We are living in a time of rapid change in broadcasting. RTE has published a major review of its structures and organisation, TV3 has given details of its programmes, and RTE's workforce has outlined its vision of the future of public service broadcasting. E. The BBC is carrying advertisements to signal the arrival of digital television.
The Minister responsible for broadcasting, Ms Sile de Valera, has circulated a memorandum to Government proposing new legislation - the third or fourth attempt to do something about our outdated broadcasting laws, which go back 47 years. A decision has been made, albeit rather quietly, to adopt the digital terrestrial television (DTT) system to deliver up to 30 channels to Irish viewers. This was announced in the Dail, but without any indication of how it will be funded or who will run the transmission system. While these developments might indicate tremendous flux, the reality is that we are simply trying to catch up. The first digital television we receive will be next year via cable companies, and it will be British. It will be years before Irish digital television is available.
RTE has also been slow to respond. While it should be congratulated on its organisation review, the team who drew it up was appointed only six months ago by the director general, Mr Bob Collins. Mr Collins, of course, has only been in office for a little over a year.
It is not as if changes in broadcasting came as a big surprise. The TV3 consortium received its licence as far back as 1989. It was dogged with problems, including a protracted court case, yet all the indications were that there would be a third, commercial channel.
The real cause of panic in Montrose has been the likely effects of the 1993 Broadcasting Act. This means that from next year RTE has to devote 20 per cent of its total programme expenditure to independent productions.
The effects will be huge, with major implications for jobs in RTE. With only six months to go before the implementation of the 20 per cent provision, the RTE group of unions and the management has asked the Minister to intervene. She has indicated that she will not while there is a threat of legal action against RTE by the independent producers' organisation - Film Makers Ireland - which disputes the amount RTE says constitutes 20 per cent of programme budgets.
RTE had four years to prepare for 1999. It is not as if the increasing use of independent productions was a radical proposal. It has been a European-wide development. In Britain there is a 25 per cent quota favouring independent productions. Reluctantly, RTE established its Independent Production Unit (IPU), but did little else. It is only in the past few months that there has been any indication that staff has become aware of the implications of the 1993 Act. "Privatisation by stealth" was how some staff described the requirement to devote an increasing amount of the programme budget to independent producers.
RTE has been slow to understand the implications of the arrival of TV3. Executives had been saying that the cost of acquired programmes and sports rights would increase, but there was little feeling that RTE might be beaten to rights until it lost to TV3 the rights to Ireland's away matches in the European Cup qualifying rounds. That is what the future for RTE will be like. Sports rights, which RTE could have assumed it would get, will increase in price in the face of new competition.
RTE now has to bid against a domestic competitor for the first time if it wants the most popular programmes from Hollywood and elsewhere. Acquiring many of these programmes and films, combined with clever scheduling, has been part of RTE's secret for holding 45 per cent of the audience against strong foreign competition.
The programme budget will be pushed up as RTE competes for rights. This in turn means the amount paid to independent producers will increase as the global sum spent on programmes is forced upwards.
The secretary of the group of unions, Mr J. P. Coakley, said the unions welcomed the growth of independent production. It was good to have more than one voice on RTE. However, the level of expenditure means there is now an imbalance and that there is increased pressure on RTE's finances just as the Government has decided not to index-link the licence fee, as had been approved by the previous government.
The reversal of the licence fee decision has been a setback. It would have been a cushion of sorts just as RTE enters very rough waters. The surpluses the station made over the years are expected to disappear as the earnings from enterprises like Riverdance dry up. New competition is not coming only from TV3 but also for advertising from UTV and even BSkyB.
RTE's review of structures and organisation was more upbeat than might have been expected, but it still spelled out a serious and difficult message. RTE faces new competition and declining income. While retaining its public service ethos it has to be more businesslike and recognise that things are changing, quickly and radically.
The Government has also been slow. Why it has taken a year to prepare a memorandum for government is anyone's guess. In that time the sole contribution this Government made to broadcasting was to reverse the decision to index-link the licence fee.
The outgoing government had prepared a Green Paper. Much of the homework and research had been completed. While the present Government did not agree with the legislation prepared by the outgoing government, there was little need to reinvent the wheel.
