RT | A YEAR IN REVIEW | 2019
MODEST INCREASE IN TOTAL REVENUE TOGETHER WITH REDUCED OPERATING COSTS SEES RT RETURN EBIDTA OF 8.4 MILLION, BEFORE SPECIAL EVENTS COSTS, AND AN OVERALL NET DEFICIT OF 7.2M IN 2019
See http://www.rte.ie/annualreport for full the report.
RT is today releasing its Annual Report and Group Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st December 2019 (RT submitted its Annual Report and Group Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st December 2019 to Government in July 2020.)
RT Annual Report 2019, in summary:
Operating costs, including the costs of special events, of 337.8 million, were reduced by 2 million compared to 2018.
Modest increase in total revenue of 342.1m (2018 339.1m).
Decline in commercial revenue by 4.2 million to 145.8 million due to Brexit uncertainty and changes in media consumption habits.
Licence fee income increased by a net 7.2 million to 196.3 million due to the 8.9 million increase in public funding in Budget 2019 from the DEASP in respect of free' television licences, a part reversal of the public funding cuts made since 2010.
Special events, including the Rugby World Cup and local and European elections, amounted to 4.1 million and were lower than 2018 levels, resulting in a lower Net Deficit before Exceptional Items and Tax for the year of 9.1 million (2018 12.6 million).
Net Deficit after tax and Exceptional Items for the year of 7.2 million (2018 13 million).
The Annual Report also highlights RT 's many achievements in 2019, including:
RT Player saw a growth of 20% in viewing in 2019.
RT television had 42 of the top 50 most-watched programmes of 2019, up from 39 in 2018.
RT Supporting the Arts partnered with more than 140 local, national and community arts events, up from 130 in 2018.
The RT News studio is the busiest television studio in Ireland, broadcasting more than 1,700 news bulletins and programmes each year. It was completely refurbished in 2019.
Demand for audience seats for The Late Late Toy Show 2019 surpassed previous years, withmore than 90,000 applications; 1.7million people watched the show on RT platforms.
The RT Guide bumper Christmas issue continued to be an Irish publishing phenomenon, with almost 270,000 copies sold.
Almost 2 million radio listeners tuned in to RT each week; 51.9% of the adult (15 ) population listened every week in 2019.
In 2019 there were 75 million podcast and clip streams from RT 's on-demand audio catalogue.
In addition:
157 children joined the first RT Youth Assembly on Climate
The 2FM Xmas Ball raised over 3million for the ISPCC since 2015
Almost 1million people tuned in to each of the Dublin v Kerry All-Ireland Football Final and Replay
RT lyric fm celebrated 20 years on air
Ireland bid farewell to broadcasting legend, Gay Byrne.
Dee Forbes, Director-General RT , said: Across the organisation, we worked hard in 2019 to create real value for our audiences by producing more original content on RT Player, diversifying into podcasts and streaming and repurposing our journalism for all platforms to reach people, wherever they are and whenever they like. We also continued to deliver on our commitment to captivating Irish audiences across our news and current affairs, sport, factual and entertainment content, while producing special shared moments, including the GAA Championship and another outstanding The Late Late Toy Showand engaging our younger audiences on a topic of worldwide concern, through the innovative RT on Climate Youth Assembly.
Dee Forbes concluded: While there was a lot to be proud of in 2019, it was a year that ended with sadness as we lost our dear friend and colleague, Gay Byrne.
Moya Doherty, Chair of the RT Board, commented: I said in 2018, that in 2019 we would experience another tough year for the media sector, and that proved to be true. While public-service providers, including RT , made great efforts to continue to adapt and change to retain and remain relevant to audiences, the reality is that we continue to fight for our survival as the need for trusted, independent, quality journalism and programming has never been more important to our societies and democracies. In 2019 we came face to face with how a lack of funding reform and legislative planning is threatening a public-service platform that is central to our sense of selves, our communities, our cultures and our global voice.
Despite some truly great achievements highlighted in our Annual Report, RT cannot run deficits indefinitely. The current funding model is broken, and RT will face a material uncertainty about its capacity to provide the same level of services in the medium term if it is not resolved quickly and definitively. That is why the Future Media Commission is so important and RT is fully engaged with the process.
See http://www.rte.ie/annualreport for more and to download the full report.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
03/03/2026
For many, finding time or headspace to pick up a book can feel out of reach, but...
