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VIRGIN MEDIA HAS said a new funding plan for RTÉ is a “reward for inefficiency and all-round bad practice”.
The Government today announced that the national broadcaster will receive €725 million in public funding over the next three years, with €225 million of this coming next year.
Áine Ní Chaoindealbháin, managing director of Virgin Media Television, said the funding package for RTÉ “further distorts the market”.
“RTÉ will now be in a more dominant position than ever before where it will receive a guaranteed €725m from the taxpayer while continuing to benefit from the largest share of commercial revenue,” said Ní Chaoindealbháin.
Also announced today by the Government was a €4 million increase to the Broadcasting and Media Fund, which independent broadcasters can apply to.
This extra €4 million in available funding, which will come on stream next year, will see the available funding for the wider media sector reach €22.2 million.
Ní Chaoindealbháin cautioned that Virgin Media Television “has no alternative but to review all options including our position with regards to our existing Public Service Broadcasting commitments”.
She added that today’s announcement disregards Virgin Media’s “25-year record of delivering extensive Public Service content and the 93% of the population that we reach on an annual basis”.
Speaking to RTÉ News’ Six Ones, Martin said “no other Minister has given so much funding to public service media”.
“When the Future of Media Commission reported those recommendations in relation to other public service media providers, it talked about a figure of €30 million and we are now at €22.2 million,” said Martin.
However, the Future of Media Commission recommended in 2022 that €30 million should be allocated to this fund by 2023.
The funding provided is close to €8 million short of where the Commission recommended that it should be as of last year.
Martin added: “In relation to Virgin Media’s concerns, I’m happy for the Department and myself to meet them and tease out those concerns with them, but it is on the trajectory of and that pathway towards what the Future of Media Commission recommended.”
Meanwhile, NewsBrands Ireland, the representative body for Ireland’s national news publishers, welcomed the funding for RTÉ that will “secure its future”.
However, NewsBrands noted that news publishers compete with RTÉ for audience and advertisers.
“It is important to highlight that RTÉ can leverage its privileged position as a publicly funded broadcaster to compete unfairly for online advertising, at the expense of independent news publishers,” said NewsBrands in a statement.
Its CEO, Ann Marie Lenihan, said “it is crucial to ensure that any public funding of RTÉ is not used to further distort the market”.
“If a news publisher launches a website, it has to generate sufficient revenues from the website – through subscriptions and advertising – to make the site viable,” said Lenihan.
“However, its ability to do so is severely prejudiced by the fact that the public service broadcaster does not have to turn a profit on its website.
“Indeed, it can avail of publicly-funded content and use it for commercial gain.
“News publishers on the other hand must invest millions in content generation in order to maximise commercial opportunity without any public funding from the taxpayer.”
Lenihan called for more to be done to “ensure that the huge investment of publishers in developing online services is not undermined by the digital activities of RTÉ”.
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Where’s Dee?
@brendan hackett:
Poor Dee has long coward.
@brendan hackett: well done vergin media…. every radio station and tv station in the country should go out of their way to make a show of RTE and this government
@brendan hackett: she’s emotionally distressed it has taken its toll on her to be fair. The adequate lump sum and hefty pension should hopefully soften the blow.
@brendan hackett: I live in France and I’m sure I can hear her laughing from here.
The contrast in how this issue was reported this evening on TV3 & RTE was stark. The TV3 report was bang on & questioning of why & how this is justified. RTE on the other hand gave their own slant & it was all about why the Licence Fee wasn’t abolished & given total Direct Exchequer funding. The interview of Minister Catherine Martin on Six1 was pure kid gloves, an embarrassment to watch. Catherine Martin & Simon Harris have rewarded Lies, Deceit, Corruption & Cover ups, with still no answers, nobody held accountable & no criminal investigations & no monies returned as promised. Simon Harris, Catherine Martin & RTE have lost all credibility, all should resign in shame. TV3 are rightly infuriated, only in Ireland would the Incompetence seen in RTE be rewarded with such money.
@SV3tN8M4: they’re infuriated because they want a larger share of the pie, not for any other reason. Even Virgin agree that RTE needs to be funded by the state/tax payer, but the model is not what they hoped for. Whereas as you just want to shut it down. I’m surprised that you watch it.
@SYaxJ2Ts: why does RTE need tax payers money?. Virgin media can clearly survive without Taxpayers money so why can’t RTE follow the same business model as Virgin media?.
@Ger Whelan: Because virgin media isn’t the state broadcaster. It’s a for-profit business, specializing in reruns of UK reality shows and sensationalist talk shows filled with has-been former journalists and right-wing grifters.
