TV licence non renewal or jail?
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Ceist Beag
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40% of the Irish people speak Irish, hardly niche. But why let the facts get in the way of opinion.
Seems the stat you’re referring to relates to a census in which 40% respondents stated they ‘could speak a bit of it’ (no doubt down to school) yet the vast majority of that 40% also chose not to.
So agree to disagree but OT regardless.
Make RTE a subscription based service, if you don't pay, you don't get to watch it - things would change for the better, at RTE, very quickly, then.
I must admit, the never ending charade from politicans, while the continue to fund RTE without any real changes being made to it, it's really annoying me.
I must admit, the never ending charade from politicans, while the continue to fund RTE without any real changes being made to it, it's really annoying me.
The media offering in Ireland has radically changed in the past 15 years with the arrival of affordable high-speed internet, online video, and smartphones. RTÉ was never going to be able to compete with the BBC or Netflix so I would have expected it to focus on current affairs, Irish arts and culture, children's programming, talk radio, and soaps, i.e. things you would not find much of on Disney+ or YouTube.
I think it may have missed the mark a few times over the years but it's hard to say overall as the proposition has changed, e.g. addition of RTÉ 2, TG4, and RTÉ Player versus transfer of performing groups to the National Concert Hall, end of Radio Cork, shut down of DAB and longwave, etc. The wages for the big names has always been mystifying and the recent revelations are wild. The board seems weak and directionless. Glad to see the C&AG may be getting involved.
I feel people have always complained about the licence so I had a look back at fees over the last 60 years.
Adjusted for inflation:
1963 = €142
1973 = €222
1983 = €181
1996 = €156
2003 = €209
2023 = €160
Seems fairly reasonable?
Not paying the licence fee as a protest is understandable but it's a fairly weak one that comes across as selfish. As others have said we can't choose which taxes/fees to pay if we want to live in a functioning society. I have absolutely zero interest in soccer coverage, Dancing With The Stars, or Tommy Tiernan but I'm happy to pay for those as many others enjoy them and it wouldn't be accessible if it was subscription only or some other individualised funding model. In return, the sports nerds and Fair City stans are all subsidising my current affairs and documentary podcasts (thank you).
A funny thing about RTÉ is how they seem to be able to annoy the right, the left, and the government all at once. I don't know if that's good or bad...
I think it may have missed the mark a few times over the years but it's hard to say overall as the proposition has changed, e.g. addition of RTÉ 2, TG4, and RTÉ Player versus transfer of performing groups to the National Concert Hall, end of Radio Cork, shut down of DAB and longwave, etc. The wages for the big names has always been mystifying and the recent revelations are wild. The board seems weak and directionless. Glad to see the C&AG may be getting involved.
I feel people have always complained about the licence so I had a look back at fees over the last 60 years.
Adjusted for inflation:
1963 = €142
1973 = €222
1983 = €181
1996 = €156
2003 = €209
2023 = €160
Seems fairly reasonable?
Not paying the licence fee as a protest is understandable but it's a fairly weak one that comes across as selfish. As others have said we can't choose which taxes/fees to pay if we want to live in a functioning society. I have absolutely zero interest in soccer coverage, Dancing With The Stars, or Tommy Tiernan but I'm happy to pay for those as many others enjoy them and it wouldn't be accessible if it was subscription only or some other individualised funding model. In return, the sports nerds and Fair City stans are all subsidising my current affairs and documentary podcasts (thank you).
A funny thing about RTÉ is how they seem to be able to annoy the right, the left, and the government all at once. I don't know if that's good or bad...
With commercial TV and radio now readily available across the country, there is zero justification for RTE continuing to provide "general entertainment" programming, so that's one significant market where RTE should immediately withdraw from.
The related radio and TV stations (incl. RTE2, 2FM, Lyric FM, Gold etc. ) should be sold off, or closed down.
Anyone wanting to watch general entrainment, be it chat shows, soap operas etc. can watch them on various other commercial TV services. Likewise, anyone wanting to listen to commercial radio, can find plenty of choice.
The population should not be compelled to pay for programming that they don't want to watch. If I want to watch movies, or sport, or children's programmes, then it's at my descretion, and I'll pay for it.
The fact that TV and radio can be sourced from satellite, saorview, or the Internet, means that everyone can receive a good selection of commercial programming, regardless of where they are based, in Ireland.
Strip out one of the TV channels, a couple of the radio stations, all of the related programming and personnel, and then let's take a look at what's left - there'll be more than enough to provide Public Service Broadcasting, and it'll cost a hell of a lot less to run.
The related radio and TV stations (incl. RTE2, 2FM, Lyric FM, Gold etc. ) should be sold off, or closed down.
Anyone wanting to watch general entrainment, be it chat shows, soap operas etc. can watch them on various other commercial TV services. Likewise, anyone wanting to listen to commercial radio, can find plenty of choice.
