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

Not even on RTÉ News channel?

Break up of larger states I think former Eastern European countries did enter the competition, Yugoslavia for example where there from the 60s, while Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia are the new states that formed enter the competition.

I think its a max of 25 for the final, but all countries vote in the grand final.

When was the last time they had a late night news following the Eurovision.

I can't remember back to 2016 but I did notice the BBC had News at 3.45pm on Saturday and then again after Eurovision.

I suppose if there was some serious breaking news it would have been covered by all outlets.

It was an unusually busy day for them they ran from the cup final into the song contest related quiz then into the song contest proper at a gallop.

Christmas Day is more of a set piece with footage of the royal family going to church etc.

I'm sure the newsrooms are staffed to allow for the unexpected though

I didn't mean ordinary breaking news like a shooting in Dublin or a multiple fatality RTA.

I was more thinking of a plane crash at Dublin Airport, a high profile sudden death, that sort of thing.

Things like that and the budget goes out the window, it just has to be covered.

I don't watch RTE during the day so I didn't miss 4pm news.

sorry but you said

For example I could say

In other words because RTÉ have axed all their daytime news bulletins and because you don't watch RTÉ during the day it does not matter to you. But as a public service broadcaster it might matter to others.

RTÉ will not cover breaking news, I have an example that happened one Summer which would prove my point, but I can't think of it.

You may be right it could be a challenge but in examples like I gave I couldn't see them not having an emergency plan.

Yes it is.

The number and duration of same should be agreed and stuck to.

I don't know what you are referring to in the last paragraph so sorry can't comment on it.

I'm at a disadvantage in that I'm not familiar with the RTE daytime news offering now and in the past for the simple reason outlined above that I don't watch it.

So I hope you won't mind if I reserve judgement.

As I have said so many times before in our discussions I favour a broad national debate about what sort of PBS we want and I believe everything should be on the table.

I have always said news and current affairs should have a high priority.

Thanks for the offer to look up the example.

Please don't be offended it's not a matter of me not trusting you.

I just don't want to jump into agreeing about terms like "largely abandoned" and "bizarre" on the hoof so to speak.

As I have said before the day the Government wake up and get on with providing the PBS we want and deserve will be a happy one.

No I never did for the same reason as the afternoon bulletin, I never heard or watched them.

OK I'll give some consideration to your post but it'll have to be tomorrow because I am about to retire, big day tomorrow.

If you have really been following the trend of my posting on broadcasting I don't see how you come to the conclusion that I just want what suits me and don't care about others.

I have repeatedly posted on here that everyone should have an input into the shape of PBS we ultimately end up with.

I don't expect to get everything I want out of it and I have no problem in my taxes paying for it.

Can't be clearer than that for now.

first congratulations on your retirement.

This is how I see it: -

RTÉ have cut back massively on home produced programming but I don't see why.

I would have thought that RTÉ2 is a core service and as such it would have programmes produced for it.

Now they might say well people have moved online and we are doing more of that type of programming online with the player, but cuts to RTÉ2 came long before they started on any online programming that would have normally aired on RTÉ2. (And the Player originals do not in anyway replace the amount of content on RTÉ2).

So we still have to consider it a core service. Is there anything that shows us that RTÉ2 is an Irish Broadcaster? This week they will have 2 hours of Irish content, you could possibly add 30 to 60 mins when you include new children's programming. For the entire week!

Can you imagine if either TG4 or Virgin Media one did this? TG4 cannot due to the Irish Language, while Virgin Media one's license insists on 30% of programming coming from Ireland (Okay I know it is only Ireland AM and news programming in the main).

Then if I wanted I could argue that even the simplest programmes aren't produced by RTÉ: -

No Quiz Shows, No Comedy (I am not including Chat shows), little independent Drama (both RTÉ and VMTV seem to think they should only invest in high end drama god forbid that that they would consider a series like Can't Cope Won't Cope or Batchelors Walk), much like Drama is big big extravagant Entertainment shows or nothing, so much so that for a few week they aired Ant & Dec.

Then as I have pointed out News programming has been cut, while it takes a break in August "also know as the silly season", 3 times due to corna they had to run around to produce an hour long Six One.

And keeping with simple programming why does their core afternoon programme take a break in June, July, August and September, you don't see that with Ireland AM.

These are all regular things you would expect from a broadcaster, I am not even talking about their Public Service Remit.

RTÉ needs reform, if you throw more money at it you will still get an August break for the news, little to no comedy, a 4 month break for their daytime programme, they don't even do a morning show. And why I am I so certain of that? Because that's what we've largely got in the past.

🤣 I though you were having a party tonight so I was surprise by your reply 🤣

I used to watch RTE2 years ago when it would have a lot of the US shows on it - haven't looked at the station in about a decade I would say, if not more

Now it seems to be just full on repeats with reality crap and the likes - can't see what benefit it is to anyone, tho going by their viewing figures I am not alone in not watching it