In preparing this report, PwC have relied primarily upon secondary data from RTÉ. In all cases, PwC has identified the sources of information relied upon, and makes no representation in relation to independently auditing or verifying the accuracy or completeness of this information. We understand that the report or sections of the report will be made publically available. In no event however, shall we assumed any responsibility to any third party to whom this document is disclosed or otherwise made available. Table of Contents
Executive Summary...... 5
Chapter 1. Introduction ...... 9
Chapter 2. RTÉ Economic and Social Impact...... 11
Chapter 3. RTÉ Competitive Landscape...... 34
Chapter 4. RTÉ Effectiveness...... 48
Chapter 5. RTÉ Cost Management ...... 64 Executive Summary
Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 1. Introduction
This report was commissioned to PwC by RTÉ in December 2012.
The purpose of the report is three-fold:
to present an independent assessment of the contribution of RTÉ to the national economy in 2011;
to evaluate the wider socio-economic benefits which stem from RTÉ expenditures in the Irish economy;
to prepare a statistical compendium on the effectiveness of RTÉ as a public service broadcaster.
The PwC research approach incorporated the following:
review and analysis of RTÉ’s financial and operating data;
review and analysis of RTÉ-commissioned research;
review and analysis of third-party research materials;
compilation of original research materials;
selected case studies of RTÉ-supported firms and sectors.
The remainder of this report comprises four additional chapters, the next of which describes the economic and wider socio-economic benefits which derived from RTÉ expenditures in the Irish economy in 2011.
Chapters 3 through 5 present a compendium of statistics on RTÉ’s effectiveness and efficiency as a public service broadcaster (PSB).
The PwC team would like to extend its sincere thanks to all individuals who contributed to the preparation of this study.
9 Chapter 2. RTÉ Economic and Social Impact
10 Chapter 2. RTÉ Economic and Social Impact
2.1 Introduction
This chapter presents an overview of the economic and socio-economic benefits which resulted from RTÉ expenditures in the Irish economy in 2011.
The benefits described in this chapter exclude the widely recognised benefits which derive from the existence of an effective Public Service Broadcaster (PSB).
Rather, the focus here is on those socio-economic benefits which are incidental to those of RTÉ’s primary function. These are highlighted in red in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 RTÉ Socio-Economic Benefits
The methodology used for estimating RTÉ economic impact is shown in Figure 2.2.
11 Figure 2.2 Overview of PwC Economic Impact Methodology
Research steps are as follows:
determine total RTÉ payroll and non-payroll spend in 2011;
reduce the total payroll spend by all direct deductions (e.g. taxes, pension), estimated savings and foreign expenditures (e.g. holidays) to arrive at an estimate of resultant consumer spend in the Irish economy;
reduce the non-payroll spend by the value of all payments made to international or non-indigenous suppliers;
determine the sectoral allocation of all RTÉ-generated expenditures in the Irish economy, i.e. payroll and non-payroll;
apply sector-based multipliers to arrive at an estimate of the full economic impact of RTÉ in 2011.
This research approach is followed in Sections 2.2 through 2.4 of this chapter.
The wider socio-economic benefits which derive from the pattern of RTÉ expenditures in the Irish economy are the subject of Section 2.5.
12 2.2 RTÉ Incomes & Expenditures, 2007 to 2011
Table 2.1 shows RTÉ funding levels and sources for the period 2007 to 2011.
Table 2.1 RTÉ Funding Levels & Sources (€m), 2007 to 2011 Total RTÉ funding fell Funding Source 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 by over 20% between 2007 and 2011. This Licence Fee €196 €201 €200 €196 €184 reflects a sharp decline Commercial (TV) €172 €163 €112 €114 €107 in the national advertising market. Commercial (Radio) €44 €45 €34 €32 €29 Other Commercial €30 €32 €29 €30 €31
Total €441 €441 €375 €372 €351 Source: RTÉ Annual Report and Group Financial Statements, 2007 – 2011
Key points of note are as follows:
RTÉ is funded through a combination of commercial and licence fee incomes;
total RTÉ funding in 2011 was €351m, down from €441m in 2007;
this reflects a sharp decline in the national advertising market;
RTÉ reliance on licence fee incomes has grown as a direct result.
The RTÉ mixed-funding model is not unique in Europe (see Table 2.2).
Table 2.2 RTÉ Funding (€m) in International PSB Perspective1
PSB RTÉ BBC ORF VRT RTBF
Country RoI UK Austria Belgium Belgium
Licence Fee Revenue €184 €3,978 €580 €0 €0
Government Funding €0 €0 €1 €303 €212
Advertising Revenue €124 €0 €216 €36 €64
Other Income €43 €1,676 €174 €114 €19
Total Income €351 €5,654 €971 €453 €295
Population Size (m) 4.7 62.6 8.4 11.0
PSB Funding per Capita €39 €64 €69 €47
Unit Licence Fee Costs €160 €165 €264 NA NA
Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statement, 2011, EBU Report, CSO, World Bank
1 It should be noted that figures for ORF, VRT and RTBF are for 2010. 2011 figures are not yet published. The PSBs in the table above have been chosen for a number of reasons: BBC (UK) is one of the leading PSBs in the world and is in direct competition with RTÉ for television audience share. ORF (Austria), VRT (Belgium) and RBFT (Belgium) face similar challenges to RTÉ in respect of proximity to large same- language territories. 13 The recently published European Broadcasting Report stated that in 2010:
EBU members were, in aggregate, reliant on licence fee income for 59% of their funding with direct Exchequer funding accounting for a further 10%;
Ireland’s level of reliance on public funding is low by European standards. Romania and Portugal are the only countries where public broadcaster
In 2011, RTÉ spent income is more reliant on commercial revenues to augment licence fee or €296m in the Irish other public revenue; economy. This equates to 84% of total RTÉ for the majority of countries where licence fee is the main source of income, expenditures. the licence fee as a % of total income is between 70% and 90%;
the average licence fee per household across 12 Western European and Nordic/ Scandinavian markets that operate a licence fee system was €216;
last year just 16% of EBU members’ funding was from advertising;
the proportion of RTÉ’s income derived specifically from advertising was more than double the EBU average and almost four times that of Western Europe markets that also operate a licence fee system;
there is a general trend towards greater dependency on direct Exchequer support and away from direct advertising income;
comparing licence fee funding to similar sized populations (4-6m) in Western Europe and Nordic / Scandinavian markets, the licence fee amount per capita in Ireland is lowest at just €39 per head of population, while in other comparable markets this ranges from €53 to €118.
14 2.3 Analysis of RTÉ Expenditures, 2011
2.3.1 Overview
Table 2.3 shows a breakdown of RTÉ operating expenditures in 2011.
Table 2.3 High-Level Breakdown of RTÉ Operating Expenditure (€m), 2011
Total Expenditure (including VAT) 2011
RTÉ Payroll €153 Non-Payroll €200 Total €353 Source: RTÉ Annual Report and Group Financial Statements, 2011
RTÉ’s payroll accounted for 43% of total operating costs in 2011.
Table 2.4 shows the proportion of RTÉ payroll and non-payroll spend in 2011 which accrued to Ireland-based individuals or suppliers.
Table 2.4 Estimated RTÉ Spend in the Irish Economy, 2011
Total Spend Payroll Non-Payroll Total (including VAT)
€ million
National €152 €144 €296
Non-National €1 €56 €57
Total €153 €200 €353
% of Total
National 99% 72% 84%
Non-National 1% 28% 16%
Total 100% 100% 100% Source: RTÉ Annual Report and Group Financial Statements, 2011; RTÉ Supplier Listings 2011
In 2011, RTÉ spent €296m (inclusive of all taxes) in the Irish economy. This equates to 84% of total RTÉ expenditures in this year. This is a higher proportion than was spent in 2010 in the Irish economy (79%).
The value of RTÉ’s spend in the Irish economy in 2011 equated to the full value of the RTÉ licence fee (€184m) plus close to 70% of all commercial incomes (€167m).
The sectoral distribution of RTÉ-generated spend in the Irish economy is described in the remainder of this section.
15 2.3.2 National Economy Expenditures of RTÉ Employees
Table 2.5 shows the assumed relationship between RTÉ’s payroll spend and the consumer expenditures of RTÉ personnel in the Irish economy.
