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

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120654686#Comment_120654686

That's is very true but also €60m uncollected licence fees and I am sure that if we just paid the licence fee RTÉ would start producing a full time TV news service. This should cancel out the fact that the Dail isn't sitting right?

kneemos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120654696#Comment_120654696

God bless your faith,but no.

I pay my license and I want a decent service. Blaming the poor mouth for every flaw doesn't cut it.

political analyst

https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2023/0529/1386305-bunbeg-donegal-incident/

Why has the Gweedore explosion not been mentioned so far on today's Six-One, as of the time of this post?

Edit: there has just been a brief reference to it.

Gen.Zhukov

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120653857#Comment_120653857

The Government has committed to reforming the TV licence by the end of the third quarter of next year.

And the govt has always followed through on all of their commitments on time right? eh...USC anyone?

Ideas are being floated about a Nov GE following an Oct 2024 giveaway 70/80's bribe type budget, so if this were the case (and it does seem like a last chance desperate strategy) FFG will implement a universal levy to support an already despised RTE just before the GE?

(^ that's not meant to be a quote - stupid platform)

So if I've gotten the sequence right it's - Implement a universal levy to help RTE before end of Sept, - a second giveaway budget in Oct - GE in Nov? All in the space of a few months.

Nice one, that'll end well

EDIT: Unless the plan is for govt to force through the universal levy in a bid to ensure a ramping up of RTE's anti SF agenda pre a GE (a sort of quid pro quo arrangement) - A big gamble for sure

Emblematic

Has a subscription arrangement been considered? This is kind of the opposite of the universal charge.

The idea would be that if you like RTE you can pay for it. If you don't like RTE you don't pay but can continue to watch other channels. You could break it down so that you could subscribe to individual channels such as RTE1 for example.

This would solve the problem of people having to pay for something they have no interest in.

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120655584#Comment_120655584

Just come out and say rte shouldn't exist

Gen.Zhukov

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120655644#Comment_120655644

I bit harsh :-) but yep, that would certainly be the outcome of Emblematic's reasonable idea - They'd be gone in 4 months. The gravy train would come to a shuddering halt

Emblematic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120655644#Comment_120655644

However the opposite - paying regardless of the quality of RTE's output - has its problems too. Fantastic if you are an employee of RTE, but where is the incentive for RTE to produce high quality content? My worry is the once everyone has to pay for RTE even if they don't watch television, the standard will plummet rapidly.

It would also solve the problem of license fee evasion which RTE are complaining about: thousands of people not paying the license but still enjoying RTE. With the subscription model, if you don't pay the subscription then no RTE for you!

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120655584#Comment_120655584

Not sure if you're just being contrarian here but...

No a subscription model has not been considered because it would gut RTE's public service broadcasting capacity. You'd end up with something like a poundshop VM1. We don't have the kind of right-libertarian political parties that would countenance such an outcome...

kneemos

A state broadcaster is necessary,but most of what they do is a folly. The unionised subsidised model is a recipe for laziness.

One channel a plus one and a radio station is plenty for a country our size. Radio1 is a national joke though.

I do find it strange nobody takes them to task for the money they get. The crazy salaries,constant repeats,the nepotism,lack of original programming.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120656150#Comment_120656150

That. Also it'd render every Saorview TV and set top box in the country obsolete overnight. BBC, ITV, Ch4 dropped encryption on satellite because of the excessive costs...

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120655817#Comment_120655817

I agree with you on the quality side of things. This is one problem that exists in RTÉ that RTÉ should be able to fix.

My reading of what RTÉ are saying is : -

"We are working really hard to provide the service that we do but that service really needs to be paid for by everyone so that we can maintain the standard of service and the number of services that we currently provide"

This isn't good enough for anyone regardless if they actually use the services that RTÉ provide, its particularly bad for those that do use the service as they will see no gain.

The summer holiday for Today on RTÉ ONE (and all of RTÉ daytime programmes since Live @ 3) is crazy. Where does this come from. I can apperciate that Today is slightly better than Ireland AM but I don't see the value in spending way over the necessary cost for a Daytime or Morning TV programme when you could either

1. Opt for a low cost model for such shows and produced them across 50 weeks of the year and produce more of them. OR
2. Use the money for quality peak time TV, which you can eventually rerun during daytime hours.

retalivity

I'm all for PSB funded directly from the exchequer, as long as RTE have nothing to do with it and it is ringfenced for production of cultural programs, news & current affairs, sport, children's programming and supporting local content producers, documentaries etc. Make TG4 the 100% Public Service broadcaster, let RTE wind down and re-develop the massive plot of land in Donnybrook for use as something else more productive than a Fair Sh1tty set.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120658153#Comment_120658153

In 2011 TG4 exchequer funding was cut, the gap was filled by a % of the licence fee until 2018. Governments can cut exchequer funding tomorrow. I still don't really understand how they were able to take a portion of the licence fee to fill the gap.

This would be why I don't agree with exchequer funding.

Emblematic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120658153#Comment_120658153

The problem with this is that TG4 would then become the bloated state broadcaster over time with all the problems of RTE.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120659544#Comment_120659544

That's why I would split RTÉ up.

