RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120877969#Comment_120877969

A lot of posts recommending for someone who has no interest if people listen or not

well I’m a not. Thanks for the interest

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878185#Comment_120878185

Exactly, optics to make out they have extensive talks before they push him back in

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878609#Comment_120878609

Again, I’d recommend anyone read any article or listen to any podcast or watch any tv debate/show/commentary on this subject NO MATTER what side of the argument you as the receiver are on, and no matter which side those discussing it are on. I've similarly posted links to all of the Dunphy podcasts on this. I'm simply providing links for people who may want to listen, if you don't want to that's fine.

What I will say is the more information you take in from all sides the better a position you are in to make your own mind up on the subject. Do you think watching Stephanie Preissner defending Tubs on tv was my dream commentator on this subject? Or any of the other Tubs & Co. supporters? But I listened to their take.

If you’re going to rubbish it, at least have the decency to listen to it.

No matter how strong your dislike for Brolly, I’d wager my dislike for Terri Prone trumps same. When I saw her on the tv panel on VM1 I admit my own perceptions prejudice expected her to be supportive of Tubs and Kelly and confirm my thoughts on her. I was tempted to switch off immediately. Thankfully I didn’t. I wouldn’t say I’ve changed my opinion on her fully by any means, but it has changed a little.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878164#Comment_120878164

I don't watch TSG but if he was really as bad as you say why did it take 20 years to get rid of him?

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878170#Comment_120878170

Bakhurst if he's not careful.

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878257#Comment_120878257

You'll struggle to get half decent C Suite staff with suitable experience for €100k or less. They'd get far more money elsewhere. It's not realistic to set the bar as low as €100k. I know it's not a bad wage for most in Ireland, but it's too low for top level managers.

Also, those in RTE who already earn over €100k, and there's over 120 of them, what do you with them? You can't tear up their employment contracts. Well, if they are self employed, you can let them run down their contracts and then finish them up, but you can't do that with RTE employees.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878886#Comment_120878886

Agreed on the €100k cap, it's too low.

My suggestion was €240k.

The legacy issue with those over €100K will be an issue alright. You'd hope most of them are older and near retirement....but this is RTE.....so anything is possible.

Damien360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878928#Comment_120878928

A cap makes no sense at all. You pay the market rate. If the market is giving 150 then that's what you pay. Not multiples of the market. That's the same for every employee and contractor.

I still think tubs pay is not the story. It's the sheer waste of money and freeloading that is happening. If you remember the taxi story from a few years ago in RTE, it was charge back for every tom, dick and Harry regardless of work required or night out. That was when this whole mess should have been tackled but on it went and I think the same will happen again when this blows over.

Tow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878928#Comment_120878928

That gives Ryan 240k for 60 minutes, based on Joe getting 300k for his 75 minutes.

What would you base the 240k on?

2 Hours of output per day, 5 days per week for 47 weeks a year?

Overall, it would make more sense for RTE to drop a couple of shows (contractors) and increase the length (not the pay) of others.

tayto lover

Haven't read the thread for a few days but i see that Bakhurst and Tubridy have met and talked. There is no doubt that Bakhurst really is someone that RTE chose to spin their stuff and see that Tiubridy is cleared to return to the show. What a shower they are and its clear that not much will change. Bakhurst proved that he is too close to the 'stars' to change anything and his bosses don't want him to. He recused himself from the Marty Morrissey dealings and is now clearing the way for Tubs to return. I have cancelled my direct debit this morning. No tv license until there is real and obvious change.

tobefrank321

RTE have never paid the going market rate though for "talent". They always pay 2 or 3 times the market rate. This is part of what is broken about RTE, an inability to negotiate properly or drive a hard bargain. They always roll over at the first sign of trouble and Bakhurst is about to do the same with Tubridy.

Tubridy has said on numerous occassions and recently that RTE is basically all he's got. Forbes should have said take the deal we're offering or there's the door. Instead she rolled over. Tubridy was viewed as being bigger than RTE.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879000#Comment_120879000

No it's not €240k for 60 minutes of radio. It's €240k max. for ALL work across radio and tv - the hours etc. to be agreed but there must be a reasonable minimum.

If for example he has to meet TV hours by being on Maura & Daithi's show, so be it. If he doesn't want to do TV, fine - but you ain't getting €240K then.

Tubs was contracted for 205 radio shows. There's 260-262 working days in the calendar year (depends on the year), so he works 1 hour a day for 41 weeks of the year? Absolutely outrageous. I would say whoever agreed to that low a level of output should be sacked, but it's RTE....so 🙄

I've often said Joe Duffy offers less value for money than Tubridy. Duffy's show is a laughing stock; it's only popular on the radio thread for all the wrong reasons - no-one on that thread is tuning in to hear an intellectual heavyweight and incredibly professional broadcaster debate the issues of the day. They're tuning in to hear a biased, agenda-led, amateur display his ignorance and stupidity, plug his wares, and for the occasional bull in a china shop moment when he loses the rag completely. And as the LiveLine thread shows, there's frequently ZERO paid advertising on the show. When there is, it's more often than not Govt. Advertising. I have long stated that I don't believe that show washes it's face. At one stage the show had 3 producers and 7 researchers. Throw in the absolute waste of money that the atrociously bad FunnyFryday (essentially a jolly for Joe and his pals) is and I'm convinced it's loss-making. But commercial sensitivity won't let RTE tell us whether or not it's profitable. 🙄

I've been clear on this from the outset. €240K is the max. for all work (tv and radio). And when I say it's the max., that shouldn't be seen as a target and that everyone who hosts radio or tv should be on €240,000. There should only be a handful on that, and the rest descending accordingly.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879063#Comment_120879063

It is a dysfunctional market and the reason for that is RTE's licence fee funding and commercial side. The licence fee puts the other broadcasters at a disadvantage because RTE can simply outspend them for medocrities like Tubridy, D'Arcy etc.