03/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE Hi...
03/03/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
03/03/2026
Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025
FY25 Pe...
03/03/2026
03 Mar 2026
VEON and MeetKai Expand Collaboration to Explore Sovereign AI Infra...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Sky releases official trailer for The Miniature Wife, a Sk...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac land first ever live commentary ...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
The Dyers' Caravan Park reopens for a second season after a hit launch on Sky
The Dyers' Caravan Park
JPEG (510KB)
Sky books a ...
03/03/2026
Harmonic's cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform Simplifies Network Operations, Lowers Hardware Dependency and Enables Seamless DOCSIS and Fiber Growth SAN JO...
03/03/2026
Comscore to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, March 3, 2026 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for plannin...
03/03/2026
Self-taught on iMovie, Hanagami transitioned to Final Cut Pro in 2009, discovering that professional tools could give him full creative control over how his wor...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
27/02/2026
Since its inception, Gorillaz has been known for blending art with genre-bending...
27/02/2026
This week, Spotify introduced Audiobook Charts for the U.S. and U.K. The charts make it easy to discover your next favorite book by showing what's popular a...
27/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Viasat to collaborate on NB-NTN IoT test plan for connectivi...
27/02/2026
In media technology, big features often steal the spotlight - AI integrations, cloud transformations, automation frameworks. But for the people who use these to...
27/02/2026
Digital Asset Management systems sit at the heart of most marcoms operations. They centralise content, organise it, and make it discoverable. Integrated with th...
27/02/2026
The AI Wild West comes to NAB 2026 and Blue Lucy is bringing the Sheriff
The AI Wild West is here, and media organisations are feeling the heat. On Booth W23...
27/02/2026
A deeply personal, uncompromising portrait of the legendary punk rock iconFriday...
27/02/2026
One of Ireland's favourite lifestyle shows Home of the Year, returns for its 12th series and will be proudly sponsored by SIRO. The brand-new series will ai...
27/02/2026
Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3
From walled garden to community farm, new six-part series captures the unfiltered realities...
27/02/2026
Note: English version included below the Irish language version.
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT
A Ghaeilge mo cheol th '
T feachtas athnuaite i n...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz awarded contract by Israel Airports Authority for QPS201 securit...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz highlights its unique CMX500 one-box tester tailored for NTN tes...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz high-efficiency transmitter powers next-gen broadcast services i...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz highlights its comprehensive embedded systems test solutions at ...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase spectrum security and network efficiency solutions a...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Broadcom showcase first Wi-Fi 8 RF signaling tests, paving w...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz advances AI-RAN testing using digital twins with NVIDIA Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with NVIDIA, continues to drive AI-RAN innovation fo...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and LITEON demonstrate high throughput 5G femtocell testing with...
26/02/2026
The agreement ensures Europe's satellite-based augmentation continues enhanc...
26/02/2026
There were two big wins for RT KIDS shows at the 17th Kidscreen Awards in San Diego this week with Maddie Triggs and BeddyByes both taking home gongs.
The K...
26/02/2026
26 Feb 2026
VEON to Release FY25 Earnings Update on March 13, 2026 Dubai and New York, February 26, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator ...
26/02/2026
What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week?
This week's highlights include new episodes of Will and Ralf Should Know Better, The Marlow Murder Club...
26/02/2026
Thursday 26 February 2026
Sky partners with STARZ on high-impact boxing drama F...
26/02/2026
Thursday 26 February 2026
An Open Letter to Our Fellow Leaders in Global Media
From:
Tim Davie, BBC Director-General
Jon Slade, CEO, Financial Times
Anna B...
26/02/2026
Wuppertal February 26, 2026
Teatro alla Scala Elevates Backstage Communication with Riedel's BoleroRiedel Communications today announced that Fondazione T...
26/02/2026
RT has confirmed that it has today received payment from the GAA for its 50% share of GAAGO.
RT confirmed in February 2025 that it had agreed in principle wi...
26/02/2026
RT Statement regarding the broadcast of Republic of Ireland vs Israel Nations League fixture
If the match goes ahead and that is a decision for the FAI as ...
25/02/2026
It's never been easier to customize your Spotify listening experience. Last year, we introduced more control over the way your playlist sounds, giving Premi...
RT | A YEAR IN REVIEW | 2019 
