figures and might have a differing opinion, sorry if I am dragging you into this.

The chair has responsibly to the company. They should be able to progress some issues in the organisation. Moya Doherty sat on some committee relating to higher wages and payment for big programmes. She and her successor should be able to bring some form of reform. IMO Moya and her predecessors took these role as simply a figure head a gift bestowed upon her by the Minister.

@political analyst I am not sure that RTÉ would quick air a doc just because it didn't get an airing in January, I can understand the delay, but I would wonder why it couldn't wait another week.

On RTE media Toy Show The Musical is currently having more frequent ads than The National Lottery which is currently the highest spending organisation in the state advertising on all forms of media, will there be an audit as to where public funds have been blown?

Amazing how little any media outlets are giving to the video of Leo in a nightclub, sucking face with someone who isn't his partner.

From what I've heard, it's had a very serious knock-on effect. When the PR message 'Mr Varadkar is in an open relationship' came out, apparently nobody told his partner that they were.

The epic financial fail that the TSTM is heading towards will be off-set somewhat by the unprecedented amount of 'Govt' ads running at the moment - Its been turned up to 11. They seem to have ramped it up about 3 weeks ago which would coincide with the six week run into Christmas which I would think there's a premium ad rate for those weeks. There has been an increase of those ads on other stations too but RTE are getting the lions share.

I think every time RTE says - "The former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall..." they get another ad.

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