RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

TedBundysDriver

RTE are just doing the "leave it long enough and everybody might forget and then we'll bring him back" approach. Man United are doing the same with Greenwood the woman beater. Most of these organisations have zero morals it's all about the bottom line.

tromtipp

His Late Late Show performance is not relevant to his future in radio, where he seems to have been as unsuccessful as he was mediocre. I wouldn't be a 'turn off at 9.00' blip on the statistics, as I usually stuck it out until the greed talk started - so several days in the week I'd have the radio playing RTE from 9.00 until 10.00. The 23.7% figure underestimates his unpopularity.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990412#Comment_120990412

The lobbying to TDs should be not a cent bailout from the government until RTE get their house in order, and that includes getting rid of Tubridy.

Hyperbollix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988913#Comment_120988913

It's his modus operandi, always has been.

A bit like old Vlad in Moscow, who would gladly sacrifice every man of fighting age in Russia to give him a bit longer in the Kremlin, old Tubbers would gladly see half of his "friends and colleagues" get their P45 if it means he can be restored to his rightful place in RTE radio. He's the most transparently self entitled and self interested fúcker that's every graced the Irish media scene. He hasn't a shred of decency or integrity. He just wants to get back to the easiest media job in Ireland for one of the highest salaries going. And he doesn't care who suffers as long as he manages it.

The staff at RTE will now have to ask themselves a tough question. Are they going to do the traditional Irish thing and roll over, let the status quo resume and be guaranteed that in 12 months time they will be back where they were 12 months ago, fighting to get money for remote controls and office chairs while the Toyman swans out the door at 10.15am to go for his morning stroll after his working day. Or do they let the RTE bigwigs know that things are going to change in Montrose, either the easy way or the hard way. They aren't a private, non unionized workforce, they have lots of bargaining power. Time to step up now and do their bit, the same way the licence fee holders are doing theirs.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990439#Comment_120990439

How is 'getting their house in order' to be evaluated though? A lot of the things people are talking about like changes to employment arrangements would probably take years to work through, and RTE are likely to need some form of emergency financial intervention before 2023 is out.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990436#Comment_120990436

An awful lot of people would have it on in the background if they are pottering about the household. I have an old fashioned but excellent Sony radio, whose sound is not surpassed by anything else I have, it stays on low, too much trouble for me to make the effort of switching it off, and I want to catch the news etc either side of it. It’s on by default, a buzz of sound in the background whilst I do practical things.

tobefrank321

So now Tubridy and RTE want us to focus on the waived 120k fee, and forget about the 200k+ or so he took for the bogus Renault gigs and underwriting of, paid for by RTE, and all the various costs of staging them and the barter account.

The 120k fee is a distraction.

He's been repeatedly complicit in suspicious side deals with RTE. How on earth can he be trusted going forward?

tobefrank321

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990045#Comment_120990045

I'd wager its far more than 50%. The consensus is the staff in RTE are disgusted and angry, especially anyone who had to take a cut or pay-freeze, which I would image is the majority. A lot of RTE people interviewed have said they are sad and angry.

Has even a single RTE person apart from the board come out in support of Tubridy? (Noel Kelly clients don't count).

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989329#Comment_120989329

Who is in a position to verify Tubridy's claims that he's received lot of letters and cards and messages of support? What does that even mean? A half dozen a week to Montrose, who would know his home address off the top of their head. Or hundreds/ thousands of letters? It's meaningless.

I did write to him care of Donnybrook and advised him that he had deceived the public and to go. Did Tubridy count these letters too??

HildaOgdenx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990595#Comment_120990595

who would know his home address off the top of their head

They would just address them to The Toyman 📬😏 Dublin.

Like letters to Santa...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120987137#Comment_120987137

When you are in his position or say a musician for example, mistakes hurt , they reverberate through your bones and cause pain , but civilians don’t notice and when they approach and say well done it’s confusing because all you think about are the mistakes

KevRossi

Ironically the true master of conversation and putting guests at ease, Michael Parkinson, passed away today.

