Media

TV licence sales drop by almost €22m following RTÉ controversies

Some 137,057 fewer households paid the TV licence fee since start of RTÉ controversies last summer, figures show

Overall, some 137,057 fewer households paid the €160 fee between the end of June 2023 and late February 2024 compared to the same period the previous year.

Cormac McQuinn
Thu Mar 7 2024 - 14:44

Sales of the TV licence have dropped by almost €22 million in the wake of the spate of controversies that have engulfed RTÉ since last summer, according to the latest figures from the Department of Media.

Overall, some 137,057 fewer households paid the €160 fee between the end of June 2023 and late February 2024 compared to the same period the previous year.

This amounts a fall in revenue of €21,929,120.

The data comes as the Government this week appointed a new chairman to the board of the national broadcaster, former managing partner of KPMG Terence O’Rourke.

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His appointment followed the resignation of former chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh after Minister for Media Catherine Martin failed to express confidence in her during a Prime Time interview last month.

Ms Ní Raghalaigh’s departure occurred amid fresh controversy over exit packages for senior RTÉ executives.

The storm around RTÉ began in late June last year when it emerged that there had been undisclosed payments to former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy.

This brought intense political scrutiny of the national broadcaster and there were further revelations about the loss-making Toy Show the Musical as well as spending on corporate hospitality.

In a statement on Monday, following her resignation, Ní Raghallaigh criticised the Minister for not assisting with efforts to restore licence fee payers’ confidence in RTÉ.

“This was urgent, not least to continue to arrest the decline in licence fee compliance since the controversy began last summer and which, regretfully, was not assisted by the Minister who said she would refuse to tell licence payers what to do,” said the former RTÉ chair.

Responding to the latest TV licence fee sales figures, RTÉ said it “would like to thank those who have paid their TV licence.”

A statement also thanked “our hard-working staff who continue to deliver informative, engaging and entertainment programming and content to audiences, day-in and day-out.”

It added: “RTÉ is determined to continue to work hard to address key issues as part of our ongoing efforts to transform this organisation into one we can be proud of.”

RTÉ had long sought reform of the TV licence system raising concern about evasion rates even before the fall in revenue that has occurred over the last eight months.

The Government is awaiting delivery of two reports it commissioned looking at governance and other issues at RTÉ before it makes a decision on how RTÉ will be funded into the future.

Those reports are due at the end of the month and the Coalition has set a target of making a decision on the funding model before the Dáil’s summer recess.

The Commission on the Future of Media had recommended that public service media should be funded directly from the exchequer but this was rejected by the Government in 2022.

Ms Martin has since been supportive of the idea of an exchequer funding model saying last month that it should be given serious consideration.

The idea has been resisted by the Department of Finance and senior Government figures have also raised concerns.

During an interview on RTÉ radio this week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the judgment call the Government has to make “is whether we go for exchequer funding or a new form of media charge or household charge.

“You can argue it either way. I think the main argument against exchequer funding would be that it would put too much control in the Government of the day”.

He added: “I think there’s a strong case that having hypothecated or bespoke funding that the Government would find it much harder to interfere with”.

Mr Varadkar also said of future funding: “It needs to be money that’s earned and it needs to be competed for.”

In a separate interview Tánaiste Micheál Martin said there are “different perspectives across Government”.

He raised concern at the potential for direct exchequer funding to impact on RTÉ's editorial independence.

Mr Martin suggested there could be “a combination” of different funding sources adding: “I definitely think we have to have an independent stream of revenue.”

He said this would also act as “a buffer against economic downturns.”

Cormac McQuinn

Cormac McQuinn

Cormac McQuinn is a Political Correspondent at The Irish Times

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