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

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Comments

  • #302
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    _Kaiser_ wrote: »
    While I agree with the sentiments here Wibbs, the problem is that - unless you want to watch everything on a laptop/tablet screen - you still need a physical TV, especially if you want something 40" or larger.

    Yes, there are monitors that big, but they're generally very expensive, lack a lot of the TV-focused options (multiple HDMI, suitable refresh rates and resolutions, SmartTV apps for Netflix etc) and of course, speakers and a remote control.

    There's also the upcoming plan to make you pay (again!) for your Netflix viewing when they introduce this Broadcast/Internet Tax (noting that you ALSO already pay VAT on your Internet sub too of course! Pay three times!)

    Those who don't want RTE an genuinely don't watch/use it, shouldn't have to subsidise it - certainly not at the current charges and for the current content. In the modern TV era that means making it available through Pay TV platforms only (Sky, Virgin etc), and subscription-locked streaming options.

    But this being Ireland, it'll never happen so we will indeed pay at least twice for something an increasing number of us don't even want/use.

    Get a projector. They're very good value these days, compare favourably to TVs by most measures and are not eligible for TV license fee.

    The Household broadcast charge was first mooted back around 2011, it's far from a dead cert and should encounter opposition.

    In a particularly cynical stroke the proposed broadcast charge may well include print media among its beneficiaries. While any genuinely independent journalist would be aghast at being tethered to state support (and therefore dependant upon state approval) the Irish papers have been uniformly supportive or uncritical of the broadcast charge, no doubt because they smell money. The usual line trotted out is that traditional media must be paid for to maintain standards in the age of internet "trolls" (shorthand for any unapproved opinion online). Even Fintan O'Toole sang that line in one of his pieces a few years back.


  • #303
    steddyeddy
    Registered Users Posts: 27,564 ✭✭✭✭steddyeddy


    Is there a political will to do an audit of RTE's use of money? I'd be surprised if that would be unpopular with anyone except RTE.


  • #304
    fritzelly
    Registered Users Posts: 17,242 ✭✭✭✭fritzelly


    Wonder if Virgin's analogue shut down will have any effect on RTE's viewership figures...


  • #305
    kneemos
    Registered Users Posts: 20,407 ✭✭✭✭kneemos


    CrankyHaus wrote: »
    Get a projector. They're very good value these days, compare favourably to TVs by most measures and are not eligible for TV license fee.

    The Household broadcast charge was first mooted back around 2011, it's far from a dead cert and should encounter opposition.

    In a particularly cynical stroke the proposed broadcast charge may well include print media among its beneficiaries. While any genuinely independent journalist would be aghast at being tethered to state support (and therefore dependant upon state approval) the Irish papers have been uniformly supportive or uncritical of the broadcast charge, no doubt because they smell money. The usual line trotted out is that traditional media must be paid for to maintain standards in the age of internet "trolls" (shorthand for any unapproved opinion online). Even Fintan O'Toole sang that line in one of his pieces a few years back.

    Has to be worth the cost of the license fee to avoid all that fapping about.


  • #306
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    kneemos wrote: »
    Has to be worth the cost of the license fee to avoid all that fapping about.

    Depends what you're into. If sitting in front of the TV to pass the time is an everynight thing then the TV the handiest thing for it.

    If you just want to watch selected films, shows and docs a few times a week then the projector is the way to go.


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  • #307
    backspin.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,091 ✭✭✭backspin.


    Listen folks Miriam needs to update the Merc don't be miserable.


  • #308
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,022 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • #309
    Idbatterim
    Registered Users Posts: 17,840 ✭✭✭✭Idbatterim


    Any political party that supported license fee abolition and letting RTÉ stand on its own two feet or fail, would probably win a fair bit of support ...


  • #310
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    Idbatterim wrote: »
    Any political party that supported license fee abolition and letting RTÉ stand on its own two feet or fail, would probably win a fair bit of support ...

    Not after all the negative press RTE would run on them.


  • #311
    Red_Wake
    Registered Users Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭Red_Wake


    CrankyHaus wrote: »
    Idbatterim wrote: »
    Any political party that supported license fee abolition and letting RTÉ stand on its own two feet or fail, would probably win a fair bit of support ...

    Not after all the negative press RTE would run on them.
    This.

    They were happy to play up the water protests. If the same ire was directed at the TV Licence Fee, the coverage would not be as generous.


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  • #312
    VinLieger
    Registered Users Posts: 17,643 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    Red_Wake wrote: »
    This.

    They were happy to play up the water protests. If the same ire was directed at the TV Licence Fee, the coverage would not be as generous.


    Joe Duffy is the classic example, he portrays himself as a "man of de peeeple" but any time his salary is mentioned by a caller, which is at the latest increase is at least 6-7 times that of the average worker, he quickly shuts down the discussion or they get muted and the call is "dropped".



