RTE has lost more than €58 million in TV licence revenue since the fallout from the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal, according to new figures from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
Government sources have described the decline as “the real cost of the collapse in public trust” in the national broadcaster with the scale of the loss dwarfing the RTE controversies, including the €2.2 million lost on *Toy Show the Musical*, the €3.3 million in executive exit packages and the €345,000 in undisclosed payments made to Tubridy.
The department’s figures compare first-time sales and renewals of TV licenses, which cost €160 a year, from July 2021 to June 2023 with those from July 2023 to June 2025, after the emergence of the Tubridy controversy in mid-2023. Between July 2021 and June 2023, RTE collected €306 million in licence revenue. Over the following two-year period that figure dropped by €58.4 million to €247.6 million. In that time, licence transactions fell by more than 365,000, from 1,912,500 to 1,547,357.
An Post, which is responsible for collecting the annual fee, said the revenue fall stemmed from a range of factors but acknowledged: “The RTE payments issue has also had an impact on TV licence sales and renewals.”
A shrinking pool of potential licence holders is contributing to the loss, due to both changing media consumption and rising eligibility for free licences under the Department of Social Protection (DSP). “An ever-increasing number of people are entitled to a DSP free licence,” An Post said. “Just under half of the database is now made up of addresses either entitled to free licences or listed as having ‘no TV’.”
Good I hope it crumbles. 1 sided reporting and real entitlement to do whatever with are money. Scum scum scum
Delighted
The tv license fee is an archaic non-progressive tax from a bygone era when TVs were a luxury and absolutely needs to go
Hopefully this will lead to a change in how RTE is funded because RTE does need to be funded despite edgy takes to the contrary
I’d like to see it come from general taxation which would reduce the burden from the people that do actually pay hugely and only effect the ones that don’t to a neglible amount
The license fee doesn’t pay for Fair City or the Late show, most shows that people complain about wash their own faces through advertising
It pays for actual public service broadcasting that stations like Virgin will not provide in a fit.
That shortfall is 100% their own doing.
The thing that always depresses me when I hear this shit is always the missed opportunity. I don’t think anyone would mind paying the license of they felt it was being used correctly, but it never feels like it is. We have so much talent in this country, but rte only ever seems to cater towards the elderly with home improvement and cooking shows.
Look at Channel 4 and what they do with comedy shorts, documentaries on current events, Human interest pieces that genuinely matter. If I scroll through rte player, I don’t see anything even close.
Even virgin media player has better selection, though that isn’t much tbh, but at least they’re trying with some of the comedy shows they’ve put out.
I’m tired of seeing great writers, actors, directors and documentarians go over to England for a chance at a job.
Good, restructure and stop wasting the license fee on overpaid “talent”.
They are still quids in with the government bail out. The content is still shocking bad
Independent Irish art that should be funded by RTE is the biggest loser here, can’t take risks on an up and coming filmmaker/producer because they need to replay the Big Bang theory 34 times a day on RTE to keep some sort of lunatic happy.
I always find it funny the people who say “it’s the law!” As if it’s the definitive argument to end the discussion.
RTE still taken in over 120 million a year ? Where is that going because its not on the news and the late late show. How are they wasting that amount each year
It’s hard to see how RTE will be viable in a few years, apart from broadcasting some sport. Their audience is ageing across the board and they just can’t attract younger viewers- people get their entertainment from streaming now. Even things like 2fm, constantly chasing the young demographic is feeling redundant- most teens and people in their 20s just listen to Spotify over radio these days. I think in a few short years we will likely see on TV at least, RTE go back to just one channel.
Is there anything to be said for producing another property program? Just a small one. Oh god, I love a good property show.
It’s nice to see the great and the good flaunt what most under 40 will never have.
They’re the TSNI now.
I have a TV for Netflix and Apple TV. I NEVER watch RTE at all or in fact any traditional TV channels. Why do I have to pay a TV licence to RTE? I don’t even have something to play traditional TV channels.
This fee is so outdated. They are making me pay for something I do not use.
RTE: “We need millions more euro to make things better”.
Public: “How will that help you improve things?”
RTE: “….we need more money!”.