Watch his Muhammed Ali interview if you can, he just lets Ali ramble on. Tubridy would have shut him down whilst watching the clock tick down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-ui9mTPMMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7wJG5JkQ4A

Hyperbollix

RIP Parkie, a master of the art. The Michelangelo to Tubridy's painter/decorator!

Sunny Disposition

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990441#Comment_120990441

Ah, that's totally unfair.

Having their biggest ratings winner and critical success back on the airways has to be very good for RTE, which is good for people working there. I can't believe many people think Ryan has no decency or integrity, he's clearly a gentleman. Comparing his personality to Putin is surely a bit much, even for Boards.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990972#Comment_120990972

Where is the critical success? In fairness even Gay Byrne didn't get much critical success.

I think there is somewhere in-between on the feelings about Tubs. He's not my cup of tea and thinking critical without my own bias I don't believe he is the greatest chat show host in the world or in Ireland for that matter, and the same goes for his radio presentation.

There are things I love but I know critically and from a mass media level they would not be considered good by others, I can also see when other like something but its clearly not something that is either critically good or good for what it is, I am happy to like such things and happy for others to like their preferences.

There are even things critically acclaimed that I am happy that I will never get but I can see why it is critically successful.

I think TLLS and his radio show would have they audience that they have had even if he wasn't presenting, certainly people haven't turned off.

sxt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989329#Comment_120989329

RT is knee deep in well wishing cards and letters every week. He will be up to his neck in cards and gifts and flowers and board games on his first day back in Montrose!

He will will start with a 30 second apology and then 30 mins of thanking everyone for their well wishes and gifts : vomit:

Sigma101

There appears to be a lot of misreporting regarding the €120,000 that was not paid to Tubridy. I don't know whether it's deliberate or because journalists haven't bothered to read the Grant Thornton report. Two important points from the report:

First, the €120,000 was for additional services that were not called upon and therefore not delivered during the period. The report gives examples of additional one-off specials on the Late Late and an additional TV series of eight 52 minute shows.

Second, the agreement to waive the fee was made as part of the back-and-forth of negotiations for his current contract period - so it was "quid pro quo", and not an act of charity by Tubridy. The concession would have helped prop up the fees he demanded for the period from 2020 onwards.

RabbleRouser2k

Not so much off topic, but in keeping with the license fee protests.

Something I've noticed for the last few weeks are a real, genuine decline in sales of the Rte Guide. Every week, I try to get it's rival magazine, Tv Now for a family member. (They like the articles , features, and knowing what programmes are gonna be on for the week). But for the last several weeks, it's been difficult to get. Sometimes requires me to got to several newsagents to find a copy.

Initially I assumed it was just print declining, but then other Tv guides were in short/ scarce supply. And yet there were stacks of unsold Rte Guides. Multiple stores, newsagents I went to...Tv now sold out. 4 large piles of Rte Guides I spotted in one supermarket. Unsold. And this was on a Friday, so the magazine's were gonna stay on the shelf or get pulped. Then there was one or two copies of Tv Now.

It feels like a mini protest on behalf of consumers who may pay the license fee, to avoid conviction, but are leaving the overpriced Guide on the shelf.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991129#Comment_120991129

Is that different monies to the 'loyalty' bonus?

KevRossi

For those looking for his viewing figures over the years these figures give an idea, they don't include speicals such as Toy Show, C&W Show etc.;

He was regularly getting 750,000 back in 2010, peaking at 830,000 (not including specials). https://marketing.ie/late-late-figures-up-again/

By 2022 it was in the 350,000 - 440,000 range. To lose 10-20% of your viewers is careless, to lose half is gross incompetence.

