RT ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ADDRESS KEY ISSUES, FIGHT FOR ITS FUTURE AND FOR PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA IN IRELAND

RT has this evening released details of its revised strategy, and plans to address the key issues facing the organisation. Speaking tonight, Dee Forbes said: Our intention was to brief staff in full this week. However, given the sad passing of our colleague Gay Byrne, a decision was taken to postpone until next week. With so much detail now in the public domain, our first priority was to contact all staff immediately with an update on the revised strategy, and plans. Below is the plan in summary.

RT summarised the main challenges facing the broadcaster:

Global change: The challenges facing RT are the same as those facing broadcasters all over the world, who are undergoing rapid and fundamental change;

Changing audiences: Audiences, especially younger people, are changing the way they consume media.

Real transformation: Wide-ranging budget adjustments are required to stabilise RT 's finances and ensure increased investment to deliver the type of service and content that we know our audiences want.

Real challenges: Declining commercial income, inflationary pressures and a broken licence fee system mean that RT is left with no option but to make further changes to its services and to its cost base.

Government responsibility: The TV Licence system is broken; this is the responsibility of Government. Other countries have fixed it.

RT has outlined the main changes:

RT will Evolve

We will move RT 's biggest sporting moments to RT One

We will increase investment in live TV moments and big events (e.g. RT on Climate, Late Late Show Specials)

We will launch a kids on-demand and digital strategy

We will evolve the audience's user experience of many of our digital services through mandatory sign-in and personalisation

RT will Enhance

We will enhance our content offering on RT Player, with longer windows, improving and investing in the technology, features and functionality

We will develop our live and on-demand RT Player product, building towards a more integrated service offering video and audio

We will create new visualised radio studios

We will deliver podcasts for a wide variety of tastes and interests

We will offer new RT experiences and events - music, sport, lifestyle, culture, politics

We will invest in more high-quality Irish drama

RT will Modify

The RT Guide is for sale

RT will close its current studio in Limerick in 2020; production of RT lyric fm will move to Cork and Dublin

RT will continue to provide a mid-west news service in Limerick

We will close the Digital Audio Broadcast network, as well as RT 's digital radio stations (RT 2XM, RT Pulse, RT Gold, RT jr Radio & RT Radio 1 Extra)

RT Aertel will cease

The RT National Symphony Orchestra will transfer to the National Concert Hall

We will develop a new integrated media centre in Donnybrook, investing in new digital infrastructure

RT will Reduce

We need to reduce projected costs by 60 million over three years (2020-2023), in addition to the reduction of 23% delivered between 2008 and 2018

We need to reduce the fees paid to our top contracted on-air presenters by15%, in addition to the 30+% cuts as agreed in previous years

We need to reduce staff costs-we will consult with staff and unions on a number of initiatives, to include pay freeze, tiered pay reductions, review of benefits, work practice reforms

The Executive Board will take a 10% reduction in pay; the Board of RT will waive its fees

We need to achieve a staff headcount reduction of c. 200 in 2020

While RTE continues to make significant changes to address the issues facing the organisation, RT cannot achieve change on its own:

Ireland has one of the highest evasion rates in Europe (14%) which results in the loss of 25 million in public funding every year.

11% (and growing) of households do not pay the TV Licence, but can still consume RT programming and content on the RT Player. This means a further loss of 20 million in public funding annually.

Ireland has one of the highest TV Licence collection costs in Europe, at 12 million every year.

Overall, over 50 million is lost to public broadcasting every year; this is costing jobs - not just in RT but right across Ireland's audio-visual and creative sectors. In turn this drives UK and US dominance on our screens.

Dee Forbes said: The challenges in front of us are real. But RT does have a plan, which we are confident can address many of the challenges we face and bring Ireland's national public broadcaster to stability.

However, Government needs to act to ensure there is a future for public service media in Ireland. I am clear about what role RT should play in Irish life, but I am also clear that we cannot do it unless Government fixes the TV Licence system. We shouldn't be under any illusions; we are in a fight - a fight to sustain a viable public media in Ireland.

We remain in discussions with Government. We are doing all we can to return RT to a stable financial position, but we will not be able to reinvent public media for future generations, nor fulfil our remit, without immediate reform of the TV Licence system.

LINK:	https://about.rte.ie/2019/11/06/rte-announces-plan-to-address-key-issu...
	See more stories from rte

Most recent headlines