It’s the mouthpiece of the government, it’s not going anywhere unfortunately. Maybe we can use some of that ‘rainy day fund’. That term is also unbelievably insulting and compares our national interests to a home economics class.
Why don’t they just redirect the “temporary” USC to pay it…
How come Virgin Media can stay afloat without TV licence funding?
It’s time for people to remember what happened AFTER Ryan tuber-face.
Dee Forbes got a case of the “Boo Boo’s” and couldn’t explain the undisclosed payments. Then didn’t WANT to explain. She was too sick to speak to the P.A.C. (is she still too sick now after all this time – poor critter)
OTHER personalities got caught up in it. Marty Morrisey had a Renault car ‘on lend’ for 5 years without paying for it. That got returned right quick and the story was buried.
Lottie Ryan was endorsing products and appeared to be doing so with RTE’s blessing – however online posts later refuted this arrangement.
We had Slipper gate. 5k spend on f*cking flip flops (of all things like/was everyone in the RTE offices going around it in Hawaiian shirts every Friday and management thought – “this needs some more aloha vibes for our VERY casual attire Fridays”)
Then Bankhurst came along to replace Forbes and promised to clean up RTE’s act! A man well regarded as a pair of ‘safe hands’. Revenue didn’t want the job of collecting the license anymore so An Post set forth!
We then had the minister responsible for RTE state that where there was a shortfall in license fee payments the government would pay the shortfall. Knowing the public disgust and not wanting to deal with the fallout of actually leading any policy they just left it at that. No wonder 58 million of revenue walked out he door since.
So no matter what happens within RTE; they can continue to do this kinda shit and we the taxpayer will fund this, Govt also gets the benefit of actually pulling the purse strings on RTE to make sure it’s (not) reporting of continued govt failure($) – it just never really happens. You’ll notice that even though it’s not completed yet – they have stopped talking about the children’s hospitals ballooning costs (it is now the 30th most expensive building in the f*cking world at time of writing)
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to fund that f*cking shite either, would you??
Get rid of the TV licence. It makes no sense in 2025. It can easily be recouped through general taxation, levies on internet/phone tariffs and surcharge on new TVs/phones etc.
Some people will lose their jobs. Move them to somewhere else in the civil service like revenue investigations or collections for example.
Having briefly worked in television since the toy show musical scandal it’s become even more insane to me that they let that thing happen. Producers are crucial to shows like the late late and do a lot of thankless grunt work, but letting them develop and stage a fucking musical – the most ambitious form of live entertainment I would argue – is farcical. It would be like letting the head of ticketing in croke park manage one of the teams in the all ireland final. The pair behind it basically admitted it was a joke that went on too long. Reeks of celtic tiger type ‘there are no consequences’ thinking.
Good!
Not just that but their inability to reform after that scandal will continue to make people not pay up. It wasn’t just Ryan it was the Dee Forbes stuff and then recent issues like losing €3.6 MILLION on a FAILED project.
They are just like the government and need massive reform and a huge overhaul.
Upload their archive to youtube, let a global audience find what they like in it – you might have plenty of foreign Irish interested, monetise it with ads.
They gained 725 million though – they were rewarded handsomely for their failure and ineptitude
58,150,000…to be exact
They lost tens of millions more overpaying Tubs by 90% every year
It became abundantly clear during the Tubridy scandal that RTE cannot operate on a dual-funding basis (i.e. funded from the license payer and commercial interests) without conflicts of interest occurring, or without been seen to be wasting taxpayer money (corporate events, flip-flops etc.).
What should have happened was RTE2 and 2fm being spun off from the license payer funding model entirely – either offered for sale, or funded like Channel 4 in the UK (state owned, but not funded). Neither of these stations fulfill the mandates they had when they launched, and there isn’t a need for the state to provide this service anymore.
RTE1 and Radio 1 should have been reformed to deliver only Irish content, sports and news; and be 100% ad free. RTE News Now, and RTE Jr to remain.
Instead, the Government of the day offered RTE extra money, essentially maintaining the status quo.
I’ve said all along, while the Tubridy scandal is a big deal, and yes the “stars” are paid way over the odds, it’s really a tip of the iceberg type situation in relation to the rest of the costs at RTE.