@Ger Whelan: because of the scope of programming that it offers on both TV and radio – it is way much more than what Virgin offers. I’m not vouching or not for its quality, but that scope can not be broadcast to such a relatively small population without state assistance
@Ger Whelan: have you seen the shyte on virgin media?
@SYaxJ2Ts: virgin don’t get any slice, I’d rather my money went to a company that has proven it can Stand on their own feet than a company that has wasted it time and time again only to ask for more.
@SYaxJ2Ts: It might surprise you that I have been a compliant Licence Fee holder for 3 decades but did not pay this year & won’t following the expose of Lies, Deceit, Fraud, Corruption & Cover Ups. Why should I pay my hard earned money to an Organization that is rotten to the core & hasn’t changed or won’t change one iota. This is an organization that continually spouts out the word Misinformation when it has Misinformed its Licence Fee holders for years around its salaries & corporate governance. It has done untold damage to Democracy here & nobody has even answered the questions or being held accountable & waltzed off with mega pensions, exit packages & Nda’s. It has highlighted that white collar fraud is acceptable in Ireland & it has radicalized working Taxpayers who have had enough.
Virgin Media are not a serious broadcaster, they could at least carry one HD service on Saorview.
@Jason Memail: RTE is absolute garbage and should be closed down. Killinaskully, The Way we Were, Repeats of Today, 4 year – long investigation into a Bishop who died 7 years ago etc etc… when are the summer reruns of Reeling in the Years starting !!? Just put it out of my misery ..
@SV3tN8M4: never going to change john unfortunately too many clowns will vote the shower back in and sinn fein have proven theyre worth so the answer is leave captain bird’s eye at the helm as the ship sinks and reassure ourselves he’s the best on board at the min while it sinks.
@John Manahan: that’s unfair you forgot nationwide, with billy playing the tin whistle in kinnegad,mary still knitting the jumpers in clonaslee and padraig making the hurley sticks in a shed in back arse of tipperary. That’s well worth every household paying 160 a year into, quality stuff.
Couldn’t agree more. And as for beefed up TV inspections lol let them send the fixed penalty notices all they like. Onus is on them to prove I have a television. I don’t have sky TV, can’t look me up there which would break GDPR to even begin with. They won’t get into my private residence to photograph any supposed telly either. I don’t answer my front door to rings I’m not expecting. How are they proving this…they can’t without giving the TV inspector greater powers than the Gardai basically to kick in any door and walk in where they like when they like. Some chance. Don’t fear their mantra and save yourself 160 euro a year.
@Dan The Man: God love ya, you must be hard up for the 160
@Jason Memail: It’s a matter of principle Jason. How very DARE they?! Oh and I’m one who always paid it until I had to live on the streets because I couldn’t fulfill my mortgage repayments. I also was one of the evil people who paid my Water Charges. Got the refund obviously but kill me… yup I AM hard up for the €160 at the moment.
@Jason Memail: I have a TV that hasn’t been used as anything other than a screen for playing locally hosted media files or for my gaming consoles or physical media.
From their definition, the fact that it is ‘capable’ of receiving broadcasts and therefore is subject to buying a licence, holds no sway with me.
There is no freeview box, or antennae, or pipe, or sky box connected.
They are not getting a penny from me, and I’m techy enough to be able to render my TV incapable.
@ben wu: Good for you bro, I guess we should all be free to interpret the laws to suit ourselves. “Locally-hosted media files” eh? *Wink*
It’s impossible to disagree with anything virgin media has said today.this has to be the most incompetent government we have ever had,and we’ve had some howlers down the years
Ask Ryan tubridy for the 350k he got and said he’d pay back with tears in his eyes if he didn’t do the 3 gigs which he didn’t do why are we afraid to ask for our tax payers money back is dee forbes still on the payroll between 1 45 pm and 4.30 pm Joe duffy and Ray D’Arcy get nearly 600 thousand a year for a load of waffle hi Joe my cats up a tree any ideas bored pensioners with nothing else to do and funny Friday a retirement benefit for his not so funny buddies with jokes as old as rte
@Stephen Byrne: Dublin Joe every year has a live show broadcast from Grafton Street on Xmas Eve, never broadcast from any other part of the country as Joe is really only happy amongst his own, national broadcaster my ear.
Like punishing your child for robbing from the cookie jar by buying them 10 more packs. But don’t worry, the forgetful Irish electorate, too fearful to put anybody else in power for their use of “magic money trees”(have you seen FFG’s? LOL! It’s a redwood at this point) will vote FFG back in next time because ah sure his granda fixed the road out back. That, or they’re too clouded by the greed of seeing their property, which they intend on living in for the rest of their life, shoot up in value. Note: This will only hurt your kin when it comes to inheritance!