Table 2.5 Assumed Consumer Expenditures of RTÉ Employees, 2011
Total Spend €m % of Gross Payroll Source
€1662 Gross Payroll Costs 100% RTÉ (€152+€14)
All Payroll Deductions -€75 45% RTÉ
Net Payroll €91 55% RTÉ
Savings -€5 3% CSO, 2012
Available for Consumption €86 52% Derived
Expenditure outside the State -€5 3% CSO, 2012
Available for Domestic Consumption €82 49% Derived Source: RTÉ Information, CSO, National Income & Expenditure Annual Results 2011 (Sep 2012)
It should be noted that:
payroll reductions include:
o employer costs i.e. PRSI, pension and life assurance costs; and
o employee costs i.e. PAYE, pension and universal social charge (USC).
In 2011, it is estimated that the 1,934 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees of RTÉ, the independent contractors (whose taxes are organised by RTÉ) and employees who received redundancy packages spent €82m in the Irish economy. The assumed sectoral distribution of this spend, based on national averages for households in Ireland in 2011, is shown in Table 2.6.
2 It should be noted that approximately €4m of costs included under non-payroll costs in Table 2.4 are for contractors whose tax/PRSI return are organised by RTÉ (classified under ‘other personnel related costs (including contractors)’ in the Annual Report 2011). Therefore, this group has been included in Table 2.5. In 2011, RTÉ also spent approximately €8m on restructuring and redundancies costs and a further €2m on other payroll related accruals. The gross national payroll cost in 2011 was approximately €166m.
16 Table 2.6 Estimated RTÉ Employee Ireland Expenditures by Sector, 2011
Expenditure by Sector % of Total Expenditure (€m)
Food, beverage & tobacco 20.7% 16.9
Clothing & footwear 4.0% 3.2 Housing (rents & imputed rent, repairs & decoration) 16.7% 13.6
Fuel & power 3.8% 3.1
Household equipment & operation 4.9% 4.0
Transport & communications 15.8% 12.9
Recreation, education & entertainment 10.8% 8.8
Miscellaneous goods & services 23.4% 19.1
Total 100% 81.6 Source: CSO, National Income & Expenditure Annual Results 2011 (Sep 2012)
The sectoral composition of RTÉ-derived national economy expenditures has an important bearing on the size of the full-economy impact (see Section 2.4).
2.3.3 Sectoral Profile of RTÉ Non-Payroll National Economy Spend, 2011
The national versus non-national and sectoral distribution of RTÉ non-payroll spend in 2011 was analysed using a combination of:
a detailed listing of RTÉ’s largest suppliers by contract value in 2011, disaggregated by location and sector; and
a detailed analysis of RTÉ’s management accounts.
High-level findings from the former are shown in Table 2.7.
Table 2.7 Geographic Profile of RTÉ’s Top 70 Suppliers 2011
Spend No. of Suppliers Contract Value Average Value (excluding VAT)
€m
National 47 €71.5 €1.5
Non-National 23 €47.0 €2.0
Total 70 €118.4 €1.7
% of Total
National 67% 6o% NA
Non-National 33% 40% NA
Total 100% 100% NA Source: RTÉ Information, 2011
Table 2.7 shows that indigenous companies account for 67% of the largest suppliers to RTÉ and account for close to 6o% of associated non-payroll spend.
17 Total RTÉ non-payroll spend in the Irish economy in 2011 is estimated at €144.5m. The estimated non recoverable VAT on the Irish expenditure was €10.5m, equating to a non-payroll spend of €134m. A further €4m has been deducted for independent contractors that were allowed for in the gross national payroll costs in Table 2.5. The estimated non-payroll spend in the economy was €130m.
The estimated sectoral distribution of this spend is shown in Table 2.8.
Table 2.8 Sectoral Composition of RTÉ Non-Payroll Spend in Ireland, 2011
Sector % of Total
Contractor Costs 21%
Commissioned Programmes 28%
Outside Broadcasts 5%
Electricity 2%
Music licences 5%
Insurances 1%
Other 38%
Total 100% Source: RTÉ Annual Report and Group Financial Statements, 2011; RTÉ Information, 2011
In summary, therefore, it is estimated that RTÉ employees spent €82 million in the economy, while RTÉ staff spent €130 million on the sourcing of goods and services in the Irish economy, culminating in a total spend of €212 million.
18 2.4 RTÉ Full-Economy Impacts, 2011
2.4.1 Methodology Explained
The full-economy impact of any organisation is a function of two factors, namely:
the value of national economy expenditures; and
Reflecting the fact that the sectoral composition of this spend. total RTÉ operating spend in Ireland With regard to the former, RTÉ paid an estimated €296m (Table 2.4) to Ireland- includes taxes, among based employees and suppliers in 2011. others, the value of RTÉ-supported Adjusting this amount to remove all taxes and savings, the value of RTÉ-supported expenditures in the Irish economy in 2011 expenditures in the Irish economy in 2011 is estimated at €212 m3. which accrued directly to individuals or The sectoral composition of demand is material to the extent that spend in sectors suppliers is estimated at €212m with a low import content (e.g. services) have a more substantial impact on the national economy than do expenditures in sectors with a high import content.
The sectoral distribution of RTÉ’s national spend was described in Section 2.3.
The full-economy impacts of a € increase in expenditure in a defined sector are measured at three levels which describe the progression of the € spend through the economy (see Table 2.9).
Table 2.9 Multipliers Explained
Impact Description Example
The additional value-added generated by Impact of RTÉ employees spending money Direct immediate beneficiaries of the additional on food retailers in the Merrion Centre. Irish economy expenditures of RTÉ. The additional value-added of suppliers Impact of this additional spend at the Indirect to the direct beneficiaries of the Merrion Centre on suppliers, e.g. Glenisk additional spend. yoghurts. The value-added which derives from the Income received by retailers as a result of additional economy expenditures of spending of a Tyrone Productions company Induced employees of RTÉ suppliers and their employee. sub-suppliers.
The most commonly applied form of multipliers are output and employment.
The former measures the contribution of an additional € in expenditure to national output, which is essentially a measure of the full value-added of the economy.
The latter measures the impact on full-time equivalent jobs.
3 This figure is equal to €296 (Table 2.4) less employer and employees costs including social welfare, PAYE, pension contributions etc, employees’ savings and VAT on non-payroll expenditure. 19 Multipliers are unique to individual economies, reflecting (among other factors) the fact that the import content of different sectors of activity will vary significantly depending on the resource base of the economy.
There is no composite set of economic multipliers for the Irish economy. For this reason, multipliers prepared in respect of the Scottish economy in 2007 (published in 2010) were relied on in the preparation of this analysis4.
The comparable nature of the Scottish and Irish economies means that this approach, while a compromise, is deemed appropriate. Key findings are now presented.
2.4.2 RTÉ Full-Economy Impact, 2011
Applying these multipliers, the full-economy impact of RTÉ in 2011 is shown below.
Table 2.10 Full-Economy Impacts of RTÉ Ireland Spend, 2011
Total
Additional Ireland Spend (€m) (after tax, VAT etc.) €2125
RTÉ Supported Employment (FTEs)
Direct & Indirect 2,998
Induced 540
Total 3,538
National Output (€m)
Direct & Indirect €328
Induced €56
Total €384 Source: PwC Analysis
Key findings are as follows:
in 2011, RTÉ supported 3,538 FTE jobs in the Irish economy, of which 1,934 were directly employed by RTE;
in the same year, the broadcaster contributed €384m to national output, i.e. the value-added by RTÉ to the Irish economy;
this compares with licence fee revenues of €184m.
4: See http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/Input-Output/Mulitipliers for details. Type II multipliers were used. In reviewing these, it should be borne in mind that the employment impacts are stated in terms of an increase of ST£1 mn in spend. The impacts above were converted into Euros in order to work out the economic impact of RTÉ on the Irish economy. 5 Note: in relation to national spend: (€166m (Gross Payroll Spend)– €84m (payroll deductions + savings + expenditure outside the state) = €82m) + (€144.5m (Gross National Non-Payroll Spend) –non- recoverable VAT (c. €10.5m) = €134m – €4m = Additional Ireland Spend €130m. 20 In addition to the foregoing, RTÉ and its employees made a sizeable contribution to the national tax take in 2011 (see Table 2.11).