Regards...jmcc

RoTelly

@ButtersSuki Today with Maura & Daithi is off for the some won't return until the end of September.

IMO RTÉ need to have bands for each role that they have, and that they limit the number of roles (this was supposed to be something they were working on).

A cap of 100k to 150k for senior managers is plenty. The idea that any of the current or past manager were exceptional has been blown out of the water, Dee Forbes, and Bakhurst, are not worth the €250k, IMO no DG is worth this, and if you want to get a plusher job in a plusher company you know where to find them.

As for stars, Female correspondents may now be giving out that George Lee and other male correspondent are getting 120k to 150k but this was excessive for such staff members of RTÉ even back then, there is a huge question as to how people were put on these wages.

Maura and Daithi and their co-host Sinead should be on between 70k and 85k and not any more, it is a daytime TV show, its not the Late Late or a prime time programme and its only a part time programme, and two of the hosts are part time on a part time programme ! (And yes Daithi would get more because he's not part time, and yes it would run for 50 weeks like most Daytime TV shows and you'd still only get 70k to start). If you want prime time again go looking for prime time, if you want more than prime time seek to go abroad.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878978#Comment_120878978

Sadly in RTE they dictate/set the market rate.

The market rate is less than what Tubs is getting.

nacho libre

You don't need two meetings to fire someone.

The only issue to be resolved between Turbridy and Bakhurst is Noel Kelly's role going further. He will have to be seen to have reduced influenced at least for the time being. Ryan will take a pay cut to cleanse his soul and give money to charity. His image won't be rehabilitated on boards.ie but it will be among the older demographics, many of whom already fell for his contrition act at the pac meeting.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879250#Comment_120879250

Maura & Daithai's show is not on 50 weeks of the year. They take a long summer break and we then have to deal with the best of their show, a compilation of what they did last season.

RTE have no imagination when they foist that crap on us.

jimjangles

Bakhurst and Tubs chats were probably done over champagne and caviar lol paid for by the viewing public. I thought people would have had gotten fed up of Tubs. I find it hard to believe it's fifty fifty over people wanting and not wanting him back. Did boards ever do a poll on it?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879295#Comment_120879295

It has always been the case since Going Strong! RTÉ's summer holiday's are upon us. I have a vague memory of Derek Davis suggesting he was on good money when hosting Live @ 3, I know he also had Davis and a series on sailing/fishing but Daithi also has the Rose of Tralee. I imagine that he's on 100k at least and his two co-hosts on €50k.

TruthorBust

Anyone know any other 50 year old man who says “I have a great relationship with the children of Ireland”. That’s enough to get a fellas collar felt

jimjangles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879295#Comment_120879295

Ah yes indeed, the abundance of RTE's talent is just too much to quantify.

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879063#Comment_120879063

I don't think that's 100% true. I don't see RTE paying two or three times the salary that others are paying. Certainly not for the top presenters.

Pat Kenny is in around €300k for his radio show in Newstalk. Tubs got about €500k for his radio show and the LLS. Given that Kielty is on €250k for the LLS, that puts the radio show worth about €250k. So that's less than Pat Kenny in Newstalk. Clearly not 2 or 3 times the market rate for that position anyway.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879464#Comment_120879464

How many hours and ad slots does Pat Kenny cover versus Tubridy though.

Damien360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879464#Comment_120879464

That's one person. I don't think TodayFM (sticking to national only) could pay Ian Dempsey, Ray & co, Matt Cooper and all the others after that €300k+ each. The earnings from advertising couldn't cover the costs.

Look at RTE radio one only and pretty much every one of them from early morning to late afternoon are paid extremely well. It doesn't taper off by much at all. You can be damn sure Newstalk with it's much smaller audience share couldn't pay that for the rest of the presenters after Pat Kenny. Those are the competition and that is the market. RTE pays way above what is market. From Tubs, Ray, Duffy and so on, all on silly money that does not relate to advertising income and the market rate for their salaries. God knows what 2FM is paying.

As pointed out before all this, there is an incredible amount of government advertising on RTE, making it look like a cash transfer,taxpayers money. RTE needs to cut it's costs vastly to justify its existence.

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879519#Comment_120879519

Presenters aren't paid for by the hour.

Leg End Reject

I haven't read this in a while, PAC looking for more people to attend. I'd say they've two chances ...

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2023/0721/1395800-pac/

Tow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879519#Comment_120879519

PK does a 3 hour show, vs RT's 1 hour.

TV Licence Stamp update...They were returned this morning by registered post.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879584#Comment_120879584

Pat Kenny's package covers 3 hours of prime time radio content with far more ad time accordingly than 1 hour slot. RTE have to pay for more content to cover the other 2 hours.

Your comparison is meaningless without factoring that in.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879464#Comment_120879464

There is a huge question on how they value TV, Claire Byrne had a 70k pay cut following her exit from TV, and she got a nice 25k for the quiz show she hosted.