Like think for example of RTE Gold. A really nice service in theory, but not on any platform other than the interest and saorview. A few presenters on old Rte staff contracts, a few producers, a fancy jingle package, and not even a real way to know how many are even listening. No ads, no sponsorship, just a pure cost. It’s a lovely idea, but what does it serve that isn’t being served by the other classic hits stations?
Won’t somebody think of the orchestras?
I’ve said it before; and I’ll say it again:
**Break. it. up.**. Split RTE into 3 chunks:
* The news and journalism pieces. Standalone –> Generously funded by (much cheaper) license fee, which most people would pay in a heartbeat.
* The Irish-developed television/film/media piece –> Funded by a restructured arts council, which in turn is funded by a pot of state money and residuals from media developed under their umbrella. There’s a bunch of different ways you could structure such a decision panel to minimize ‘regulatory capture’ or general quid-pro-quo type arrangements from forming.
* The regular commercial television piece –> Funded commercially by a combination of directly budgeted state funding; commercial advertising; and any other business ideas they can come up with.
Pros:
* The concept of a license fee would actually make sense: The piece of media which *actually needs* buffering from direct state funding or state intervention – the journalism and public interest piece – can have that security.
* People would actually pay the license fee when the scope for their money being transparently wasted is not so wide; and the public good is so much clearer.
* The public good of TV shows, films, media, docs etc can be judged on a case-by-case basis by an impartial panel. More public good, more funding. It can be a simple, fair process. More public interest = more funding. Commercially successful Irish-made media could pay a modest ‘license fee’ of its own, contributing back to the pot for other artists to benefit from.
* the commercial wing of RTE would be free to innovate and compete like a real commercial broadcaster. Charging for their online offering? running more ads? making racy or different programming? Some actual new ideas? Maybe they’d die on their arse but who knows. If stuff they do is in the public interest, they can always apply project-by-project for arts-council funding. All the reruns; old movie rights and total shite? Well that can sink or swim on it’s own merit.
Cons:
* Arguments to be made for structural change never fixing a bad culture permeating so many of their staff.
* What to do with Irish sport is a tough one. may end up with sport being harder to watch.
* some economies of scale issues. Might double-pay for stuff if RTE and news are separate… but I expect we’re more than “double paying” for a lot of stuff already.
* Often privatizing bad. Could be risky.
* It’ll never happen. This is basically “what if we organized things well in this country” fan-fiction.
Well deserved. They produce maybe 3-4 actual quality shows.
Also why have they stopped covering any music festival in Ireland. These events pull massive crowds and would do great numbers.
Just watching the BBCs excellent coverage of Glastonbury and there’s nothing comparable this side of the pond.
They put out sh1t content that’s why. They don’t look at YouTube and learn from that.
I wonder what the cost is to RTE for the issuing of license from An Post and wages for the inspectors.
Good
I stopped paying after the scandal. I was always worried about the TV licence boogyman coming knocking but it’s remarkably hard for them to enforce. Particularly if you don’t have anything visible at the front of your house. A little slip comes in the postbox once a year in February and it is swiftly thrown in the recycling.
If they took their medicine and made the necessary cuts I’d be happy to pay it for lean cost effective public service broadcasting. But they didn’t, Backhurst talked a good game following the scandal, but he was just following Dee Forbes example and leveraging the government for a bailout which they folded and gave him. And that I can’t support.
Normally you would expect the board to resign under such circumstances.
So they lost 58m when Tubs left. Solution is obviously bring Tubs back and then the money will start rolling right in again. I should be in Kevin Bratwurst’s position, I’ll sort out the books.
Love seeing this. Have never paid the TV license meself and after the stories of scandalous RTE spending came out I couldn’t have felt more vindicated
I had a tv licence inspector call a few months ago, told him I didn’t have one he said no problem thanks and went on his way. Then a few weeks ago I got a letter that “nobody was home when we called, pay your licence fee”. I even have video of it from my doorbell camera but there’s no way to contact them to call them out on this I need to fill out a form online and arrange for another inspector to come to the house? What a bullshit racket
48 comments
RTE has lost more than €58 million in TV licence revenue since the fallout from the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal, according to new figures from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
Government sources have described the decline as “the real cost of the collapse in public trust” in the national broadcaster with the scale of the loss dwarfing the RTE controversies, including the €2.2 million lost on *Toy Show the Musical*, the €3.3 million in executive exit packages and the €345,000 in undisclosed payments made to Tubridy.