RTÉ - RTÉ ONE, RTÉ NEWS, RTÉ ARCHIVES (replacing RTÉ1 +1), RTÉ RADIO 1, RTÉ LYRIC, RTÉ RADIO 1 EXTRA, RTÉ GOLD

RTnaG - TG4, CULA4, RTÉjr, SCANNAN4, RnaG, Radio RiRa, CULA RADIO (Replacing RTÉjr Radio).

Move RTÉ CO into the NCH as they have done with the NSO and other music groups.

Independent service getting no funding/ or sold (as a new group) - RTÉ2, RTÉ2+1, RTÉ 2FM, RTÉ PULSE, RTÉ 2XM and RTÉ Chill

RTÉ, NCH and RTnaG funded by the license fee, RTÉ 42.5%, RTnaG 42.5% (with but with stipulations around Children's and Film not just Irish Language), no funding of 2RN it merging with Montrose to provide the National Network and Studio of Ireland. NCH would get 7.5% as would the CnaM (aka BAI) for sound and vision.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120658066#Comment_120658066

I'd much rather they didn't spend a cent on that daytime crap tbh, it's a complete waste.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120662387#Comment_120662387

The second option.

RoTelly

https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2023/06/19/best-and-worst-when-it-comes-to-public-customer-service/

Here's Mr. Pope's caveat on RTÉ

Now, for what it’s worth, we feel compelled to interject at this point. This page appears regularly on RTÉ so we may be accused of bias but here’s our hot take all the same.

Many of the public services featured on the list have real-time, real life dealings with the general public and offer services driven by real time results. Either your passport arrives or it does not, you get a tax rebate or you do not, your car is NCTed or it is not.

When it comes to RTÉ, however, we can’t help feeling at least some of the negativity is based on pretty subjective feelings. Scoring the organisation badly because you don’t like the roster of guests on the Late Late Show or because you find the voice of that gombeen who appears every Monday on the Ray D’Arcy Show on Radio 1 to talk about consumer issues grating is not the same as complaining about the HSE because your mam was left waiting for 36 hours on a trolley in an accident and emergency department or you were denied a social welfare payment because of a bureaucratic mistake.

Anyway, we digress.

Yet he then goes through the report an examples of issues raised for the Guards, HSE and Revenue. I assume many of the complaints about RTÉ were relating to Ray D'Arcy!

But it must be worrying that

RTÉ was put in 135th position out of 139 brands and When it came to trust, the Revenue Office was top of the public service pile while RTÉ was at the bottom.

This is in stark contrast to

Trust in News: Trust in news has fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, with 47% of respondents saying they either ‘strongly agree’ or ‘tend to agree’ with the statement that they can trust most of the news most of this time. Although this has fallen five percentage points on last year, it compares favourably to the UK (32%); the US (31%), and Europe (40%).

https://www.cnam.ie/publicly-funded-news-services-important-for-society-digital-news-report-ireland-2023/

Hotblack Desiato

Any survey which claims that NCT has good customer service isn't worth a damn.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120733653#Comment_120733653

The fact it’s easier to pass the nct these days because they’re busy says it all

Hotblack Desiato

If you can get a test appointment at all...

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120733653#Comment_120733653

Any survey which claims that RTÉ has bad customer service worth its weight in gold... goes to book my NTC for next year 🤣

RoTelly

I see Ray D'Arcy took a step because "Work / Life Balance" , RTÉ must really work their staff !

He had such a great chat show all the same.

kneemos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120738231#Comment_120738231

The Radio show is an hour and a half. Don't tell me has to prepare for that crap.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120738513#Comment_120738513

Comes in at 6 in the morning... he's surrounded by newspaper... he's taking notes... reading letters that have arrived in ... making them out to be txt messages take a lot of effort ... takes lunch after the show... followed by a run down of how the show went and what's next on the show ... doesn't get home until 9:30 on a Friday some nights, so you can understand why he had to give up the TV show...

AndyBoBandy

RTÉ2 - Wednesday evening 7pm - Britain on Film (originally aired in 2021)

They’re trolling us at this stage…

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120746174#Comment_120746174

I have no real problem with this if its a first run by RTÉ2. It would be interesting to know since 2021 how many times RTÉ2 may have repeated this programme. Though money better spent on Irish content.

Dee has left the building, going away drinks last Thursday night, and her successor has been lurking around his former home according to the Indo.

So before he starts on his journey, let's pass this thread over to the positive highlights of Dee Forbes as DG of RTÉ, so lets pass the thread to anyone wanting to explain in good terms and in positive terms the last 7 years of RTÉ during Dee Forbes' time at the helm. Those of you wanting to criticize, wait until Mr Bakhurst has collected his moving expenses before typing a word...

Hotblack Desiato

That was made by (and probably originally shown on) BBC Scotland and been on BBC4 a few times now. RTE would have got it for half nothing.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.irishtimes.com/media/2023/06/22/accountants-called-in-to-investigate-financial-issues-at-rte-during-pandemic/

Accountants from Grant Thornton have been called in to RTÉ to investigate financial and governance issues identified at the national broadcaster during the Covid-19 pandemic, The Irish Times has learned.

The crisis at the national broadcaster is being investigated through processes and procedures overseen by the board of RTÉ.

The broadcaster is likely to release a detailed statement concerning the financial and governance issues.

The situation concerning the various issues identified are understood to be complex with potential legal ramifications for the broadcaster.

🤔