Table 2.11 National Tax Take from RTÉ, 2011
Tax Type €m Value % of Total
PRSI €15 19%
PAYE & USC (RTÉ Employees) €36 46%
VAT (recoverable & non-recoverable) €24 31%
Other €3 4%
Total €78 100% Source: RTÉ Information, 2011
Table 2.11 shows that RTÉ and its employees contributed more than €78m to the national tax take in 2011.
In addition, a levy of €1.75m was paid to fund the operations of the national regulator of broadcasting services in Ireland, i.e. the BAI.
The gross economic contribution of RTÉ to the national economy is considered in the context of the licence fee incomes received in Figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3 RTÉ Economic Contribution in Licence Fee Perspective
€384
€184
€80
Licence Fee Income National Output Tax and BAI Contribution Source: PwC Analysis
21 2.4.3 Additionality of RTÉ Contribution
Economic benefits are considered additional where it can be determined that the benefit would not have been realised if the entity under review, i.e. RTÉ, did not exist.
The economic benefits described in the foregoing section derive primarily from the expenditure by RTÉ of funding received from the following sources:
licence fee incomes; and
commercial revenues.
With regard to the licence fee income, it is reasonable to assume that the benefits which derive from RTÉ’s expenditure of these funds in the Irish economy is limited to negligible. This reflects the fact that if Irish households were not required to pay the licence fee, they most likely would spend the money elsewhere in the Irish economy.
While the wide range of socio-economic benefits which stem from the existence of an effective PSB such as RTÉ would then be lost, the purely economic impact would be by-and-large unchanged.
This, however, is not the case in respect of commercial incomes which accounted for €167m of RTÉ’s income in 2011.
In the event that RTÉ did not exist, associated commercial incomes would:
not be incurred in the Irish market, assuming that advertisers are satisfied with levels of representation among other broadcasters; or
transfer to other Ireland-based broadcasters, with a smaller relative spend in the Irish economy, reflecting a high reliance on acquired output; or
transfer to international broadcasters offering tailored advertising for the Irish market, with a small spend in the Irish economy, e.g. Sky; or
transfer to an alternative medium, e.g. print.
22 In view of the foregoing, it is reasonable to assume that at least half of the Irish economy expenditures which result from RTÉ being in receipt of commercial incomes would disappear if the broadcaster did not exist.
Assuming further that the proportion of commercial income spent in the Irish economy is less than for all RTÉ incomes (reflecting a policy of directing licence fee income towards indigenous production), Table 2.12 shows PwC estimates of the economic benefits which would not exist in the Irish economy if RTÉ did not exist.
Table 2.12 Additional Economic Contribution of RTÉ, 2011
Of which Additional Tax Type Total Contribution Contribution
Employment (FTEs) 3,538 673
National Output (€m) €384 €73
RTÉ Licence Fee, 2011 (€m) €184 Source: PwC Analysis
Table 2.12 shows that RTÉ generated an additional or non-displaced contribution of approximately €73m (direct, indirect & induced) to the national economy in 2011.
The associated employment sustained is estimated at close to 700 FTEs.
23 2.5 RTÉ Socio-Economic Benefits, 2011
The purpose of this section is to describe the socio-economic benefits which derive from the unique sectoral distribution of RTÉ spend in the Irish economy, most notably the high level of support provided by RTÉ to creative industries and community-based sporting organisations in Ireland6.
An indication of the scale of this support is shown in Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4 RTÉ Support of Indigenous Creative & Other Sectors (excl. VAT), 2011
Provided employment to over400 TV and Radio actorsin 2011
Purchased over Purchased an €31m of work from additional €64m of indigenous goods & services broadcasting drfgysert from other support service indigenous companies/ suppliers contractors.
€49m* was incurred by independent commissioning activity(as defined for the purposes of the Independnent Production Annual Report
Source: RTÉ Information, 2011 & PwC Analysis
In the case of certain creative and sporting sectors of the Irish economy, RTÉ has provided an important financial impetus which has ensured viability, enabled international success and / or promoted higher levels of participation.
The associated social and economic benefits are not quantifiable but are no less potent for this fact. The benefits to individuals and to society at large from the existence of vibrant arts, sporting and community organisations are indisputable.
6 As stated previously, these are additional to the widely acknowledged social benefits which derive from the existence of an effective PSB. * It should be noted that €49m was spent by RTE on independent commission activity as defined by the Independent Productions Annual Report 2011, published by RTE under the requirement of broadcasting act. 2009. However, this differs from the ‘direct commissioned programme costs’ as per the RTÉ Annual Report, which reports €45m of costs, of which €36m (exclusive of VAT) was in the Republic of Ireland. They key difference in the figures are the Independent Productions report quotes the amount spent in the year versus the cost of material transmitted during the year and includes cost of commissioning activities (included in payroll costs).
24 The important role played by RTÉ in supporting such sectors is evidenced in the testimonials of impacted individuals, presented in the case studies which follow.
Case Study 1: RTÉ Supporting the Indigenous TV and Film Production Sector RTÉ use a wide range of Irish Independent Productions Companies. In 2011, RTÉ spent approximately €36m with indigenous independent production companies.
Three Independent Production Company owners/directors were interviewed in relation to their views on RTÉ and how RTÉ has supported them financially and otherwise over the years. Interviews included:
Cathal Gaffney, Chief Executive, Brown Bag Films. Philip Kampff, Managing Director, Vision Independent Productions (VIP). John Murray, Managing Director, Crossing The Line Films.
Case Study 2: Promoting National Sport Engagement In 2011, RTÉ spent just over €48 million on the provision of comprehensive multi- media sports coverage. Costs of coverage included: sports rights fees, outside broadcast costs, studio production costs, freelance resources and other production costs. In addition to the direct benefit from sports rights fees, sporting bodies also derive considerable benefits from the promotion of their sports on RTÉ media, particularly television.
The benefit of this exposure has been proven to give increased attendances at live events which impacts on ticket sales and a greater overall interest in the games. It should be noted that even though 2011 had major international sports events including the Rugby World Cup, RTÉ invested €36 million in coverage of Irish sports i.e. 75% of total amount invested.
Through sports rights fees RTÉ contributes significantly to the income of national governing bodies of sport (NGBs), including: the GAA, IRFU, FAI, horseracing and other Irish sports including boxing, golf and athletics.
Two NGBs representatives were interviewed:
John Delaney, Chief Executive, FAI. Páraic Duffy, Director General GAA.
25 Case Study 3: Sustaining a Vibrant Drama Sector RTÉ supports a large amount of employment in the creative economy e.g. script writers, actors, production design staff, set designers etc, both directly e.g. Fair City and indirectly through commissioning independent productions.
Two well-known Irish actresses were interviewed in relation to their connection with RTÉ and their views on the importance of RTÉ in maintaining a vibrant drama sector in Ireland. These were:
Aisling O’Sullivan, Television and Film Actress.
Ger Ryan, Television and Film Actress.
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Chapter 3. RTÉ Competitive Landscape
33 Chapter 3. RTÉ Competitive Landscape
3.1 Introduction
This chapter describes RTÉ’s competitive landscape.
It comprises five additional sections, the first of which presents an overview of the RTÉ operating environment. The broadcaster’s performance in the attraction of advertising revenues is the subject of Section 3.3, with the remainder of the chapter describing performance in the attraction of viewers, listeners and readers.
3.2 Overview
The competitive environment faced by RTÉ is almost unique in a European context, reflecting proximity to a much larger same-language territory which is home to one of the leading PSBs in the world, i.e. the BBC.
In terms of resources, RTÉ is the largest Irish broadcaster (see Table 3.1).
Table 3.1 RTÉ, Irish Competitor Size (2011)
2011 Revenue Licence Fee / Company Location €m Public Funded
RTÉ Ireland 351 Partially
TV3 Ireland 54 No
TG4 Ireland 36 Partially Source: PwC Research / Company Accounts
A true reflection of the intensity of competition in the Irish market, however, requires consideration of the UK broadcasters with whom RTÉ competes for audience share (see Table 3.2).
