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

Just to point out that View figures are complied by different companies BARB in the UK and TAMI in Ireland. Nothing to do with the License fee.

Can't believe 2FM gets a young audience. Do kids even listen to radio anymore, nevermind 2FM?

If it's making money though,like every other radio station in the country they might as well keep it. It usually costs millions to keep it going however.

Seems to me Bakhurst is determined to maintain the status quo. No sign of a rationalisation plan and looking forward to a new funding model from Government.

I suppose when 2FM is getting between €1 to €3 euros* out every license fee every year you'd consider that 2FM is making money. It's great to be able to make money and then receive a top up from public funding to balance your books. I wonder why 2FM needs such funding.

I mean if Kevin Bakhurst the "DIRECTOR GENERAL" says that 2FM is money making then it must be the case that it is also getting a yuff audience. I think he heard it from Dee Forbes, and possibly had a convo with Moya Doherty about it all, both of them would agree its profit making and a clear avenue to Yuff audiences. We shall say no more and agree in their absolute infallibility.

*2FM has been in receipt of license fee funding since 2011, in 2022 it got €2.60 from every licence up from €2.49 in 2021.

Perhaps last year Mr Bakhurst cut the license fee funding to the station in 2023 and cut its costs.

speaking of dee...has she resurfaced yet? or is it still all a bit like the hunt for red october?

So, the TV licence is to be replaced with a €15 monthly levy on broadband bills. This means RTE gets €20 extra a month per payee and no avoidance of payment. This should mean no more government bail outs? But will this actually be the case? Thoughts on this new development?

Tomorrow's SBP, their sub-headline says one of 3 options being looked at is a €15 monthly levy on all Broadband bills.

This government never fails to amaze me in their idiocy.

There will be all levels of protest if they try to stick €15 on to broadband bills to keep crooked RTÉ afloat.

Yes or those using their mobile as a hotspot.

Political suicide for whoever tries to implement this

I think most people want a national TV station ... and pay the licence/accept one has to pay for it like taxes have to be paid ... but this comes with a caveat ... how the TV station .... and radio too .... uses our money ....

I see all these 'stars' of TV & radio earning like 150K upwards ... with Pat Kenny earning 900K as famously reminded by this Dublinese Elvis lookalike back in 2009 (The Frontline: Pat Kenny comes under fire (youtube.com)) ... the Ryan Tubridy scandal brought about the mainstream realisation of the obscene money these greedy people feel entitled to .... sadly this greed did not end with Tubbers' exit from RTE ... his replacement still gets 150K for doing 5 hours a week talking the same rubbish ....

TV remains polluted with absolute smutty drivel like First Dates Ireland along with continuously flogged dead horses passed their prime like DWTS, Operation Transformation and Room to Improve ... meanwhile no Kin series 3 or no other such quality drama being made ... nice to know what RTE prioritise ...

Hasbeen comedians like Tommy Tiernan and Oliver Callan can thank their lucky stars for RTE .... always there to rescue them from their destiny ... at our cost ... yet the door is firmly closed to everyone else ...

If RTE want us to pay them money then we all need a say in how it is run and what type of programmes are on it .... the days of forcing handpicked individuals at us a la Noel Kelly needs to be gone but isn't .... programmes like The Frontline for Pat Kenny and Tubridy Tonight for its namesake were specially made for the presenter NOT the audience .... same goes for Operation Transformation ... believe it or not for Gerry Ryan ... can't see why though!! ...

Our worst TV programmes are cheap, easy to make drivel .... but where does all the money go? Why are shoestring programmes made? Why is RTE ... a company with licence money plus govt money plus ad revenue ... so broke? ... until these questions are answered and until these issues are resolved the people should not feel obliged to pay the licence ... I for one want Kin #3 .... others want other programmes ... I am not saying get rid of what is on currently but we need and do not get variety or quality .... and why are we not getting what we should be getting? salaries! salaries! salaries! ... and creating programmes for presenters rather than audiences! ....

So rather than sorting the problem child that is rte and reigning in their obscenely wasteful spending, they and the government are willing to attempt to take 10 euro a.month off people.to keep them in the style they have become accustomed to.

It's the unwillingness to admit that a large volume of people do not want to pay for something they have no interest in or even think that rte is worth supporting.

Instead they want any other business, to help gather the funds to keep them afloat.

Both rte and the government are really perong me off.

I don't have rte on my tv. I hear very little of their radio. At an absolute push, if I'm in the car on a Saturday afternoon I might hear a few minutes of movies and musicals program on lyric.

I pay broadband to Eir for internet. To watch Disney etc. not rte. Never.

A broadband tax would be very unfair.

AFAIK nearly all countries, ones comparable in size to Ireland anyway, fund pubic service broadcasting through some form of mandatory exaction on the taxpayer. If RTE funding moved to some form of voluntary subscription like you seem to be suggesting they would not be able to finance noncommercial content like documentaries, arts, Irish language on any serious scale.

well that's the subhead but

i still think the government could plump for direct exchequer funding as the least politically painful option, despite strong FF resistance.