'RTÉ Guide' circulation decline may be slowing down

The latest magazine circulation figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) will be relased today. But early indications for some Irish titles were available yesterday.

The Republic's largest selling title, the RTÉ Guide, has been in decline for several years, with sales falling 35 per centsince 1996.

However, it is believed to have performed reasonably well in the first six months of this year, although it may have to report a small decrease. The second half of the year is always stronger because of the Christmas edition.

The magazine faces strong competition from newspapers which now include weekly TV listings magazines, but also from the likes of the Sky magazine, which is given free to Sky Digital customers.

Under editor Aoife Byrne, the magazine is becoming less dependent on access to RTÉ's own stable of presenters. For instance, this week Ray D'Arcy, who works for Today FM, is on the cover, although this is because he is hosting the Rose of Tralee.

Unfortunately, figures for its main rival, TV Now, will not be available this week. Publisher Michael O'Doherty said the magazine had decided to only apply for annual figures rather than six-month figures.

He said too many magazines in the industry were now counting discounted copies (sometimes known as bulk sales) in their overall sales figures and this needed to be avoided. However he excluded the RTÉ Guide from this particular criticism.

Meanwhile, one of the new titles, women's magazine Prudence, appears to have filed reasonably strong first returns. Published by Dyflin Publications, the magazine recorded an ABC circulation figure of 15,145.

TV3 tries chatting

Despite the controversy and hostile reception from TV critics the last time around, TV3 is preparing to give an evening chat show another go.

This time around the presenter will not be Eamon Dunphy (now with NewsTalk), but someone with a little less baggage, according to sources. The show is also likely to be a lot less political and more entertainment driven.

As the Dunphy experience showed, however, chat shows are very, very expensive and when they go wrong, they go badly wrong.

The chat show is expected to go on air for one hour every Wednesday or Thursday night, and according to Dublin agency Initiative, it will involve "a light-hearted format, interviewing soap stars, musicians and footballers".

Hobbs lifts RTÉ

Advertisers have expressed surprise at the high viewing figures RTÉ television has managed this summer. Summer is usually a lean period in terms of audience numbers and advertising revenue.

Two programmes in particular have managed to grab advertisers' attention. The first, You're A Star, somewhat predictably managed to reach 594,000 viewers last Sunday on its final night.

But slightly more surprising has been the success of the Eddie Hobbs-fronted show Rip Off Republic which managed to reach 495,000 viewers.

While popular, Show Me the Money, the earlier programme fronted by Hobbs, never managed this kind of audience.

Maybe the extra ingredient is the way the new show takes direct aim at the Government, most prominently Micheál Martin.

However the Government cannot fear Hobbs too much, because it appointed him to the interim board of the new National Consumer Agency.

Sports mania

As if these two ratings busters were not enough, the GAA All Ireland championships is also giving the station a welcome fillip.

The Saturday Game last Saturday on RTÉ 2 between Dublin and Tyrone should make for a popular replay for the GAA . . . and the national broadcaster.

According to Dublin agency Saor Communications, the game attracted "a massive mid-afternoon audience of 338,000 adults, representing an impressive 59 per cent share of all adult viewers". This figure, as ever, does not include those watching the game in pubs or other large venues.

The return of the English premiership on Sky, BBC and RTÉ also boosted audiences, although in comparison to the GAA figures for the soccer almost appeared small. For example the RTÉ 2 premiership highlights programme managed an audience of 122,000 adults. The show performed best among ABC1 adults, with 54,000 tuning in.

The Champions League group stages are also just around the corner, never mind the France-Ireland World Cup qualifier. RTÉ is selling 30-second spots in this game for €17,000 each.

TG4 sporting spree

Staying on the sporting theme, TG4, which already owns the exclusive Irish rights to Wimbledon tennis and Tour de France cycling, is not finished its buying spree.

The station has now snapped up rights to the live coverage of Northern Ireland's first ever snooker tournament, the Northern Ireland trophy.

While unlikely to be a major ratings triumph, it does feature 20 of the world's leading players, in a tournament from the Waterfront Hall, Belfast. The first of the games began last night.

The increasing presence of TG4 in the television sports market is unlikely to go down too well with Setanta or TV3, but the Government appears happy with the arrangement and is planning to set TG4 free from RTÉ later this year.