Table 3.2 RTÉ, International Competitor Size (2011)
2011 Revenue Licence Fee Company Location €m Funded
RTÉ Ireland 351 Partially
BBC UK 5,654 Fully
ITV UK 2,423 No
Channel 4 UK 1,066 No
Sky* UK 7,471 No Source: PwC Research / Company Accounts (*Group Revenue for British Sky Broadcasting Group plc)
34 The scale differential between RTÉ and its UK-based competitors is illustrated in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 RTÉ Revenue (€m) versus Key UK Competitors (2011)
7,471
5,654
2,423
1,066 351
Sky BBC ITV Channel 4 RTÉ
Source: PwC Research / Company Accounts (*Group Revenue for British Sky Broadcasting Group plc)
A small number of other European PSBs face the similar challenge of proximity to a same-language territory and a much larger competitor PSB, for example:
ORF (Austria) faces competition from ARD and ZDF in Germany; and
RBTF (Wallonia, Belgium) faces competition from France Télévisions and Radio France in France.
Figure 3.2 below illustrates the revenue for each of these PSBs.
Figure 3.2 Revenues of Selected PSB Competitor Sets, €m (2011)
RTÉ 351 d n a l e r I BBC 5,654
RTBF 301 m u i g l France e
B Télévisions/ 3,137 Radio France*
ORF 992 a i r t s u A ARD/ ZDF 8,432
Source: RTÉ Information (*2010 figures)
The scale differential between these PSBs, however, is not comparable to the Irish situation. As evidenced in Figure 3.3, ARD and ZDF’s combined revenue is almost nine times greater than ORF. This compares with 16 in the case of the BBC and RTÉ.
35 Figure 3.3 PSB Revenues relative to Competitors (2011)
16.1
10.4
8.5
ARD / ZDF FT / RF* BBC (relative to (relative to (relative to ORF) RTBF) RTÉ)
Source: RTÉ Information / PwC Analysis (*2010 figures)
36 RTÉ competition for audience and /or commercial revenue in Ireland, extends well beyond the traditional broadcast media of television and radio (see Table 3.3)
Table 3.3 RTÉ Media Competitors
Group Revenue Irish Revenue Parent Company Local Brand Name Sample Titles / Stations 2011 €m 2011 €m
2 Television Stations (RTÉ One, RTÉ Two); 4 Radio Stations (RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm, RTÉ Raidio na RTÉ RTÉ 351 351 Gaeltachta)
BBC BBC 5,654 Not disclosed Television Stations (e.g. BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News, CBeebies, etc)
ITV plc ITV 2,423 Not disclosed Television Stations (e.g. ITV, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, etc)
Channel 4 Channel 4 1,066 Not disclosed Televisions Stations (e.g. Channel 4, E4, Film4, More4, etc)
British Sky Broadcasting Satellite Broadcasting Company. Paid For Television Stations (e.g. Sky News, Sky Sports, Sky Movies, Sky 1, Sky Sky 7,471 Not disclosed Group plc Atlantic, Sky Living, etc)
Daily Mail & General Trust Associated 2,253 19 2 National Titles (Irish Daily Mail, Irish Mail on Sunday); 1 Regional Title (Metro Herald) plc Newspapers
5 National Titles (Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday World, Evening Herald, The Star) Independent News & Media INM 558 363 13 Regional Titles (e.g. People Newspaper Group, The Corkman, The Argus, etc); Websites: independent.ie, yourlocal.ie, etc
Irish Times IT 90 90 1 National Title (Irish Times); 1 Regional Title (Metro Herald); Websites: irishtimes.com
2National Titles (Irish Examiner, Sunday Business Post); 12 Regional Titles (e.g. Echo Newspapers, Roscommon Thomas Crosbie Holdings TCH 72 72 Herald, Waterford News & Star, etc); 4 Radio Stations (WLR FM, Beat 102 103, RedFM, MidWest Radio); Websites: Ltd breakingnews.ie, recruitireland.com, etc
News Corporation News International 23,654 Not Disclosed 3 National Titles (The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun)
Trinity Mirror plc Mirror 846 Not Disclosed 3 National Titles (Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Sunday Mirror, Irish People)
Northern & Shell Network Express 808 Not Disclosed 3 National Titles (Daily Express, Daily Express Sunday, The Irish Daily Star) Ltd Newspapers
Communicorp Group Ltd Communicorp 66 36 6 Radio Stations (98FM, NewsTalk, SPIN 103.8, Today FM, SPIN South West, Phantom 105.2FM)
Facebook Facebook Ireland Ltd Not Disclosed 229 Social Networking Site (www. facebook.com)
Google Ireland Ltd. Google 20,762 10,900 Search Engine (www.google.ie) (HQ Europe & Asia Pacific)
Microsoft Microsoft 49,527 13,367 Online Service (MSN); Search Engine (www.bing.ie) Source: PwC Research / Company Accounts The presence and scale of online publishing interests in Ireland is noteworthy.
37 3.3 RTÉ Advertising Market Share
The value of national advertising spend has declined significantly in recent years, reflecting the consumer spending impacts of the recession (see Figure 3.4).
Figure 3.4 Irish Advertising Market Size, €m
1,044 989 923 867 831
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: PwC Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2011-2016
The rate of decline in Irish advertising spend has been more severe than elsewhere in Europe (see Table 3.4).
For example, advertising spend in Ireland declined by 20% between 2007 and 2011, compared with a 1% fall in the UK and a 28% increase in Austria.
Table 3.4 Advertising Market Size, Selected European Markets (2007 & 2011)
2007 2011 % Change €m €m 2007-11
Ireland 1,044 831 -20%
United Kingdom 16,172 15,957 -1%
Austria 1,495 1,918 28%
Belgium 2,691 3,052 13%
France 10,503 10,861 3%
Germany 16,172 15,957 -1% Source: PwC Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2011-2016
In Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been a continued shift in advertising revenues to internet advertising (see Figure 3.5).
38 Figure 3.5 Irish Advertising Spend by Medium, % of Market (2007 & 2011)
24% 26%
12% 13% 7% 12%
58% 49%
2007 2011 Other Internet Radio TV Advertising
Source: PwC Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2011-2016
Between 2007 and 2011, spend on Internet advertising in Ireland grew from €69m to €132m – delivering a share of 12% in 2011.
Advertising revenues at RTÉ fell sharply between 2007 and 2011 (see Figure 3.6).
Figure 3.6 RTÉ Advertising Revenues, €m (2007 to 2011)
202.4 195.6
131.7 132.6 123.8
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2011/2010/2009 /2008/2007
The rate of decline in RTÉ advertising incomes in this period (-39%) exceeded the rate of decline of total advertising spend in Ireland (-20%).
Between 2007 and 2011, RTÉ advertising incomes fell by €79m.
39 3.4 RTÉ TV Audience Share
In spite of intense local competition from national and international broadcasters, RTÉ enjoys the largest audience share of any television broadcaster in the State. This is evidenced in Figure 3.7.
Figure 3.7 TV Audience Share in Ireland (%) (2011)
32.4
In spite of intense national and international competition, RTE has 13.7 almost as high a 6.7 national TV share in 5.1 Ireland as the BBC 3.3 3.3 enjoys in the UK.
RTE TV3 BBC Sky Channel 4 UTV (2 stations) (2 stations) (2 stations) (7 stations) (3 stations) (1 station) Source: TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+ (All Day Channel Shares), Live Data. Note: other BBC TV channels are not broken out in the Irish TAM system
This performance is placed in the context of the BBC in Figure 3.8, which shows that RTÉ has almost as high a national TV share in Ireland with two channels as the BBC enjoys in the UK with nine channels.
Figure 3.8 TV Audience Share in UK (%) (2011)
33.2
23.1
11.3
BBC ITV Channel 4 (9 stations, (11 stations) (9 stations) BBC Red Button*16) Source: Broadcaster Audience Research Board (BARB), Trends in Television Viewing 2011, All Individuals
The strong position held by RTÉ in terms of national audience share is further evidenced in its share of the 10 most popular television programmes in 2011. All of the top 10 programmes watched in 2011 were on RTÉ. (see Table 3.5).