The department’s figures compare first-time sales and renewals of TV licenses, which cost €160 a year, from July 2021 to June 2023 with those from July 2023 to June 2025, after the emergence of the Tubridy controversy in mid-2023. Between July 2021 and June 2023, RTE collected €306 million in licence revenue. Over the following two-year period that figure dropped by €58.4 million to €247.6 million. In that time, licence transactions fell by more than 365,000, from 1,912,500 to 1,547,357.
An Post, which is responsible for collecting the annual fee, said the revenue fall stemmed from a range of factors but acknowledged: “The RTE payments issue has also had an impact on TV licence sales and renewals.”
A shrinking pool of potential licence holders is contributing to the loss, due to both changing media consumption and rising eligibility for free licences under the Department of Social Protection (DSP). “An ever-increasing number of people are entitled to a DSP free licence,” An Post said. “Just under half of the database is now made up of addresses either entitled to free licences or listed as having ‘no TV’.”
Good I hope it crumbles. 1 sided reporting and real entitlement to do whatever with are money. Scum scum scum
Delighted
The tv license fee is an archaic non-progressive tax from a bygone era when TVs were a luxury and absolutely needs to go
Hopefully this will lead to a change in how RTE is funded because RTE does need to be funded despite edgy takes to the contrary
I’d like to see it come from general taxation which would reduce the burden from the people that do actually pay hugely and only effect the ones that don’t to a neglible amount
The license fee doesn’t pay for Fair City or the Late show, most shows that people complain about wash their own faces through advertising
It pays for actual public service broadcasting that stations like Virgin will not provide in a fit.
That shortfall is 100% their own doing.
The thing that always depresses me when I hear this shit is always the missed opportunity. I don’t think anyone would mind paying the license of they felt it was being used correctly, but it never feels like it is. We have so much talent in this country, but rte only ever seems to cater towards the elderly with home improvement and cooking shows.
Look at Channel 4 and what they do with comedy shorts, documentaries on current events, Human interest pieces that genuinely matter. If I scroll through rte player, I don’t see anything even close.
Even virgin media player has better selection, though that isn’t much tbh, but at least they’re trying with some of the comedy shows they’ve put out.
I’m tired of seeing great writers, actors, directors and documentarians go over to England for a chance at a job.
Good, restructure and stop wasting the license fee on overpaid “talent”.
They are still quids in with the government bail out. The content is still shocking bad
Independent Irish art that should be funded by RTE is the biggest loser here, can’t take risks on an up and coming filmmaker/producer because they need to replay the Big Bang theory 34 times a day on RTE to keep some sort of lunatic happy.
I always find it funny the people who say “it’s the law!” As if it’s the definitive argument to end the discussion.
RTE still taken in over 120 million a year ? Where is that going because its not on the news and the late late show. How are they wasting that amount each year
It’s hard to see how RTE will be viable in a few years, apart from broadcasting some sport. Their audience is ageing across the board and they just can’t attract younger viewers- people get their entertainment from streaming now. Even things like 2fm, constantly chasing the young demographic is feeling redundant- most teens and people in their 20s just listen to Spotify over radio these days. I think in a few short years we will likely see on TV at least, RTE go back to just one channel.
Is there anything to be said for producing another property program? Just a small one. Oh god, I love a good property show.
It’s nice to see the great and the good flaunt what most under 40 will never have.
They’re the TSNI now.
I have a TV for Netflix and Apple TV. I NEVER watch RTE at all or in fact any traditional TV channels. Why do I have to pay a TV licence to RTE? I don’t even have something to play traditional TV channels.
This fee is so outdated. They are making me pay for something I do not use.
RTE: “We need millions more euro to make things better”.
Public: “How will that help you improve things?”
RTE: “….we need more money!”.
