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

The holding on to 2FM is a mystery

2FM with a national broadcasting license, its decent market share etc. could easily be sold - and would probably fetch near €50m.

I'm basing that value on previous radio station sales in Ireland, which were well reported on in the national press (incl FM104, Today FM etc.)

Given 2FM serves absolutely no public service purpose, and it's content is readily available on several other commercial stations - both it, and RTE2 should be sold immediately (with sale proceeds seized by the Government, before Dee Forbes and her mates hand it all out on overly generous severance packages, or new contracts for their cronies).

And if anyone thinks I'm being unfair to RTE with that last comment, then just go and take a look at what happened to the €100m that they got for the sale of the 5 acres in Donnybrook, a couple of years ago.

http://www.superannrte.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5865:rte-briefs-staff&catid=31&Itemid=104

Under the scheme, those with more than ten years service in the organisation will be offered six weeks pay per year of service, plus statutory redundancy, capped at 104 weeks pay.

Those with less than ten years service will receive two weeks pay per year of service plus statutory redundancy.

• 6 weeks per year of service, plus statutory (for those with over 10yrs service) is incredibly generous !

For example Aidan Leonard  is Senior Producer in Charge of RTÉ GOLD ....

Jesus, hope they don't bring back Crystal Swing again...

I mean Nathan Carter is one thing, but God help us all if Crystal Swing return... they're like the 7th circle of hell.

Ah yes the Olympic special…..

featuring such quotes as “Pull like a dog”, and “inner city troubled youth”, and Tubridy talking down to an Olympic Champion….

not to mention some input from RTÉ employees who were on the Japanese Jolly about how hard it was out there to keep sanitising their hands, and staying 2m apart……

and then Bernard Dunne.

All the Studio staff played a blinder, you'd wonder why they send a team to Tokyo?

If I build a good road to nowhere and pay top dollar for said road, there is nothing to suggest that the people involved didn't do a great job, the problem lies with me for getting a road built to nowhere.

not a chance would you get 50 million for it now, the days of stations selling for crazy money are on the way out.

and realistically we don't need another private sector national station that would only offer more pop and prattle, it's not as if today fm is setting the world alight.

rte have a couple of stations on saorview and online, formerly on dab, putting one of them on the transmission network would serve everyone better then selling off a vital transmission network for more of the same that 2fm offers, because ultimately the reason people want 2fm to be sold is because it offers more of the same that is already offered.

as for RTE 2, forget about selling it, about the only interest there might be is for an operator to turn it into another transmitter for ITV, which is pointless and already catered to by virgin media anyway, and realistically that is all that would be viable here now.

I think the end of the road is talking about Virgin Media Television not its cable network.

Together RTÉ2 and 2fm could potentially get about 50m, based on the sale of Communicorp stations to Bauer earlier in the year. Individually they would be worth much less. Both still have some goodwill that would be worth something to a potential investor, but I image we will only know they appetite for broadcast services when Liberty Global get a buyer for Virgin Media.

In reality RTÉ2 is not much more than VIRGIN MEDIA FOUR.

for clarity i am talking about virgin media television, they buy in most if not all of their programming from ITV.

You only had to listen to the awful Liveline garbage today to understand why so many question absorbant salaries at RTE and the License Fee. Its presenter earns an estimated €400k PA for a 75 minute gig, 5 days a week, it's just shocking.

I appreciate part of the fee goes beyond RTE but mother of God its output is utterly appalling, notwithstanding the fact its entire new room has been empty for over a month and "So called Contractors gone for weeks on end"

This said, Virgin Media"s home produced tabloidish rubbish is not much better.

Put simply, scrap RTE, scrap the license, allow consumers actual choice and if a digital style license for every household is required, so be it. I'm sick to the teeth of RTE, it's outrageous salaries, it's blatant Nepotism and the complete Shyte it broadcasts.

What was the carry on last night, RTE 1 having a royal love in from half nine,VM1 usually show that vomit

The homegrown stuff is absolutely shite, anything worth watching is available on other channels. The salaries are absolute scandalous for the audience numbers they are reaching. I'd feel sorry for the older generation who would miss it, but I cant imagine anyone under the age of 60 would care less if it disappeared.

Surely a special report on Prince Andrews upcoming case in NY?

It is still surprising how RTÉ failed to broadcast (or attempt to get the broadcast rights to) Newsnights interview with Prince Andrew and yet when they push other "royal" programming some how the broadcast is in someway important. Here's a broadcaster who seemed to gloss over the recent controversy about Diana's interview with the BBC's Martin Bashir. But sure lets buy in an ITV programme that would have otherwise appeared on Virgin Media.

I'm not sure that's true.

A well made documentary about one of the iconic public figures of the late 20th century.

Let's maybe wait for the viewer figures?

I wonder if that NewsNight interview with Prince Andrew would have got as many viewers? I suppose we will never know.

Put simply, scrap RTE, scrap the license, allow consumers actual choice 

If you allow the 'free market' free reign over what we watch and abandon any concept of 'public srervice broadcasting, you're just going to get wall-to-wall Virgin Media-type content

Okay you don't like the slant of pandemic coverage, but if you privatised RTE, you'd end up with minimal, shoestring news & current affairs content, along with documentaries, arts programming, drama and anything else that doesn't make a buck.