40 Table 3.5 Top 10 TV Programmes in Ireland (2011)
Programme Channel Average Audience (000’s)
1 The Late Late Toy Show RTÉ One 1,529
2 The Eurovision Song Contest RTÉ One 1,182
3 The Sunday Game Live (Senior Football Final) RTÉ Two 1,085
4 The Frontline Leaders Debate RTÉ One 965
5 Mrs. Brown’s Boys Christmas Special RTÉ One 952
6 Mrs. Brown’s Boys RTÉ One 924
7 The Late Late Show RTÉ One 886
8 The Sunday Game Live (Senior Hurling Final) RTÉ Two 847
9 The Rose of Tralee RTÉ One 829
10 RTÉ News: Nine O’Clock RTÉ One 813 Source: RTÉ Annual Report 2011
RTÉ’s share of the Top 10 programmes compares favourably with that of the BBC in the case of the UK (see Table 3.6).
Table 3.6 Top 10 TV Programmes in the UK (2011)
Programme Channel Average Audience (m)
1 The Royal Wedding BBC1 13.59
2 The X Factor Results ITV1 13.46
3 Strictly Come Dancing BBC1 13.34
4 The X Factor ITV1 12.92
5 Britain’s Got Talent Result ITV1 12.63
6 Coronation Street ITV1 12.56
7 I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here! ITV1 12.47
8 Britain’s Got Talent ITV1 12.22
9 Downton Abbey ITV1 12.15
10Eastenders BBC1 11.42 Source: Broadcaster Audience Research Board (BARB), All Individuals
Table 3.6 shows that the profile of the Top 10 programmes in the UK is skewed more heavily towards “entertainment” than in Ireland.
41 3.5 RTÉ Radio Audience Market Share
RTÉ also has a very high radio listenership in Ireland.
RTÉ radio stations reached 34% of Irish radio listeners in 2011 (see Figure 3.9). RTÉ Radio 1 accounting for 25%. It should be noted the reach for RTÉ’s commercial stations is not the straight addition of the reach for each of the individual RTÉ stations. Listeners frequently listen to more than one station.”
Figure 3.9 RTÉ Radio Reach, Weekdays
50% 47%
38% 34%
23%25% RTÉ Radio 1 is the most 17% 16% popular radio station in 13% 11% 9% 6% Ireland, reaching a quarter 3% 4% of the national adult population daily. Any National RTÉ RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ 2fm RTÉ lyric fm Today FM NewsTalk Commercial Stations 2007 2011
Source: JNLR / Ipsos MRBI 2007/4, 2011/4, (Adults 15+)
RTÉ Radio 1 grew its reach between 2007 and 2011. Newstalk performed similarly, suggesting a greater appetite for news-based programming in recent years.
An analysis of daytime radio audience shares is shown in Figure 3.10. The trends are broadly similar as for audience reach.
Figure 3.10 RTÉ Radio Daytime Share (7am-7pm), Weekdays
52.4% 47.6%
21.6%23.4%
12.8% 12.5% 7.5% 9.5% 4.7% 1.7% 1.9% 3.4%
Any National RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ 2fm RTÉ lyric fm Today FM NewsTalk 2007 2011
Source: JNLR / Ipsos MRBI 2007/4, 2011/4 (Adults 15+)
42 RTÉ Radio hosts 18 of the 20 most popular Irish radio programmes, attracting between 171,000 and 446,000 adults per programme (see Table 3.7).
Table 3.7 All Week National Radio Programmes, 2011
Adults 15 + Rank Programme Station Reach (000s)
1 Morning Ireland RTÉ Radio 1 446 2 Liveline with Joe Duffy RTÉ Radio 1 414 3 The Marian Finucane Show (Sat) RTÉ Radio 1 365 4 The Marian Finucane Show (Sun) RTÉ Radio 1 349 5 News at One RTÉ Radio 1 345 6 Today with Pat Kenny RTÉ Radio 1 329 7 The John Murray Show RTÉ Radio 1 327 8 The Business RTÉ Radio 1 326 9 Playback RTÉ Radio 1 292 10 Miriam Meets.... RTÉ Radio 1 272 11 Drivetime RTÉ Radio 1 243 12 Mooney RTÉ Radio 1 238 13 Ray D'Arcy Show Today FM 234 14 News/Papers/Sunday Miscellany RTÉ Radio 1 233 News/Green Tea/Saturday with Charlie 15 RTÉ Radio 1 232 Bird 16 The Ronan Collins Show RTÉ Radio 1 227 17 This Week RTÉ Radio 1 208 18 News/Papers/CountryWide RTÉ Radio 1 201 19 Tubridy RTÉ 2fm 176 20 Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show Today FM 171 Source: JNLR / Ipsos MRBI 2011/4, National Stations
The BBC has a higher share of radio audiences in the UK (see Figure 3.11). However, BBC has 57 radio stations across the UK, compared with four for RTÉ.
Figure 3.11 BBC Radio Share, Adults 15+ (Q3 2012)
46.1%
30.6%
12.8% 8.1%
BBC BBC National Local Network Radio Local / Regional Commercial Commercial (12 stations) (45 stations) (28 stations)
Source: Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR), Quarterly Summary of Radio Listening, Period ending 16th September 2012
43 3.6 RTÉ Online Audience Appeal
RTÉ is also performing strongly in the attraction and retention of audiences in non-traditional broadcast media.
Average page impressions at RTÉ.ie have increased sixfold since 2006 - reaching an average of 130m page impressions per month in 2012 (See Figure 3.12)7.
Figure 3.12 RTÉ.ie Average Page Impressions per Month (millions)
2006 20.5
2007 35.7
2008 45
RTÉ.ie is the leading 2009 58.7 factual based website in 2010 Ireland, attracting more 80.6 than 400,000 unique users 2011 110.6 daily. 2012* 130.1
Source: RTÉ Information
The website attracts more than 400,000 unique users daily (see Figure 3.13).
Figure 3.13 Daily Unique Browsers of RTÉ.ie8
415,808
289,129 246,216 234,974 187,886
104,041 88,444 45,490 38,641 38,641 935
Source: RTÉ Information / ABC Electronic, The Island of Ireland Report, June 2012
This is significantly higher than any other leading domestic websites. Even relative to global digital media players, RTÉ.ie performs strongly in the national online sector (see Figure 3.14).
7 (*) 2012 figures are the average up to and including October 2012. 8 Figures include all traffic, from international as well as Irish sources. Audit period differs by website. 44 Figure 3.14 RTÉ.ie % Reach of Irish Internet Users (November 2012)
93.7
79.7 73.0 72.1
57.0 54.8 52.4 48.6 37.3 32.2
Source: comScore, November 2012, Adults 15 + (Total Unique Visitors 2,545,000)
The launch of the News Now application in January 2010 saw a significant increase in the consumption of RTÉ.ie content on mobile devices (see Figure 3.15). The News Now application delivered 426 million page impressions and was downloaded 454,000 times in 2011.
Figure 3.15 Mobile Page Impressions as a % of Total Page Impressions for RTÉ.ie (201o to 2012) 160 70%
e g a P 140
60% e i . E
120 T R 50% f o s
) n )
100 o % i m ( s (
40% s e s e r r n a p o 80 h i s S m
s I
30% e e l r i p 60 b o m I M
20% e e i g 40 . a E P
T e i 10% R . 20 E T R 0 0%
Mobile Services www.rte.ie Mobile Share (%)
Source: RTÉ Information (January 2010– November 2012)
Figure 3.15 shows that of the 139 million page impressions recorded in August 2012, 55% were delivered via RTÉ’s mobile services– a significant increase since January 2010, when mobile represented 3% of RTÉ.ie page impressions. Total page impressions include m.RTÉ.ie, RTÉ News Now App, RTÉ Player App, RTÉ Radio App amongst other impressions.
45 RTÉ Player is the most popular online TV service offered by an Irish broadcaster. It has continued to grow in popularity since its launch in April 2009, with monthly unique visitors reaching over 530,000 in November 2012 (see Figure 3.16).
Figure 3.16 RTÉ Player Monthly Unique Visitors (000s)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
RTÉ Player Channel4 4oD TV3.IE Sky Go ITV.COM BBC IPlayer
Source: comScore 2013
46 Chapter 4. RTÉ Effectiveness
47 Chapter 4. RTÉ Effectiveness
4.1 Introduction
This section presents a series of indicators that highlight RTÉ’s effectiveness in the attainment of certain key public service objectives.