So funny, more money for a complete shitshow.
@KTH: Let’s wait til we all grab our ankles again
@KTH: Lessons will be learned
Once again a government who have no Intentions of listening of general consensus of the public, and the many reports to scrap the licence.
Another shining example of the level of contempt that the government has for the Irish people. They know we will roll over and pay like the good sheeple we are.
Wheres the savings Catherine you didn’t even know the redundancy figure incompetent green just like other greens nothing costed
Is there someone trying to drag sense into this argument?? Unbelievable carry on. “We couldn’t possibly fund RTÉ through the exchequer without the licence fee. Tell ye what lads here’s 3/4s of a billion from the exchequer and of course the public will continue to pay the TV tax to line yer pockets”.
The government will give them whatever they want billions if need be to keep the probanga machine afloat and have control of it
Boucher Hayes earning part of the blank cheque check today when questioning Mary Lou. It was rather disgusting to see. Eoghan Harris would be proud.
@Argus Romsworth: Ah here, he asked proper questions, she got her tits out when he pressed her.
Political parties need to be questioned about policies and costings of those policies and I mean all parties…..brilliant piece, and I want more of this.
@Argus Romsworth: cynical Hayes
In fairness to BBC they charge £150 for licence but they don’t advertise here with this corrupt government they charge fees AND advertise too! there getting Double the amount omg such greed…
@Michele Milne: BBC has a commercial arm which generates billions tax free, every BBC programme is sold to it for a nominal amount and then sold globally and yes they still charge a licence fee.
So what’s different
It’s a reward for being crooks
They are not wrong. It is a very sorry state of affairs.
Too right, if part of my license fee, went to Virgin and Sky I’d have no issue paying it.
@Trevor Hoyden: what about GB news a Sky broadcasting subsidiary? You’d be happy to support that? Wow
@Paul O’Mahoney: Yes, not perfect journalism but a lot more open to telling the truth than RTE.
Why? Why IS there not going to be Mass Protests over this? I Guess Most people like being Pushovers.
@Mick Hanna: Because it doesn’t matter
With all this government funding on top of the license fee which will be more heavily enforced they should be banned from selling advertising, encouraged to produce high quality material and support real investigative journalism.
The government gonna raid all the culture boss fields lol
RTE is owned by the Irish People as stated on their own website.
They raise money through sponsorship and advertising.
They’re being given €725ml of yer money over 3yrs.
You still have to pay the licence fee…
You will still get an extra tax to cover the cost…
Why? Why would anyone let the Government bail RTE out then force you to pay the licence fee?
Have ye not learnt your rights yet?
We’ll RTE is currently showing a war criminal giving a speech. Big round of applause from the attendees. The American Congress is totally influenced by Zionist so not a surprise but why is it on RTE? Disgrace upon disgrace upon us from this relationship we have with the criminals in Tel Aviv
@Darth O’Leary: All news channels have coverage of it, why …..because it’s news.
@Paul O’Mahoney: Nonsense. I Don’t remember the last time I witnessed a world leader giving a speech to the American Congress and it being televised on RTE (extended applause included)
This is someone wanted by the ICJ which makes it move from being just remarkable to being downright abhorrent for our national broadcaster to be amplifying. You seem Okay with it though. And that tells me everything I need to know about you
Virgin Media, about 4 or 5 different channels, repeats of shyte on all of them, all jumbled up on the different channels throughout the day, every day
Sorry but hope you know I meant propaganda ‘ typo error’.
If you want to watch ‘The Chase’ non-stop virgin media is yer man!
You can almost hear the big wigs in RTE chanting : up yours taxpayer !!
RTE is just like any other qango run by the state. Large pension funds, unionised protection. Jaded plodding bureaucracy. The usual issues. The irony here is some moaning about them also want higher-taxed more Socialist Government in future. – it makes no sense to moan about centralised state funded orgs and then vote for more ??
Kilinaskully how old is that. Reruns of soaps no one watches just now Calan kicks the year 2023 sighs . What else hmm . They want us to pay €160 for this shite. Why don’t show some decent movies etc
I predict despite their unpopularity FF/FG will once again form a coalition after the next election. Folk really are gluttons for punishment, lol.
Repeats Repeats Repeats n then more Repeats that’s what the irish ppl are paying for grrrr makes my blood boil
Btw aren’t Rte cutting staff lay off like 100′s ? So this €775 million whatever it is where is it exactly going . Lining these ppl’s pockets so to speak. They would of been flush with money cutting the staff numbers now they getting that extra €775 million . Crazy world ppl are struggling to pay there bills n put food on the table . Yet Rte are getting funny money . Its a shame its not monopoly money
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