RTE's €23m bought-in budget pays off as US shows attract large viewer figures

Media & Marketing Emmet OliverThere has been a lot of talk over the past two years about RTÉ cutting back on its bought-in programming, but the State-owned broadcaster will be slow to drop its large stable of US programmes, considering their continued high-audience numbers.

In 2004, the station spent over €23 million on overseas programmes compared to the €120 million on indigenous programmes. For that sum, the station received a large selection of programmes, mostly American in origin, although RTÉ also has the rights to British soaps like Eastenders.

Based on the audience numbers for bought-in programmes like The West Wing, Scrubs and the OC, RTÉ will feel it was money well spent.

According to Dublin agency, Saor Communications: "It's clear to see why the indigenous television stations continue to buy American content to fill their programming schedules."

The West Wing for example, which usually airs late on Thursday on RTÉ 1, has been averaging 134,000 viewers. Another US show it broadcasts, Scrubs on RTÉ 2, reaches an average audience of 122,000 adults. Based on these kind of figures, RTÉ is unlikely to radically cut the amount of bought-in material. In fact, its spending on bought-in programming actually increased slightly in 2004 from €22.4 million to €23 million, although there was also a strong increase in the amount spent on home made programming.

Gridlocked adverts

The apparently unstoppable rise in car ownership in Dublin has helped some media companies.

Companies operating in the outdoor advertising sector, particularly those targeting gridlocked motorists, are benefiting greatly from the bumper-to-bumper traffic in the city centre.

This week, advertisers were offered the chance to place their message in front of thousands of bored drivers making their long commute home.

For example, advertising space on Fairview Bridge is being offered to clients at €46,800. While the price will strike many as steep, the site allows companies to access the thousands of drivers coming into town from various parts of Dublin, including Sutton, Howth and Clontarf. For the same price, advertisers can also get the same drivers on the way home.

Setanta tackles Sky

Although the Lions dismally lost the first rugby test match against the New Zealand All Blacks last Saturday, it is still likely that there will be a reasonable audience for the follow-up encounter this Saturday morning.

Once again, the main beneficiary will by BSkyB, which has the exclusive rights in Ireland and Britain. While some advertisers believe the early kick-off times are hurting the audience figures, Sky is happy to have the exclusivity with the rugby board in New Zealand, which is hosting the games.

Back in the Republic, it has been a tough time for Setanta, which, along with RTÉ and TV3, has been cut out of the Lions action completely.

But now Setanta is trying to win back some of the audience which has drifted off to Sky. While the station cannot acquire any live rights, this week it is hosting two special programmes, one before the test and one after.

Among those taking part are former Ireland internationals Donal Lenihan and Ollie Campbell. In an interesting development, one of Today FM's main broadcasters, Matt Cooper, is presenting the shows.

Uncertainty for IoS

Staff and management at Ireland on Sunday may not enjoy reading the British press this week, especially the news that jobs are to go at the Daily Mail's regional press division, Northcliffe.

As part of a £20 million (€29.9 million) cost-cutting drive, the company is considering closing several presses in Exeter, Hull, Grimsby and Lincoln.

Northcliffe expects to incur exceptional costs of £6.5 million in the current financial year for the first phase of a redundancy programme.

The Daily Mail owns Ireland on Sunday and some reports have suggested the level of losses at the Irish paper could lead to its sale. However, this has been denied by sources in the paper.

Last month, the Daily Mail and General Trust, which owns the Daily Mail and Ireland on Sunday, said advertising revenues at its newspaper business had grown in the first six months of the financial year, but the group faced an "uncertain" marketplace.

Cork freesheet sold

Meanwhile, the shareholders of the Galway Independent newspaper have purchased the freesheet newspaper Inside Cork for a six-figure sum.

Inside Cork was sold by UTV, which said yesterday it did not consider local newspapers as core to its operations.

The paper was bought by a company called Mach3 Media Group. The main shareholders are local publishers Declan Dooley and Jarlath Feeney. UTV acquired the newspaper as part of its purchase of Radio County Sound in 2001.

Emmet Oliver can be contacted at eoliver@irish-times.ie