Brendan O'Connor's Saturday night show was regularly beating Tubridy by 2015, he took over from Tubridy in 2010. They were both hitting the 500,000 viewers at this stage. https://goss.ie/gallery/chat-show-war-brendan-oconnor-pulling-in-more-viewers-than-ryan-tubridy-on-late-late-show-26529

And Tommy Tiernan was beating him in 2021 in his 5th year of the show. https://evoke.ie/2021/03/30/entertainment/tommy-tiernan-overtakes-the-late-late-show-with-highest-ratings

Both Tiernan and O'Connor had their shows in slots that would not be as desirable and would not have such a head start on viewers as the Friday night LLS would have.

Yes, the past 10 years has bought the biggest change in viewing habits since the advent of TV, with far more stuff being available on demand, as well as the rise of Netflix, YouTube etc., but it's a bigger drop than any other programme of its type. RTE heads just didn't want to know this and that is suspicious in itself.

Sigma101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991173#Comment_120991173

Undelivered services to the value of €120,000 were offset against an exit fee of the same value.

Ten Pin

"Did Tubridy count these letters too??"

Only if the envelope was brown...old FF habits etc

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991129#Comment_120991129

:/ Not sure of this reading: -

1. RTÉ failed to produce their annual list of top earners wages, this is because of the exit fee.
2. RTÉ agreed an exit fee of €120k, which tubs was entitled to, but RTÉ in their negotiations suggested that they shouldn't pay it due to work not done, NKM disagreed with this interpretation but it was used by RTÉ in contracting for the next 5 year period so it was agreed it would be waived.
3. All along RTÉ are trying to show that they have successfully reigned in the earnings of the top presenters, when clearly they never do.
4. RTÉ made the mistake of thinking that the two 50k's and the 20k had been added to his earnings and were only delighted to removed them from the over 500k he actually earned.
5. But what's even more annoying is that the only reason RTÉ were not producing the top earners on an annual basis was because of these exit fees.
6. For example if Claire Byrne's contract for the 5 years included an exit fee, RTÉ would have added that exit fee across those 3 years, rather than the final year when she received the fee, this is a crazy way of looking at the figures.
7. Therefore the 40% reduction in the past decade or so has large come from the exit of Pat Kenny, the retirement of Sean O'R and the deaths of Gerry Ryan and Marian F.
8. It was always RTÉ Management's decision to focus on these cuts and to show that these cuts were being made, when clearly they never made as big a cuts as they wanted us to believe they did.
9. IMO Kevin Bakurst was part of this deception, as he was present for the publication of Gerry's and Pat's earnings.
10. Tubs role was that he never declared otherwise, either because he wasn't aware of what had happened and didn't read the list or because he knew, either way he was not doing anything illegal.

jmcc

Tubridy losing listeners just as he was taken off-air.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ryan-tubridy-saw-small-drop-in-listeners-on-rte-show-in-lead-up-to-being-taken-off-air-latest-jnlr-figures-reveal/a2052684927.html

Regards...jmcc

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991168#Comment_120991168

Funny you should say that. My inlaws always asked me to pick up the RTE guide. Since this scandal theyve wanted TV Now instead.

We wont be paying the TV license fee ever again either.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991389#Comment_120991389

We were told he was the most "beloved broadcaster" in the history of 21st century broadcasting???

We were told he was RTE's "star attraction"?

Utterly BAFFLING.

Were they LIES?

jmcc

Based on the comments about the RTE Guide and the licence fee protest, it seems that the RTE brand itself is becoming toxic.

Regards...jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991403#Comment_120991403

Inotherwords the usual magnolia listeners have been switching to podcasts by influencers, whilst those looking for serious & intelligent currents coverage are sticking to the longest name in such broadcasting in Ireland.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991403#Comment_120991403

Mister RTE must be very upset. Every show that the gombeen management of RTE gave him subsuquently lost viewers or listeners. His career has been one of perpetual failure. It is curious that there were no expressions of interest from real broadcasters when Tubridy was removed from RTE. Even Radio Norwich wasn't interested.

Regards...jmcc

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991439#Comment_120991439

Yes inexplicable if all the things "we were told" about Tubridy's broadcasting talents were true that an American network hasn't come in offering him a global opportunity.