It’s the mouthpiece of the government, it’s not going anywhere unfortunately. Maybe we can use some of that ‘rainy day fund’. That term is also unbelievably insulting and compares our national interests to a home economics class.
Why don’t they just redirect the “temporary” USC to pay it…
How come Virgin Media can stay afloat without TV licence funding?
It’s time for people to remember what happened AFTER Ryan tuber-face.
Dee Forbes got a case of the “Boo Boo’s” and couldn’t explain the undisclosed payments. Then didn’t WANT to explain. She was too sick to speak to the P.A.C. (is she still too sick now after all this time – poor critter)
OTHER personalities got caught up in it. Marty Morrisey had a Renault car ‘on lend’ for 5 years without paying for it. That got returned right quick and the story was buried.
Lottie Ryan was endorsing products and appeared to be doing so with RTE’s blessing – however online posts later refuted this arrangement.
We had Slipper gate. 5k spend on f*cking flip flops (of all things like/was everyone in the RTE offices going around it in Hawaiian shirts every Friday and management thought – “this needs some more aloha vibes for our VERY casual attire Fridays”)
Then Bankhurst came along to replace Forbes and promised to clean up RTE’s act! A man well regarded as a pair of ‘safe hands’. Revenue didn’t want the job of collecting the license anymore so An Post set forth!
We then had the minister responsible for RTE state that where there was a shortfall in license fee payments the government would pay the shortfall. Knowing the public disgust and not wanting to deal with the fallout of actually leading any policy they just left it at that. No wonder 58 million of revenue walked out he door since.
So no matter what happens within RTE; they can continue to do this kinda shit and we the taxpayer will fund this, Govt also gets the benefit of actually pulling the purse strings on RTE to make sure it’s (not) reporting of continued govt failure($) – it just never really happens. You’ll notice that even though it’s not completed yet – they have stopped talking about the children’s hospitals ballooning costs (it is now the 30th most expensive building in the f*cking world at time of writing)
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to fund that f*cking shite either, would you??
Get rid of the TV licence. It makes no sense in 2025. It can easily be recouped through general taxation, levies on internet/phone tariffs and surcharge on new TVs/phones etc.
Some people will lose their jobs. Move them to somewhere else in the civil service like revenue investigations or collections for example.
Having briefly worked in television since the toy show musical scandal it’s become even more insane to me that they let that thing happen. Producers are crucial to shows like the late late and do a lot of thankless grunt work, but letting them develop and stage a fucking musical – the most ambitious form of live entertainment I would argue – is farcical. It would be like letting the head of ticketing in croke park manage one of the teams in the all ireland final. The pair behind it basically admitted it was a joke that went on too long. Reeks of celtic tiger type ‘there are no consequences’ thinking.
Good!
Not just that but their inability to reform after that scandal will continue to make people not pay up. It wasn’t just Ryan it was the Dee Forbes stuff and then recent issues like losing €3.6 MILLION on a FAILED project.
They are just like the government and need massive reform and a huge overhaul.
Upload their archive to youtube, let a global audience find what they like in it – you might have plenty of foreign Irish interested, monetise it with ads.
They gained 725 million though – they were rewarded handsomely for their failure and ineptitude
58,150,000…to be exact
They lost tens of millions more overpaying Tubs by 90% every year
It became abundantly clear during the Tubridy scandal that RTE cannot operate on a dual-funding basis (i.e. funded from the license payer and commercial interests) without conflicts of interest occurring, or without been seen to be wasting taxpayer money (corporate events, flip-flops etc.).
What should have happened was RTE2 and 2fm being spun off from the license payer funding model entirely – either offered for sale, or funded like Channel 4 in the UK (state owned, but not funded). Neither of these stations fulfill the mandates they had when they launched, and there isn’t a need for the state to provide this service anymore.
RTE1 and Radio 1 should have been reformed to deliver only Irish content, sports and news; and be 100% ad free. RTE News Now, and RTE Jr to remain.
Instead, the Government of the day offered RTE extra money, essentially maintaining the status quo.
I’ve said all along, while the Tubridy scandal is a big deal, and yes the “stars” are paid way over the odds, it’s really a tip of the iceberg type situation in relation to the rest of the costs at RTE.
