- NEWS
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Prayer vigil for fine weather as farmers queue for fodderA 24-hour prayer vigil for fine weather has been held on the Kerry-Cork border.
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- LIFESTYLE
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10-13C
Breaking stories
RTÉ to map out five-year plan for public service media
By Eddie Cassidy
RTÉ is to map out a bold and compelling vision for public service media by the end of the year.
Director general Noel Curran said a fully costed five-year strategy will deliver the broadcaster’s view of what the future will hold.He said RTÉ would set out clear commitments, including the platforms and devices on which its content will be made available to viewers.
The broadcaster is facing a €57m deficit this year, partly due to a forced redundancy programme. It expects to break even in 2013 if commercial revenues hold steady.
Last year RTÉ recorded a deficit that widened to €16.8m as commercial revenues and licence fee income both declined. It received €183.6m in licence revenue, a €12.4m fall on 2010.
Commercial revenues fell to €167.3m last year, down 32% from a 2007 peak.
By the end of 2012, it is envisaged RTÉ’s commercial and public income will be down €100m from five years ago.
“But not everything is falling,” Mr Curran told the TV50 conference in UCC. “The number of television channels selling opt-out advertising in that period grew by 50% to over 30.
“And virtually none of those channels invest a cent in the Irish production sector.”
He said, since 2007, Sky TV’s revenue increased by close to €3bn while Google’s revenue more than doubled to €38bn.
“What will the next five years bring for television? Is traditional linear television about to meet its match? I don’t think so, but I think our definition of ‘television’ will change.
“Those who talk of the death of television and the future only in new media, digital terms, are misjudging history’s great shape changer.”
Mr Curran said: “Predictions of the demise of television are as common as predictions about tomorrow’s weather — and, sadly, they are just as accurate.
“If you type ‘death of television’ into Google, it produces nearly 2bn results, spanning decades of prediction and analysis, most of which prophesied the demise of television as a norm of mass entertainment.”
He noted: “These articles, written by some of the brightest commentators down the decades, all mention the latest assassins who will slay the giant of television — the VCR, the DVD, internet, digital TV, YouTube, TiVo, Hulu, Netflix, and a thousand other heroes who were going to finally see this slow and old-fashioned beast off, once and for all.
“But like the Hydra in Greek mythology, television has refused to go away. For every challenge, television grew another head, adapted, and survived.”
Meanwhile, the five-year strategy aims to offer the details and services RTÉ plans to offer, clearly indicate how RTÉ will change and reform, and, also, offer its best predictions on how the changes can be financially supported and sustained.