RTÉ’s mission is noteworthy in this regard:
to nurture and reflect the cultural and regional diversity of all of the people of Ireland;
to provide distinctive programming and services of the highest quality and ambition, with the emphasis on home production;
to inform the Irish public by delivering the best comprehensive independent news service possible; and
to enable national participation in all major events.
The remainder of this chapter comprises four sections, as follows:
the next section presents a snapshot of public perceptions of RTÉ;
Section 4.3 presents indicators of RTÉ’s effectiveness in promoting a sense of national identity;
indicators of RTÉ effectiveness in promoting and enabling national debate are the subject of Section 4.4; and
Section 4.5 presents indicators of RTÉ effectiveness in enabling participation in national events.
These are now discussed in turn.
48 4.2 Public Satisfaction with RTÉ
The Irish population is convinced of the value and importance of public service broadcasting. The events of recent years, and the critical role played by RTÉ in informing public debate, appear to have reinforced this conviction.
This is evidenced from a survey conducted by Ipsos MRBI reviewing the Corporate Reputation of RTÉ (see Figure 4.1) – with 83% of respondents deeming the national PSB to be very or fairly important for Ireland.
RTÉ continues to enjoy the Figure 4.1 Perceived Importance of a PSB such as RTÉ, Adults 15+ (%)9 respect and confidence of the Irish public.
28 21 24
55 49 49
2003 2006 2009
Very Important Fairly Important
Source: Ipsos MRBI, RTÉ Corporate Reputation Survey (2009)
Further analysis from the survey, shows that a strong national belief in the importance of public service broadcasting spans all age cohorts (see Figure 4.2).
Figure 4.2 % of Population agreeing that a PSB is Important, Adults 15+10
89 82 85 78
15-24 yrs 25-44 yrs 45-64 yrs 65+ yrs
Source: Ipsos MRBI, RTÉ Corporate Reputation Survey (2009) (Adults 15+ who answered ‘Very Important’ or ‘Fairly Important’)
9 Question: How important is it for you that Ireland has a non-subscription (free to air) Public Service Broadcaster such as RTÉ catering for the diverse requirements of the Irish audience? 10Question: How important is it for you that Ireland has a non-subscription (free to air) Public Service Broadcaster such as RTÉ catering for the diverse requirements of the Irish audience? 49 Additional market research conducted by Amárach on behalf of RTÉ, measures the health of the RTÉ brand.
The results show that the majority of individuals surveyed declared themselves to be satisfied with the RTÉ brand in 2011/2012, across key services including television, radio and online (see Figure 4.3).
Figure 4.3 % Satisfied with Key RTÉ Services*
81
73 71 68 65
RTÉ TV RTÉ Radio RTÉ Online Jan - Nov 2009 July 11 - June 2012
Source: Amárach Research / RTÉ Brand Health Tracker, All Adults 15+ (% Satisfied or Very Satisfied). 2009 figures not available for RTÉ Online Services *“Cannot Rate” respondents removed from analysis
Moreover, the Amárach research indicates there is a widespread belief among the Irish public that RTÉ is trustworthy and provides a high quality service (see Figure 4.4).
Figure 4.4 % of Population Agreeing with RTÉ Statements
71 70 72 67
Is trustworthy Is high quality
Jan-Nov 2009 Jul 11 - Jun 2012
Source: Amárach Research / RTÉ Brand Health Tracker, All Adults 15+ (% Agree Strongly / Slightly)
In addition, very high proportions of the population agree that RTÉ has a bright future, and is an Irish brand they are proud of (see Figure 4.5). 50 Figure 4.5 % of Population Agreeing with RTÉ Statements
84 80 76 75 68 69
Has a bright future Is part of our heritage IsanIrishbrandI am proudof
Jan-Nov 2009 Jul 11 - Jun 2012
Source: Amárach Research / RTÉ Brand Health Tracker, All Adults 15+ (% Agree Strongly / Slightly)
Evidence of the high esteem in which RTÉ is held is found in the fact that the general public turns to RTÉ for information and commentary at times of national crisis (e.g. severe weather in January 2010) or for key public events (e.g. the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in 2011).
Evidence of this is provided in Section 4.5.
51 4.3 Promoting a Sense of National Identity
A primary function of any public service broadcaster is to promote a sense of national identity – the fulfilment of which requires PSBs to provide distinctly national programming vis-à-vis purely commercial broadcasters.
RTÉ invests heavily in the production and commissioning of indigenous content, with 88% of RTÉ’s television content spend dedicated to indigenous content in 2011 (see Table 4.1).
Table 4.1 RTÉ Television Spend on Content (2011)
Television Spend % of Total €m Indigenous €180 88% Acquired €25 12% Total €205 100% Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2011
RTÉ concentrates indigenous output during peak broadcast hours. As evidenced in Figure 4.6, indigenous content accounted for 49% of peak broadcast hours on RTÉ television in 2011.
Figure 4.6 % of RTÉ TV Broadcast Hours that are Indigenous, (2011)
49%
27%
Peak Hours Total Hours
Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2011
A schedule analysis of RTÉ’s terrestrial competitor in the Irish market indicates the uniquely indigenous nature of RTÉ’s service offering (see Figure 4.7). This analysis, conducted by RTÉ, shows that 77% of RTÉ One’s broadcast hours in November 2012, were first-run indigenous hours.
52 Figure 4.7 % of Peak Broadcast Hours (1st – 30th November 2012)
RTÉ 77 5.4 17.6 One
RTÉ 27.3 7.1 65.6 Two
TV3 30.6 1.2 68.2
3e 7.4 12.6 80
% Home First Run % Home Repeat % Acquired
Source: RTÉ Information
Of the Top 20 programmes for each broadcaster in Ireland in January – October, 2012, a significantly higher proportion of programmes on RTÉ were indigenous than for other domestic commercial channels (see Figure 4.8).
Figure 4.8 % of Top 20 Programmes11 by Station that are Indigenous (2011)
100 90 90
45
RTÉ One RTÉ Two TV3 3e TG4
Indigenous Acquired
Source: TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+ (January – October, 2012, Top 20 Programmes by Station with no averaging option) / RTÉ Analysis
The significantly greater costs incurred by broadcasters reliant on indigenously produced content is evidenced in Figure 4.9, which shows the cost per transmitted hour for indigenous and acquired programmes on RTÉ television.
11 Please note programmes refers to the watched most episodes. 53 An indigenous programme is, on average, 16 times more expensive to produce than an acquired programme.
Figure 4.9 RTÉ Cost of Acquired vs. Indigenous Content per Transmitted Hour (2011)
€39,639
€2,397
Indigenous Acquisitions
Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2011
Furthermore, particular genres such as drama and investigative current affairs, are known to be particularly resource-intensive. A genre analysis of RTÉ television illustrates the strong presence of such programmes during peak hours (see Figures 4.12 and 4.15).
Promoting a sense of national identity or belonging is important for individuals resident in Ireland, but perhaps more important still for the Irish diaspora. RTÉ statistics indicate high levels of overseas usage of RTÉ online services (see Figure 4.10) – with news and sports content on RTÉ.ie attracting particularly high levels of overseas browsers.
Figure 4.10 % of Page Impressions which are Overseas (November 2012)
45%
33% 31% 27%
22%
RTÉ.ie RTÉ.ie News RTÉ.ie Sport News Now App RTÉ player
Source: RTÉ Information
The 31% overseas usage of RTÉ.ie equated to 15.6m page impressions to overseas browsers in November 2012.
54 Their geographic profile is shown in Figure 4.11.
Figure 4.11 Geographic Profile of Overseas RTÉ.ie Impressions (November 2012)
UK 31% 43% USA Australia Canada Other
19% 3% 4%
Source: RTÉ Information
A similar geographic profile of overseas users is reported for the international version of RTÉ Player and the News Now App, both of which were launched in January 2010.
55 4.4 Supporting and Enabling National Debate
As a PSB, RTÉ plays an important role in supporting and enabling national debate. A key measure of this is the number of broadcasting hours committed to news, current affairs and factual programmes.
