Irish Examiner view: TV licence figures offer cold comfort

RTÉ has some way to go before it can compete effectively with streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Disney+

From July to December last year, the months after the RTÉ controversy became public, 378,974 TV licences were bought, of which 345,303 were renewals. This compares to 502,495 in the same six-month period in 2022, of which 443,442 were renewals. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA

How many people do you know who say that they “never” watch TV? Relatively few, we would argue. Yet you might think there is a wholesale flight from the medium if you analyse the latest licence fee figures from the Department of Media.

This dataset has been eagerly awaited because it follows last summer’s protracted story about shadowy finances at the nation’s broadcaster including barter accounts, undeclared payments to top talent, freebies for commercial customers including the now legendary “flip flops” and generally opaque behaviour within senior management.