The population should not be compelled to pay for programming that they don't want to watch. If I want to watch movies, or sport, or children's programmes, then it's at my descretion, and I'll pay for it.
The fact that TV and radio can be sourced from satellite, saorview, or the Internet, means that everyone can receive a good selection of commercial programming, regardless of where they are based, in Ireland.
Strip out one of the TV channels, a couple of the radio stations, all of the related programming and personnel, and then let's take a look at what's left - there'll be more than enough to provide Public Service Broadcasting, and it'll cost a hell of a lot less to run.
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Abolish RTE and you'll still have to pay a TV licence fee, which would then fund TG4 and Virgin.
What a pickle ....
thedaddyman
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Define Public Sector Broadcasting? There is a strong arguement for Lyric as an example, its a unique station in Ireland and no one will pick up the slack, I'd be gutted to see Gold go as it tends to be the one we listen to the most. Likewise, I don't want to have to pay for sport directly, it was great at the weekend to sit down and watch the Fitzgibbon cup final, 3 rugby matches and 3 Gaelic Football games, all for nothing. my kids were glued to the Olympic Hockey qualifiers recently on the RTE news channel as another example. Not everyone cares about the Premier league and Sky or Virgin won't cover the bulk of these events.
A lot of people can't afford to pay upwards of a thousand euro a year for satellite TV.
I wouldn't argue with losing 2FM, its just a generic pop channel with nothing to differentiate it.
Define "Public Service Broadcasting"... granted, maybe it differs from one person to the next.
Personally, I'd point to PBS in the States, as an example of what Public Service Broadcasting is, albeit you'd need to amend it for Irish tastes.
I see it including Current Affairs, Politics, Weather, Culture and Arts, Educational programming etc.
Easier to start with telling you what I think it's not, perhaps, so it's not:
*Somewhere to rebroadcast soap operas, or TV drama series, movies etc.
* Somewhere to roll out a half dozen chat shows, hosted by overpaid "stars"
* Somewhere to broadcast regular sports events, albeit there a case to be made for when a national team is playing in an international competition.
* Somewhere to roll out rubbish shows like Dancing with the Stars etc. just to give Marty or Lotti another slice of our licence fee.
Personally, I'd point to PBS in the States, as an example of what Public Service Broadcasting is, albeit you'd need to amend it for Irish tastes.
I see it including Current Affairs, Politics, Weather, Culture and Arts, Educational programming etc.
Easier to start with telling you what I think it's not, perhaps, so it's not:
*Somewhere to rebroadcast soap operas, or TV drama series, movies etc.
* Somewhere to roll out a half dozen chat shows, hosted by overpaid "stars"
* Somewhere to broadcast regular sports events, albeit there a case to be made for when a national team is playing in an international competition.
* Somewhere to roll out rubbish shows like Dancing with the Stars etc. just to give Marty or Lotti another slice of our licence fee.
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Biggest cost is live sport.
But there's certainly merit in what you suggest with maybe Irish sports added in.
With so much choice on streaming and UK free to air, there's no need for two TV stations. Radio on the other hand is lower cost and specialties can be targeted.
€10 a month onto the local property charge for an advert free TV channel along with tg4 and continue radio much as it is with possibly 2fm sold off.
That's about 250m income. Low collection charges and near 100% compliance.
Gov would still pay for OAP fees and landlords would add it to rent.
RTE.
One thing that bothers me, is that some people are arguing for RTE to continue with existing content, such as sport.
Unless it's a national team, competing (not playing a friendly), then I don't agree that it's content that we should all be forced to pay for. Regularly GAA matches, for example, should not be on RTE.
If I want to watch movies, I watch (and pay for) a movie channel, if I want to watch sport, I pay for a sports channel etc. Others aren't compelled to pay for the entertainment that I want to watch, so why should I be compelled to pay for this type of content on RTE ?
Unless it's a national team, competing (not playing a friendly), then I don't agree that it's content that we should all be forced to pay for. Regularly GAA matches, for example, should not be on RTE.
If I want to watch movies, I watch (and pay for) a movie channel, if I want to watch sport, I pay for a sports channel etc. Others aren't compelled to pay for the entertainment that I want to watch, so why should I be compelled to pay for this type of content on RTE ?
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I rarely watch GAA any more and I never watch the RTE TV news because of it's poor quality but I don't object to paying for it. At the moment we have a Public Service Broadcaster which provides poor quality entertainment and poor quality and biased current affairs programming but that's still better than nothing.
Ceist Beag
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That's your opinion but I would suspect you are very much in the minority in that view.
It's a fair point that if RTE are paying to broadcast GAA, Rugby or Soccer, all via commercial arrangements with the respective sporting bodies, them perhaps they (RTE) should do so based on a demonstrable commercial criteria, i.e. advertising revenue.
I'm not sure biased current affairs is better than nothing
It's better than privately owned biased current affairs.I'm not sure biased current affairs is better than nothing
But we are not compelled to pay for the "pleasure" of watching privately owned biased current affairs...
That's true.