Figures 4.12 and 4.13 show that a significant proportion of RTÉ’s television and radio hours are news, current affairs and factual related content. In the case of RTÉ television, news, current affairs & factual programmes accounted for 53% of all broadcast hours in 2011.
Figure 4.12 Indigenous Hours broadcast on RTÉ (TV) in Peak Time by Genre (%), 2011
2011 34 19 18 17 7 6
2007 33 17 17 17 8 9
News, CA & Weather Factual Sport Entertainment Drama Other
Source: RTÉ Information
A similar proportion is evidenced in the case of RTÉ Radio 1 (45%) and RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta (40%). The share is significantly smaller for RTÉ 2fm and RTÉ lyric fm reflecting their music focus.
Figure 4.13 RTÉ Broadcast Hours (Radio) by Genre (%), 2011
RTÉ lyric fm 12 10 85 1
RTÉ R na G 29 11 7 11 33 8
RTÉ 2fm 4 38 56
RTÉ Radio 1 40 5 8 12 7
News, CA & Weather Factual Sport Entertainment Music Other
Source: RTÉ Information (Total Broadcast Hours)
56 The importance of news and current affairs to the RTÉ One schedule, and indeed it national popularity, is evidenced in Figures 4.14 which shows that 8 of the Top 2o most popular programmes broadcast in 2011 focused on news and current affairs.
Figure 4.14 % of Top 20 Programmes by Station that are News & CA, 2011
40%
10% RTÉ 1 RTÉ 2 TV3 TG4 3E
News & Current Affairs Other
Source: TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+ (January - December 2011, Top 20 Programmes with no averaging option) / RTÉ Analysis
The importance that RTÉ places on news and current affairs is also evidenced in a schedule analysis of RTÉ’s main terrestrial competitor for November 2012. Figure 4.15, shows that over 50% of content on RTÉ One was news, current affairs and/or factual related.
Figure 4.15 % Peak Broadcast Hours by Genre (1st – 30th November 2012)
RTÉ One 35 16 22 14 7 6
RTÉ Two 3 14 24 43 15
TV3 7 9 31 47 3 3
3e 3 13 82 2
News & CA Factual Drama Entertainment Sport Lifestyle Other
Source: RTÉ Information
The high esteem in which RTÉ news and current affairs services are held is evidenced in the finding that 67% of the Irish population consider the broadcaster its main source of national news, compared with 9% for national newspapers (See Figure 4.16).
57 Figure 4.16 Main News Sources for National Affairs (% Irish Population), 200912
11 2 All RTÉ 9 TV3 National newspapers 9 Today fm 67 Other
Source: Ipsos MRBI, RTÉ Corporate Reputation Survey 2009
Related, Figure 4.17 shows a high degree of public confidence in the accuracy and objectivity of RTÉ news broadcasts.
Figure 4.17 Most Trusted News Sources for National Affairs (% Irish Population), 200913
10 2 All RTÉ 8 TV3
8 National newspapers Today fm 65 Other
Source: Ipsos MRBI, RTÉ Corporate Reputation Survey 2009
The level of confidence in RTÉ News content is also evidenced by the number of viewers watching their weekday RTÉ news programmes. Figure 4.18 shows that RTÉ attracts the highest number of viewers to news programmes of any of the main competitor broadcasters.
For example, RTÉ Six One attracted approximately three times the number of viewers than the next most popular ‘early evening’ news programme in 2012.
12 Question: From which of the following sources do you get most news & information about National Affairs 13 Question: Which of these sources do you find most trustworthy for news & information about National Affairs 58 Figure 4.18 Average Weekday Audiences to News Programmes, 2012 (‘000s)
e ITV 9.0 m i t
h BBC 12.0 c n u
L RTÉ 137.0
C4 14.0 g n i n
e BBC 14.0 v E
y
l TV3 146.0 r a E RTÉ 437.0 g n
i ITV 21.0 n e v BBC 36.0 E
n i a RTÉ 491.0 M
Source: TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+, Series Average (Monday – Friday)
59 4.5 Enabling Participation in Key National Events
Enabling participation in key public events is a further RTÉ public service objective.
The compelling nature of RTÉ coverage of a selection of key national events is reflected in the high television viewership this coverage attracted in 2011 and 2012 (see Table 4.2).
Table 4.2 RTÉ Viewership during Major Events
Average Market Event Date Programme Audience Share 1. General 15th Feb 2011 The Frontline Leaders Debate, RTÉ One 910,000 59.9% Election nd 2011 22 Feb 2011 Prime Time, RTÉ One ( Leader's Debate ) 767,000 50.6% 2. Queen 17th May 2011 Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland 11:40-13:25 337,000 60.9% Elizabeth II's visit to Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland 14:55-16:39 329,000 52.0% Ireland May RTÉ News: Six One 585,000 51.3% 18th May 2011 Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland 11:05-12:54 209,000 56.9% Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland 19:26-20:37 681,000 51.8% RTÉ News: Six One 537,000 50.7% 19th May 2011 Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland 22:18-23:18 666,000 47.2% RTÉ News: Six One 522,000 49.0% RTÉ News: Nine o'clock 613,000 41.9% 20th May 2011 Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland 13:51-16:25 338,000 54.5% RTÉ News: Six One 443,000 45.2% RTÉ News: Nine o'clock 591,000 44.1% 3. President 23rd May 2011 President Obama In Ireland 09:28-12:25 285,000 55.7% Barack Obama's visit President Obama In Ireland 14:27-18:52 639,000 60.1% to Ireland RTÉ News: Six One 722,000 48.5% RTÉ News: Nine o'clock 779,000 48.0% 4. London 9th August 2012 London Olympics 16.45 – 17.02 Olympics – Women’s 1,044,000 84.2% Boxing Final (Katie Taylor)
5. Budget 2013 5th December 2012 Budget 2013, RTÉ One, 14:00-17:42 235,000 37.8%
Budget 2013, RTÉ Two, 15:45-18:47 74,000 8.3%
Nuacht 204,000 20.9%
Six One News 518,000 40.6%
Nine O'Clock News 503,000 32.0%
Prime Time Special 373,000 27.7% Source: RTÉ Information / TAM Ireland / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+, Live Data
Key national events also coincide with high volumes of online activity, across RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player, m.RTÉ.ie and the News Now App (see Table 4.3).
60 Table 4.3 RTÉ Online Activity during Major Events
Audio Visual Page Impressions (m) Streams (m) Total Event / Subject Date Total Total RTÉ Overseas Event Player Overseas Total RTÉ.ie Mobile* RTÉ Tracker Total RTÉ.ie Mobile*
General Election Count 25-27th Feb, 1 18.2 5.7 3.8 0.8 1.8 0.9 0.2 Weekend 2011
Queen Elizabeth II's visit 17-20th May 2 14.0 4.1 7.0 1.1 0.7 2.3 0.7 to Ireland 2011
President Barack Obama's 23rd 3 5.2 1.5 2.3 0.3 0.5 1.2 0.3 visit to Ireland May 2011
Presidential Election 24th May 4 3.1 0.8 1.8 0.4 Debate, 2011 2011 0.0169 0.34 0.11 17th March 5 St. Patrick’s Day 1.9 0.7 2.3 0.6 2012 0.122 0.25 0.15 Opening Ceremony 27th July 6 1.9 0.4 2.0 0.6 London Olympics 2012 n/a 0.18 0.1 Closing Ceremony 12th August 7 1.8 0.7 2.9 0.8 London Olympics 2012 n/a 0.19 0.13 Katie Taylor Olympic 9th August 8 2.7 n/a 2.6 0.7 Final 2012 n/a 0.684 0.18 5th 9 Budget 2013 December 2.8 0.5 2.6 0.7 2012 0.369 0.34 0.17 Source: RTÉ Information (*RTÉ Mobile represents News Now App and m.RTÉ.ie)
An important point from Table 4.3 is a high proportion of overseas activity during key national events. For example, more than 30% of page impressions (or 5.7m) during the General Election weekend in February 2011 were to overseas browsers.
RTÉ’s online services are hugely important in keeping the Irish diaspora, and others interested in Irish affairs, connected with events in Ireland.
