A Year in Review Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2017 RTÉ is Ireland’s national public- Today, service media organisation – on tomorrow, television, radio, online and together mobile. Vision, Mission and Values 02 Contents Highlights 03 Chair’s Statement 04 Director-General’s Review 06 Financial Review 12 Who We Are 21 Operational Review 24 Board of RTÉ 94 Executive 98 Corporate Governance 100 Board Members’ Report 108 Statement of Board Members’ Responsibilities 109 Independent Auditor’s Report 110 Financial Statements 112 Notes forming part of the Group Financial Statements 119 Appendix to the Group Financial Statements – Accounting Policies 168 Other Reporting Requirements 173 Other Statistical Information 183 Financial History 184 Raidió Teilifís Éireann Board The 57th Annual Report and Group Financial Statements for the 12 months ended 31 December 2017 presented to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in line with sections 109 and 110 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. Is féidir leagan Gaeilge den Tuarascáil a íoslódáil ó www.rte.ie/about/ie/policies-and-reports/annual-reports/ To champion Irish culture by captivating audiences with trusted, Vision engaging and challenging content; celebrating our country’s rich diversity; and cultivating Ireland’s talent. To enrich Irish life with content that challenges, educates and Mission entertains. As an organisation and individually, RTÉ will be outward looking, Values creative, respectful, sustainable and accountable, collaborative and transparent, and will demonstrate the following behaviours: Outward Looking Have a deep understanding of its audience and their needs. Invest time and energy in monitoring changes in the media landscape. Creative Be resourceful and innovative in how it makes its content. Be brave, take risks and be willing to learn from failures. Respectful Treat people, including staff and partners, with respect, even when it challenges. Nurture trust by being fair and open about the decisions it makes. Sustainable and Accountable Manage its business in a responsible manner. Be accountable to each other within RTÉ and to audience and stakeholders. Collaborative Work together, bringing the ‘One RTÉ’ organisation to life. Join forces with partners to meet the needs of RTÉ’s audience. Transparent Make decisions openly. Be upfront about the reasons for the actions taken. 02 Highlights Over 1,000,000 people tuned into RTÉ Radio 1 every week. More than 1,300,000 viewers tuned in to RTÉ One’s The Late Late Toy Show, the most-watched television programme in 2017. RTÉ Sport delivered 617 hours of original sport programming on television in 2017. RTÉ Player delivered more than 51.5 million streams, a 2% increase on 2016. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra and RTÉ 2fm presented seven sell-out concerts nationwide, in an innovative youth-oriented dance strand. RTÉ Archives attracted a record number of online visitors, with 3.1 million visits in 2017 compared to 1.9 million in 2016. 03 The Chair’s report has an extra resonance this year such as the impact of Storm Ophelia, formed an Chair’s since RTÉ has produced a new strategy for the next important part of RTÉ’s public remit. five years, which will bring us to the centenary of the Statement foundation of the modern Irish State. The plan is built For the fourth time in recent years, Radio 1 was on the belief that RTÉ can and should be at the heart awarded Broadcaster of the Year at the New York of Irish creative and cultural life into the future. Festivals, a testimony to the continued quality of the main national public-service radio station. The 2018-22 strategy represents a renewed commitment to talent, to creativity and to innovation. New directions were also charted, with original stories RTÉ wants to be a key player in enabling Irish creative composed for the RTÉ Player in Storyland and the and cultural life to flourish on all domestic platforms Concert Orchestra’s very successful tour in China. and on a worldwide stage. As a fully integrated multimedia body equipped with appropriate skillsets, The Board’s standing committees continued their a more agile and efficient RTÉ will be well placed to work. Each of them met a number of times during continue its role in promoting Irish cultural values. the year and added significantly to the Board’s understanding of the matters under its remit. I would Public media has never been more necessary. In like to thank all of my colleagues on the Board for a media world dominated by the international, the their efforts on behalf of the organisation this year commercially driven and the false, it is increasingly and to note the retirement from our ranks of Fergus important to give authority and voice to the different, Armstrong. He served over eight years and bridged to the indigenous and to the creative. the transition from the old RTÉ Authority to the Board. Fergus’s wisdom and dedication were greatly Under the leadership of Director-General Dee appreciated by his colleagues during that period. Forbes, the organisation has been undergoing a complete renewal of its structures. The ‘One RTÉ’ The Board established a special committee to liaise plan, approved by the Board in 2016, moves RTÉ into with the Executive in the drafting of the strategy for a new era of technology, multiplatform production 2018-22. Chaired by Dr PJ Mathews, the committee and media integration. Each area of activity is being met nine times over a number of months and did examined and assessed for its value in the new valuable work in bringing the Board’s perspective technologically immersive online environment. The to the strategy document as it was developed. previous integrated business units, which formed This exercise was valuable on both a policy and the basis of the company’s structure for a number of organisational level, and increased the mutual years, have been revised in favour of a new structure understanding of the Board and the Executive. embedded in audiences and content. The creation of this structure and the filling of key posts have taken In a year where RTÉ also integrated all of its trading time, but in 2018 audiences should begin to appreciate activities, the Fair Trading Committee kept a watching the benefits of a new, more integrated approach to brief on the changes in structures and ensured they programming. met the standards set by RTÉ’s Fair Trading Policy. As the Board continue to develop strategies for The Commercial and Technology Committee has the realisation of value from property holdings, the been developing a plan for the preservation and decision to sell a portion of the site at Donnybrook exploitation of RTÉ’s valuable archive facility. This has was implemented in 2017. This sale has enabled a been a priority for the Board for some time. A steering re-imagining of the campus, with substantial works to group was set up, which will produce some specific follow over the next few years that will create a more proposals for the future governance of this crucial accessible space. The Board also approved plans to asset in the interests of the Irish people. use the proceeds of the sale for capital investment, debt reduction and a voluntary exit programme that A new RTÉ Audience Council was appointed. Under will lead to a reduction in staff numbers over the next the chairmanship of Aengus Mac Grianna, it has been year. working through the year to develop a number of projects to assist the Board in its understanding of As part of the renewal of all organisational structures, audience needs and opinions. The term of this council the Director-General has re-configured the Executive will run into mid-2018. Board of RTÉ. Operations and Human Resources representation has been brought on to the Board RTÉ is re-imagining itself for the 21st century and will and other key functions will now report through the continue to build for the future through appropriate Director-General. The creation of an Audience, collaboration and partnerships. The development of Channels and Marketing division as well as a Content the independent production sector and the creation division are the first crucial steps in rethinking RTÉ’s of relevant content reflecting the changing needs and relationship with its audience, putting them at the aspirations of the Irish nation are equally important centre of all future planning. ambitions for the organisation. Working with key stakeholders to develop a sustainable funding model RTÉ continued its role as a place for national events for public media in these dynamic times remains the and for shared viewing experiences. Whether it was central challenge for this re-imagined RTÉ. the success of Dancing with the Stars, documentaries such as Medication Nation or old favourites like The Moya Doherty Late Late Toy Show, the strong relationship with our Chair 04 audiences was maintained. Covering national stories, RTÉ experienced a year of very significant many sources of news, entertainment and cultural Director- change in 2017. It was the beginning of a period of experience. We set out our programming and transformation that will run over the next few years. content priorities, how we want to work and the General’s financial assumptions that underpin our ambitions Against a difficult financial backdrop, RTÉ for the years ahead. Review introduced a radically new organisational structure; reduced the size of its workforce; developed a new We believe the strategy is exciting and ambitious. five-year strategy (2018-2022); and managed the The process of developing the strategy involved sale of more than 8 acres of land at its Donnybrook staff from across the organisation as well as a site – all while continuing to deliver a breadth of wide range of external stakeholders and partners.