Programmes hit as RTE cuts €50m from budget
Wednesday November 05 2008
RTE is set to make cutbacks of around €50m next year.
Montrose chiefs are set to implement a range of measures that they warned will leave no area untouched.
Today, the director general of RTE, Cathal Goan, and station officials revealed how RTE is hoping to have €21m off personnel-related costs and €29m from other costs next year.
Meanwhile, the national broadcaster is predicting a €27m budget shortfall for this year.
This figure was revealed by Claire Duignan, RTE’s director of television programmes, in a presentation to the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, on the Broadcasting Bill 2008.
She said that revenue is increasingly volatile.
The dependence on public funding is greater in this context, she said. The licence fee accounts for 44pc of RTE funding and commercial revenue makes up 56pc of total income.
She said that the licence fee supported public services saying that there were 13 people in the US for the elections from RTE. The Irish audience wants high-quality news and wants this type of news with an Irish viewpoint, Ms Duignan told the committee.
In 2007, RTE spent €182.1m on indigineous productions, excluding news and current affairs. These were home-produced by RTE or by independent producers. She said the spend on independent productions has grown by 70pc between 2003 and 2007.
In relation to economic challenges facing RTE next year, Ms Duignan said that they are trying not to cut programmes, but reduce expenses.
She cited as an example some of the big entertainment shows will have fewer studio crews from November.
Conor Hayes, the chief financial officer with RTE, said that at the beginning of the year, RTE had budgeted for a surplus of €11m but by the middle of this year, it was on ‘high alert’.
Painful
He said it had suffered a drop in revenues, particularly in the last four months of the year.
“We’re facing a really difficult financial position,” he added. The biggest reduction had been seen in television advertising revenue. In relation to radio advertising, Mr Hayes explained it had not been badly affected.
Speaking to Herald, Cathal Goan said: “We have taken €50m out of planned activity for next year.” He said that many painful decisions have already been made.
- Fiona Dillon