Further evidence of the effectiveness of RTÉ coverage of national events is found in the high audience shares for national and international sporting events, notwithstanding the availability of hugely well resourced alternatives on competitor terrestrial channels (see Table 4.4).
61 Table 4.4 RTÉ Audience Share of Major Sporting Events
Viewers 000’s % Share Event Date RTÉ BBC Sky RTÉ BBC Sky UTV UTV Two One Sports 1 Two One Sports 1 World Cup Final – New 23rd Oct 386 Zealand vs. France 2011 - 16 - 59.4% - 2.4% - UEFA Champions League 19th May Final – Bayern Munich vs. 440 2012 - 44 43 31.2% - 3.2% 3.4% Chelsea Euro 2012 Ireland vs. 10th June 1181 Croatia 2012 - 64 - 68.7% - 3.8% - 14th June Euro 2012 Spain vs. Ireland 1098 2012 - 48 - 63.3% - 2.8% - Euro 2012 Final – Spain vs. 1st July 738 118 7.7% Italy 2012 23 - 47.9% 1.5% - Source: RTÉ Information / TAM Ireland / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+, Live Data
For example, 48% of Irish viewers watched the Euro 2012 Final on RTÉ Two, more than six times the number of BBC viewers.
The resource differentials referenced earlier are evidenced in Table 4.5, which compares RTÉ Football World Cup resources with those of the BBC and ITV.
Table 4.5 RTÉ Football World Cup Resources, and Viewership (2010)
# live matches Number of shown by Average Irish Average Channel Staff broadcaster Audience Share on Location (total 64)
RTÉ 11 56 262.200 29.4% (56 matches) (56 matches)
BBC 295 32 82,400 9.2% (29 matches) (29 matches)
ITV 150 32 44,700 4.8% (27 matches) (27 matches) Source: Resources (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/12/bbc-staff-world-cup) Viewership (TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, National Individuals 4+, Live Data)
The lack of an Irish team participation in the World Cup makes the data presented in Table 4.5 even more compelling.
62 Chapter 5. RTÉ Cost Management
63 Chapter 5. RTÉ Cost Management
This chapter presents a summary of high-level metrics of RTÉ cost management.
Table 5.1 shows the short-term evolution of the broadcaster’s annual revenues.
Table 5.1 RTÉ Operating Budget, 2008 to 2011
RTÉ Total Peak Indigenous Annual Revenue Hours (Television) €’000
2007 2,032 441,152
2008 2,077 440,760
2009 2,006 374,921
2010 2,113 371,667
RTÉ has sustained high levels of 2011 2,008 350,880 public satisfaction and Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2008 - 2011 indigenous output hours in spite RTÉ has been subject to a series of significant revenue cuts in recent years, reflecting of a 20% reduction in its operating budget since 2008 a dramatic decline in the size of the national advertising market.
Notwithstanding this, the broadcaster has succeeded in maintaining indigenous peak broadcast hours and still enjoys very high levels of public support (see Section 4.2).
RTÉ responded swiftly and comprehensively to this revenue decline, implementing cost savings of €87 million (before depreciation and amortisation) in this period, driven in part by a reduction of 210 in the number of full-time equivalent employees (see Table 5.2).
Table 5.2 RTÉ Revenue Decline versus Operating Costs & FTE, 2008 to 2011
Change RTÉ 2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 - 2011
Revenue (€’000) 440,760 374,921 371,667 350,880 -89,880
Operating Costs (€’000) 460,510 389,393 376,597 369,521 -90,989 Operating Cost before depreciation & 439,488 363,368 356,197 352,911 amortisation (€’000) -86,577
Full-time Equivalent Employees (FTE) 2,144 2,035 1,987 1,934 -210 Change Index (2008 = 100) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 - 2011
Revenue 100 85 84 80 -20
Operating Costs 100 85 82 80 -20 Operating Costs (before depreciation & amortisation 100 83 81 80 -20
FTE 100 95 93 90 -10 Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2008 - 2011
64 The broadcaster also realised significant cost efficiencies in the production and acquisition of television and radio content (see Table 5.3).
Table 5.3 RTÉ Cost per Transmitted Hour (CPTH) 2008 - 2011
RTÉ RTÉ RTÉ RTÉ Average14 One Two Radio 1 2fm
2008 €20,628 €13,160 €4,909 €1,543 €7,166
2009 €18,071 €10,297 €4,515 €1,667 €6,156
2010 €16,667 €10,868 €4,080 €1,495 €5,887
2011 €16,632 €10,068 €4,183 €1,427 €5,745
Movement 08-11 (€) -€3,996 -€3,092 -€726 -€116 -€1,421
Movement 08 - 11 (%) -19% -23% -15% -7% -20% Source: RTÉ Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2008 - 2011
RTÉ reduced the average of cost per transmitted hour by 20% between 2008 and 2011.
Related, the cost per hour of continuing drama at RTÉ also compares favourably with that reported in respect of the BBC (see Table 5.4).
Table 5.4 Fair City Cost per Hour relative to BBC Continuing Drama
Fair City Casualty Holby City Eastenders Index, Fair City = 100 RTÉ BBC BBC BBC
2007 100 468 317 262
2008 100 476 308 242
2009 100 492 316 240
2010 100 487 329 252 Source: RTÉ Information / BBC, ‘The Costs of Producing Continuing Drama’, March 2011
The cost per hour for Casualty broadcast by the BBC, for example, was almost five times higher relative to the cost per hour for Fair City in 2010, whereas EastEnders was more than double.
RTÉs performance in maintaining high audience share and public satisfaction levels in a time of serious budget retrenchment is more impressive when considered against the fact that selected UK-based PSB competitors grew their budgets (see Table 5.5).
14 The average includes RTÉ lyric fm & RTÉ RnaG as well as the four stations listed in the table. 65 Table 5.5 RTÉ Operating Costs versus BBC15 & Channel 4
RTÉ (Index, 2008 = 100) 2008 2009 2010 2011
Revenue 100 85 84 80
Operating Costs 100 85 82 80
BBC (Index, 2008 = 100) 2008 2009 2010 2011
Revenue 100 106 108 113
Operating Costs 100 101 96 103
Channel 4 (Index, 2008 = 100) 2008 2009 2010 2011
Revenue 100 92 103 104
Operating Costs 100 91 98 101 Source: RTÉ, BBC and Channel 4 Annual Financial Statements 2008 - 2011
Equally of note from Table 5.5 is the fact that neither of the comparator PSBs reduced their operating costs to the same extent as RTÉ. In fact, the scale of the RTÉ operating budget reduction is almost unique across the Irish semi-state sector where cost retrenchment has been widespread (see Table 5.6).
Table 5.6 Change in Operating Costs, RTÉ versus Irish Semi-State Organisations, 2008 t0 2011
Index, 2008 = 100 2008 2011
RTÉ 100 80
An Post 100 98
Bord na Mona 100 102
DAA 100 92
Coillte 100 95
Eirgrid plc 100 120
Iarnrod Eireann 100 86
Bus Eireann 100 94
Dublin Bus 100 88
VHI 100 88 Source: Company Accounts 2008 & 2011 / PwC Research
The cost of a television licence fee in Ireland increased by €2 (1%) in 2008 and has remained constant since. In contrast, a wide range of other household costs have increased substantially more over the period from 2006 - 2012 e.g. bus fares, newspapers (see Table 5.7).
15 BBC’s year end is 31 March 66 Table 5.7 Change in Selected Household Costs, 2006 to 2012
Index, 2006= 100 2006 2012
RTÉ Licence Fee 100 100
National Stamp 100 115
Irish Times Weekday Edition 100 133
Irish Independent Weekday Edition 100 119
Irish Times (Saturday Edition) 100 153
Irish Independent (Saturday Edition) 100 123
Taxi fares 100 108
Dublin Bus Fares 100 141
Train fare (Dublin to Cork – Single Ticket) 100 110
Train fare (Galway to Dublin – open Return) 100 116
Doctor’s fees 100 113
Hospital A&E Charge 100 167
VHI Plan B Option 100 218
Electricity 100 140
Liquid fuels (home heating oil) 100 167
Petrol 100 157
Motor Car insurance 100 111
Travel insurance 100 105 Source: Company Accounts & CSO, CPI 2006-2012/ PwC Analysis
67 68