RTE IS TO cut the pay of its top presenters by at least 30 per cent as part of a major new plan to reduce costs at the broadcaster.
The station’s London office is to close and a voluntary redundancy scheme will also be introduced as part of an effort to save up to €25 million.
Staff were told of the cuts today by Director General Noel Curran, who said that difficult decisions and changes were needed for RTE to sustain its services.
Programme budgets will be cut significantly with a 25 per cent reduction in sports and at least 10 per cent reduction in acquisitions.
The station had already announced that the presenter fees for the top ten earners – including Ryan Tubridy and Marian Finucance – were to be cut by at least 30 per cent. The cut is now to be extended to include the top twenty earners at the broadcaster.
“We would like to acknowledge the commitment of all of these contracted presenters to our programme schedules,” said Curran.
Curran said that RTE’s audiences are strong but the economy remains “flat” and commercial trading for all media remains weak.
The broadcaster aims to save €15 million through a new voluntary redundancy scheme which has already seen around 190 people leave their jobs.
There will also be cost reductions across each separate output division, including television, radio, news and digital.
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