NNI wants state action on RTÉ’s ‘unfair advantage’

THE National Newspapers of Ireland has called on the Government to implement existing EU and Irish legislation to ensure RTÉ is not allowed to use state funding to finance the broadcaster’s commercial services.

The representative body of the Irish newspaper industry said barriers existed to the entry of newspapers to providing digital services due to unfair competition from the state broadcaster and the Government’s failure to address the issue.

The NNI said RTÉ is being allowed an unfair advantage over newspapers as it has been exceeding the proper limits of its public service remit through the cross-promotion of its services across various platforms, including TV, radio, print and the internet.