Like think for example of RTE Gold. A really nice service in theory, but not on any platform other than the interest and saorview. A few presenters on old Rte staff contracts, a few producers, a fancy jingle package, and not even a real way to know how many are even listening. No ads, no sponsorship, just a pure cost. It’s a lovely idea, but what does it serve that isn’t being served by the other classic hits stations?
Won’t somebody think of the orchestras?
I’ve said it before; and I’ll say it again:
**Break. it. up.**. Split RTE into 3 chunks:
* The news and journalism pieces. Standalone –> Generously funded by (much cheaper) license fee, which most people would pay in a heartbeat.
* The Irish-developed television/film/media piece –> Funded by a restructured arts council, which in turn is funded by a pot of state money and residuals from media developed under their umbrella. There’s a bunch of different ways you could structure such a decision panel to minimize ‘regulatory capture’ or general quid-pro-quo type arrangements from forming.
* The regular commercial television piece –> Funded commercially by a combination of directly budgeted state funding; commercial advertising; and any other business ideas they can come up with.
Pros:
* The concept of a license fee would actually make sense: The piece of media which *actually needs* buffering from direct state funding or state intervention – the journalism and public interest piece – can have that security.
* People would actually pay the license fee when the scope for their money being transparently wasted is not so wide; and the public good is so much clearer.
* The public good of TV shows, films, media, docs etc can be judged on a case-by-case basis by an impartial panel. More public good, more funding. It can be a simple, fair process. More public interest = more funding. Commercially successful Irish-made media could pay a modest ‘license fee’ of its own, contributing back to the pot for other artists to benefit from.
* the commercial wing of RTE would be free to innovate and compete like a real commercial broadcaster. Charging for their online offering? running more ads? making racy or different programming? Some actual new ideas? Maybe they’d die on their arse but who knows. If stuff they do is in the public interest, they can always apply project-by-project for arts-council funding. All the reruns; old movie rights and total shite? Well that can sink or swim on it’s own merit.
Cons:
* Arguments to be made for structural change never fixing a bad culture permeating so many of their staff.
* What to do with Irish sport is a tough one. may end up with sport being harder to watch.
* some economies of scale issues. Might double-pay for stuff if RTE and news are separate… but I expect we’re more than “double paying” for a lot of stuff already.
* Often privatizing bad. Could be risky.
* It’ll never happen. This is basically “what if we organized things well in this country” fan-fiction.
Well deserved. They produce maybe 3-4 actual quality shows.
Also why have they stopped covering any music festival in Ireland. These events pull massive crowds and would do great numbers.
Just watching the BBCs excellent coverage of Glastonbury and there’s nothing comparable this side of the pond.
They put out sh1t content that’s why. They don’t look at YouTube and learn from that.
I wonder what the cost is to RTE for the issuing of license from An Post and wages for the inspectors.
Good
I stopped paying after the scandal. I was always worried about the TV licence boogyman coming knocking but it’s remarkably hard for them to enforce. Particularly if you don’t have anything visible at the front of your house. A little slip comes in the postbox once a year in February and it is swiftly thrown in the recycling.
If they took their medicine and made the necessary cuts I’d be happy to pay it for lean cost effective public service broadcasting. But they didn’t, Backhurst talked a good game following the scandal, but he was just following Dee Forbes example and leveraging the government for a bailout which they folded and gave him. And that I can’t support.
Normally you would expect the board to resign under such circumstances.
So they lost 58m when Tubs left. Solution is obviously bring Tubs back and then the money will start rolling right in again. I should be in Kevin Bratwurst’s position, I’ll sort out the books.
Love seeing this. Have never paid the TV license meself and after the stories of scandalous RTE spending came out I couldn’t have felt more vindicated
I had a tv licence inspector call a few months ago, told him I didn’t have one he said no problem thanks and went on his way. Then a few weeks ago I got a letter that “nobody was home when we called, pay your licence fee”. I even have video of it from my doorbell camera but there’s no way to contact them to call them out on this I need to fill out a form online and arrange for another inspector to come to the house? What a bullshit racket
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