IN ITS ANNUAL report published yesterday, RTÉ outlined exactly where each television licence collected goes.

Out of the €160 fee, €125 is directed towards RTÉ activities, with the remaining €35 being spent elsewhere.

Television received the majority share of just under €90, with radio collecting about €26.50 per licence.

The broadcaster noted that the cost of providing public service activities is much higher than the actual amount of public funding received. It then relies on a dual public/commercial model whereby commercial activities are used to bridge the funding gap.

Here’s the exact breakdown:

• RTÉ One – €58.01
• RTÉ Two – €31.21
• RTÉ Radio One – €13.40
• RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta – €8.33
• RTÉ Lyric FM – €4.79
• RTÉ Performing Groups – €9.26
• RTÉ Support for TG4 – €6.39
• Broadcasting Authority of Ireland levy – €1.75
• TG4 Deduction – €6.71
• BCI Sound and Vision fund – €10.53
• Collection Costs from An Post/Communications and Social Protection Departments – €9.62

Table from the Annual Report illustrating the TV licence spend:

RTÉ has also worked out the cost of its transmissions, broken down into hourly slots. For RTÉ One, the overall average cost per transmitted hour is €16,700, while for RTÉ Two it is €10,900.

Yesterday: RTÉ deficit jumps to €16.8 million in 2011>