    Rule one and two in RTE is don't talk about the salaries


  • #313
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,071 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    CrankyHaus wrote: »
    Get a projector. They're very good value these days, compare favourably to TVs by most measures and are not eligible for TV license fee.
    I could never get with projectors TBH. Too dull and not so sharp. A guy I know has this very nice plasma TV* he got years ago. He got pissed off with paying the RTE tax, so stopped his cable subscription and got an electronics expert chap he knows to remove the TV receiver from his plasma set(IIRC it was a daughter card on the main board), blanked up the aerial holes, rendering it incapable of receiving a TV signal. Basically he uses a 50 inch HD plasma as a monitor and he uses that to play Netflix, blurays and the like.




    *Though they're out of favour now as LED/LCD are cheaper to produce and use less power IMHO the plasmas still have the superior picture.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • #314
    steddyeddy
    Registered Users Posts: 27,564 ✭✭✭✭steddyeddy


    RTE warn the government of serious financial problems the Irish Times report. They're reporting a deficit of nearly 7 million for last year.

    Interestingly the article doesn't mention any cost cutting measures RTE are thinking of bringing in. It seems to be another begging to support our 400k a year presenter lifestyle from our favorite broadcaster in receipt of taxpayer and advertising revenue.


  • #315
    Red_Wake
    Registered Users Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭Red_Wake


    steddyeddy wrote: »
    RTE warn the government of serious financial problems the Irish Times report. They're reporting a deficit of nearly 7 million for last year.

    Interestingly the article doesn't mention any cost cutting measures RTE are thinking of bringing in. It seems to be another begging to support our 400k a year presenter lifestyle from our favorite broadcaster in receipt of taxpayer and advertising revenue.
    Have a heart lads, how else will Gerry Ryan's kids support themselves?


  • #316
    coffee_cake
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 81,310 CMod ✭✭✭✭coffee_cake


    steddyeddy wrote: »
    RTE warn the government of serious financial problems the Irish Times report. They're reporting a deficit of nearly 7 million for last year.

    Interestingly the article doesn't mention any cost cutting measures RTE are thinking of bringing in. It seems to be another begging to support our 400k a year presenter lifestyle from our favorite broadcaster in receipt of taxpayer and advertising revenue.

    What an absolute joke. Gime gime gime


  • #317
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,022 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • #318
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    Permabear wrote: »
    This post had been deleted.


    Yes RTE knows well which side its bread is buttered on and is not above running propaganda for its paymasters. Last year it stage managed an interview with Varadker's parents where Miriam Varadker was instructed tro change her answers by the Taoiseach's PR staff. This was edited out in the interview broadcast on TV but RTE then mistakenly posted the unedited interview on RTE Player where viewers could hear Ms Varadker being told to change her answer by someone off-stage.



    http://https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/interview-with-leo-varadkars-parents-removed-from-rte-website-793985.html


    Even RTE's traditional antipathy to SF in its coverage has softened considerably as the party has become a more viable party of government, and therefore may hold RTE's purse-strings at some point.


  • #319
    steddyeddy
    Registered Users Posts: 27,564 ✭✭✭✭steddyeddy


    bluewolf wrote: »
    What an absolute joke. Gime gime gime

    Indeed. They exist in a bubble of entitlement. Last week they were blaming Netflix, now it's a deficit.


  • #320
    andekwarhola
    Registered Users Posts: 4,638 ✭✭✭andekwarhola


    I'd still be a big supporter of funding state broadcasting, especially nowadays.

    That said, some of the arguments against RTE that were advanced here before were good and I found myself agreeing with them, re: a state broadcaster trying to runiously compete in the commercial sphere of talk shows, pop music, syndicated drama etc.

    Even the likes of the Late Late has gone from being a very central part of Irish life to one of many chat shows.

    Surely RTE could be slimmed down to, say, one tv and radio station with a pure focus on producing good domestic current affairs, political and cultural output. You could still commission popular drama like Love/Hate as well. You could preserve a quality music show like John Creedon's but there's not point in having a state broadcaster competing with a million other pop stations.


  • #321
    AndyBoBandy
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 14,887 Mod ✭✭✭✭AndyBoBandy


    On top of their ad revenue & licence fee, they don’t publish how much they earn from those silly competitions they run on EVERY SINGLE SHOW because it’s ‘comercially sensitive information’.

    To be in with a chance to win this great prize (a 2 grand holiday to New York) just answer the following question.

    Q: What is a Car?

    A: a bicycle
    B: a dolphin
    C: a car

    Calls cost €1 per entry.

    They should either be 100% publicly funded, or 100% commercial and fund themselves through advertising and silly competitions, not both.


