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RTÉ HAS OUTLINED its strategy for the next five years, which aims to ensure “the future and the relevance of a transformed” national broadcaster.
‘A New Direction’, published this afternoon, is set to guide RTÉ from next year until 2029.
The report states that during this period, RTÉ will “transform in order to take account of major changes in the media landscape, evolving audience preferences and behaviours and the expanding role and importance of public service media”.
The plan involves the loss of 400 jobs through a phased Voluntary Exit Programme in order to save money, as well as limiting presenter salaries.
Much of it involves enhancing its current offerings, such as the RTÉ Player, while investing in new digital services.
A new audio app, which will serve as a platform for delivering “a full suite of audio content from RTÉ for listeners to access and discover”.
Audience insights will be gathered on the app to shape the content strategy. It will be launched next year.
As a result, four digital radio services (RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Pulse and RTÉjr radio) will close before the end of the year “ahead of refreshed content within the new Audio App”.
A new daily news podcast. This will bring digital audiences “the story behind the stories” and provide additional insights into the news and events of the day. This will also be launched in 2025.
There will also be a new RTÉ News App launched next year to showcase “the best of the depth and breadth of our quality journalism, making more creative use of text, video, images and other storytelling devices with content that is worth sharing”.
A dedicated Disinformation Unit will be established in the broadcaster’s news and current affairs department. This will also see the establishment of a new Disinformation Correspondent role at RTÉ. It will be launched in 2025.
A feasibility study for a new digital Irish language radio station targeting
15-34 year-old listeners will be undertaken in 2025.
A sign-in feature will be introduced for all RTÉ Player users in an effort to make the service more personalised.
The RTÉ Player will also have a “redesigned and further improved interface” and new features, such as Live Restart. This will be introduced in 2026.
There will be a 100% increase in the hours of children’s content available on the RTÉ Player by 2026.
The broadcaster will invest in a new production centre in Cork, which will be home to a mix of in-house and commissioned programmes. The production centre will have a dedicated regional commissioning editor and will begin operations in 2027.
RTÉ will also explore joint ventures with independent service providers in the new production facility.
The broadcaster will aim to have 60 hours of original Irish drama and comedy on air by 2028.
New online channels on RTÉ Player, such as RTÉ as Gaeilge and RTÉ Archives, will also be launched by 2029.
By the end of 2029, the RTÉ One + 1 and RTÉ2 + 1 channels will close. The report says this content will be available more widely on-demand.
Closing these will allow RTÉ to “reduce the cost of traditional broadcast distribution” as they prioritise the delivery of live and on-demand content through digital products, it says.
It will also reduce the share of staff based in Dublin. By the end of the strategy period, it said the number of employees based outside of the capital will rise from 13% to 20%.
Director general Kevin Bakhurst said the new strategy sets out “transformative change in how we deliver for audiences and how we run the organisation”.
“It is a plan based on our core values. It is outward looking and ambitious – but it is deliverable,” he said.
“We are determined to build a strong, modern RTÉ that will play its role in Irish life, that Ireland will be proud of and that will deliver a better outcome for the public we serve.”
The full report can be read here.
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They promise to source cheaper Flip flops on the temu app to cut the 20K spent previously in pennys
I heard Kevin Backhurst on Drivetime this evening and he said they are relocating the Late Late and Fair City away from the Donnybrook complex. Did I imagine it or did RTE recently build a whole new Fair City set in Donnybrook. How is this saving money.
@karen delaney: sell it for a small fortune
@karen delaney: Two Million spent on Fair City set !
@anthony davoren: very small!
@SV3tN8M4: what on that bin contents
How I wonder they will afford all this. They will end up getting even more taxpayers money after a scandal in which they wasted millions of taxpayers money. Make it make sense
The 12 Promises :
1/ No Transparency
2/ No Accountability
3/ No Answers to previous Irregularities
4/ Sick Certs of any sort to be accepted
5/ Continuance of Mega Salaries for Stars
6/ Continuance of Mega Exit Packages
7/ Continuance of Non Disclosure Agreements
8/ Continuance of six Figure sum Reports from outside Agencies
9/ Non Compliant Licence Fee Holders to be jailed
10/ Guarantee to blow every Euro they receive & keep coming back for more
11/ Public Service Broadcasting without the Govt bias
12/ RTE promise that this will be the last time there will ever be a scandal at RTE
@SV3tN8M4: I’ll give you 12 out of 12 for that comment john.
@SV3tN8M4: stars? Do you mean Duffy and D’Arcy?
@SV3tN8M4: Best commentary on that s*** show I have seen. Well summed up
Should be not overpaying presenters extortionate salaries
How on earth did we arrive at a situation where 87% of RTE staff are in Dublin and why would reducing it to just 80% be seen as a remotely acceptable target?
By comparison the BBC only has 49% of staff based in London.
@Rochelle Hart: RTE is set up to cater for it’s employees and nobody else!
@Brian Hunt: not the 20% of employees being made redundant
A Disinformation Unit!!! wasn’t that what Miss Forbes and her band of merry men and woman were all about grotesquely overpaid to oversee?
Bakhurst trying to sell RTE to the public, is like a car salesman trying to sell a Lada, it’s so awful nobody wants it!
@Brian Hunt: At least on a Lada the rear window demist will keep the hands warm when pushing…
Nowhere for public to complain about the standard of shows or guests. Can only complain if ethical codes breached.
Joe duffy will soon be ringing his own show to make head tail of it all .
Add these 2 promises to your list Kevin:
1. Make Dee Forbes come forward and be accountable for the money she squandered.
2. Make tubridy repay the money he wrongly took.
@djdonohoe2000@yahoo.co.uk: rte misrepresented Tubidy salary. They wanted to make it look under the 500k.
One of the twelve most likely,another bailout.
@Paddy C: did marty ever pay back that money on that Renault?any chance that could be added to the list to be done over the next five years aswel at least. I think the tax payers have had enough of paying out for that sort of crap.
Ryan tubridy didn’t do the gigs he promised to pay back the money breda o keeffe chief finance officer redundant and yet 2 more chief finance officers that’s a million rte is owed send solicitor letter asking for money back or take her to where she can meet the people who paid it the licence fee people 440k 10 good paying jobs for a year the hypocrisy of it all
RTE won’t even last 5 more year’s the way it’s going it’s all talk a bit like our government
@Alan Moloney: people have been saying for the last 40 years that RTÉ is finished. It’s going nowhere.
No promise to eradicate bogus self employment?
Not a word then about lotto winning salaries and payouts being accounted for.
What’s news?
Same BS, same propaganda, same tax for everyone, probably will be increasing
The echo chamber that is The Journal comments sections is busy and active. The hive mind is strong.
@Sun Rise: Foff to some communist or facist country if you have an issue with freedom of opinion or speech.
Where’s John Mulligan the bitter old orange man
WHY? Why should I pay for this? I don’t watch it or want it!!!
Pay per view is the only thing they need to promise. All the rest is huff and blister.
Yessss they are cancelling fair city . that would be great
Re: Fair City. What’s happening with the mother of the loose cannon son (said son now gone all social worker with the youths) who was accused of posting pics up of another character, who then left? It’s bad enough the wedding going all Pete Tong, but letting storylines slip. Rhythm of storylines a tad out of sorts.
Will the Disinformation Unit put an end to their “JOURNALISTS” regurgitation of PR releases.
have your say