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  • #322
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    AndyBoBandy wrote: »
    On top of their ad revenue & licence fee, they don’t publish how much they earn from those silly competitions they run on EVERY SINGLE SHOW because it’s ‘comercially sensitive information’.

    To be in with a chance to win this great prize (a 2 grand holiday to New York) just answer the following question.

    Q: What is a Car?

    A: a bicycle
    B: a dolphin
    C: a car

    Calls cost €1 per entry.

    They should either be 100% publicly funded, or 100% commercial and fund themselves through advertising and silly competitions, not both.

    Yes that's actually RTE shamelessly exploiting a loophole in the gambling laws that allows quizzes with far less restriction than a straight up lottery draw.

    Of course when the answer is so obvious the vast majority (maybe all) of answers are "correct" and are then placed in a pool with a winner selected at random, so it's little different from a lottery. I wonder if it was anyone other than RTE doing it so often would the authorities clamp down on it?


  • #323
    Rjd2
    Registered Users Posts: 11,999 ✭✭✭✭Rjd2


    steddyeddy wrote: »
    RTE warn the government of serious financial problems the Irish Times report. They're reporting a deficit of nearly 7 million for last year.

    Interestingly the article doesn't mention any cost cutting measures RTE are thinking of bringing in. It seems to be another begging to support our 400k a year presenter lifestyle from our favorite broadcaster in receipt of taxpayer and advertising revenue.

    I am in the middle when it comes to the license fee, but I agree its loathsome that Dee demands more money when we haven't seen any acknowledgement from her that salaries of the top people and the overall running of RTE is absolutely bloated.

    For what its worth, even if somehow the fee is increased she will be back soon enough asking for another increase, its never going to be enough for her with her current mindset.


  • #324
    TomOnBoard
    Registered Users Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭TomOnBoard


    The sense of entitlement of this wan really annoys me, along with the elitism of the RTE presenters vs those of TV3,Newstalk and the like. Put Finucane out to grass immediately and maybe she'll be able to deal with that awful chest of hers that has her wheezing and spluttering through her very underwhelming programme at the weekend.


  • #325
    applehunter
    Registered Users Posts: 6,020 ✭✭✭applehunter


    Get rid of 2FM and RTE 2.

    Cut the RTE sports department bu 50% at least.


  • #326
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 81,110 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    Could she charge Joe Duffy a fee for each time he gives out his personal Twitter handle instead of de Liveline official show handle?


  • #327
    RabbleRouser2k
    Registered Users Posts: 8,276 ✭✭✭RabbleRouser2k


    applehunter wrote: »
    Get rid of 2FM and RTE 2.

    Cut the RTE sports department bu 50% at least.

    There would also have been 3 chatshows this year, but for 'the referendum'...

    3 chatshows...with repeated 'guests' every few weeks.

    The RTE sports department has become a joke. The recent 'stepping down' of Ryle Nugent aka 'his firing' due to the loss of the rugby-the many, many, many pundits they have for GAA and Football.It's ridiculous.


  • #328
    foxy farmer
    Registered Users Posts: 3,194 ✭✭✭foxy farmer


    RTE are lucky they don't have to deal directly with the public looking for money they're "owed"
    If I use electricity the relevant supplier sends me a bill. If i use a landline the relevant provider sends me a reminder. In the case of RTE at the moment even though its RTE thats providing the service its An Post that are sending me reminders that there's money due. No mention of RTE in any letter. Theyre the only semi state company that can get people sent to prison for not paying up and yet RTE won't be taking the court action or even have their name mentioned in court.
    Yes I know it's a service you can't disconnect for non payment but maybe if they had to collect the money themselves they'd soon wake up when they'd really experience public sentiment.
    Scramble the signal make it a subscription service and see how long they'd last.


  • #329
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    [URL="https://mobile.twitter.com/namawinelake/status/1009073001210564608?s=19]https://mobile.twitter.com/namawinelake/status/1009073001210564608?s=19[/URL]

    RTE to report €6.4m loss for 2017 when it publishes its annual report next week. It still maintains it made a €20m loss in 2016 because of 1916 commemorations; the truth is, it increased average pay by 8% in 2016, adding €12m to the payroll. #chancers


  • #330
    Kivaro
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,105 ✭✭✭Kivaro


    The government, and politicians in general, have utter disdain and contempt for the Irish electorate on this issue, as the vast majority of the population want a slimmed down self-sufficient RTE.

    The compulsory television license tax on the Irish people should be removed and a subscription service should be introduced.


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  • #331
    RabbleRouser2k
    Registered Users Posts: 8,276 ✭✭✭RabbleRouser2k


    Are 'budget cuts' the reason RTE doesn't have any tv listings for tv3, or 3e?

    Case in point. https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/listings/television/#!blank-hpdv-1529496000000


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