Brand paying Tubridy directly highly unusual, say experts

The fact that RTÉ entered into an agreement whereby a sponsor of The Late Late Show funded some of Ryan Tubridy’s remuneration is the most unusual aspect of his financial arrangements, according to marketing experts who spoke to The Irish Times.

It is not unusual for well-known broadcasters to be paid to promote brands off-air, or for their programmes to be sponsored by brands who enter into arrangements with media outlets, they said.

However, payments by a brand to a broadcaster that are connected to his or her work for a media outlet are highly unusual and raise issues of transparency and apparent conflicts of interest.

“The brand paying Ryan Tubridy directly is extraordinary in my experience,” said one media marketing executive who did not want to be identified. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

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“It would be unusual,” said another marketing executive. “I’ve never come across it before, and it is hugely problematic. Absolutely.”

In its statement on Thursday, RTÉ said that, during the period 2019 to 2021, Mr Tubridy’s publicly stated salary from the station fell by 11 per cent, to €440,000, as part of cutbacks across the station.

However during 2020, as part of negotiations over his contract renewal, the station concluded an agreement “with a commercial partner” that led to it guaranteeing an additional annual payment of €75,000 to Mr Tubridy, with the money being paid by the commercial partner “in exchange for a number of personal appearances a year”.

The statement did not say so, but the commercial partner is understood to be Renault, the sponsor of The Late Late Show. Renault has not commented on the controversy.

As part of the arrangement, RTÉ reduced the cost of its sponsorship deal by way of a credit note equal in value to the money given to Mr Tubridy in 2020.

The sponsor did not renew the agreement in the following two years and, as RTÉ had underwritten the deal, the station ended up directly funding the annual €75,000 payments to Mr Tubridy over the following two years.

None of these annual payments were included in the figures publicly disclosed by RTÉ in relation to how much its top broadcasters were receiving for their work.

The brand paying Ryan Tubridy directly is extraordinary in my experience

According to the RTÉ statement, the 2021 and 2022 payments were made to Mr Tubridy by way of his agent. Mr Tubridy, like most of the State’s best known and successful broadcasters, is represented by Noel Kelly (60), who has a number of marketing and promotions businesses and is considered to have a near monopoly position in the broadcasting talent sector.

Mr Kelly also represents many of the State’s largest commercial brands. “He is the biggest player by far,” said one of the executives quoted above.

“Most of the [broadcasting] talent is controlled by the one agency [Mr Kelly’s], and that is a bad thing and probably needs to change,” said the other. “It’s not a healthy situation.”

Most top broadcasters act as sole traders and have their own companies that then charge clients for their services. The clients can be radio or TV stations, or commercial brands paying them for promotional work or appearances at promotional events. The structure allows expenses associated with their work to be charged to their companies and may also have pension advantages.

Mr Tubridy’s company, Tuttle Productions, was incorporated in 2008 and has its registered office in Monkstown, Co Dublin. The most recent filed accounts are for 2021 and are abridged and unaudited, as is often the case with small companies. The accounts do not give any information as to the amount of income earned.

The broadcaster’s agent, Mr Kelly, runs an agency called NK Management, which represents radio and TV presenters, brand ambassadors and authors. Among the broadcasters it represents are such well-known names as Claire Byrne, Joe Duffy, Pat Kenny, Matt Cooper, Ciara Kelly and Caitriona Perry.

By way of a company called Century Merchandising Services Ltd, Mr Kelly owns a business called CMS Marketing, which is involved in “creative marketing solutions” for many top brands.

Its clients, according to the CMS website, include Bank of Ireland, Sky, Heineken, Eflow, Paddy Power, An Post, Visa, the VHI, the Irish Rugby Football Union and Irish Distillers. It is understood Renault is not a client of Mr Kelly’s.

Century Merchandising Services made a profit of €230,065 in the year to March 2023, according to its most recent filed accounts, which are abridged. Century is a subsidiary of Cleary Consulting Ltd, which recorded a profit of €404,085 in the same year, according to its latest accounts, which are also abridged.

Both companies are ultimately owned by Mr Kelly by way of Noel Kelly Management Holdings Ltd, with all of the companies based at Calmount Office Park, Ballymount, Dublin 12, at an address that his half owned by Mr Kelly, according to the accounts.

In a statement on Thursday in response to the disclosures by RTÉ, NK Management said there was “no issue whatsoever in relation to the payments being properly and lawfully due and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Ryan Tubridy or NK Management.

“These issues are solely concerned with RTÉ’s internal accounting treatment and public declarations in respect of such lawful payments.”

On Friday it issued a statement on behalf of Mr Tubridy in which it said his earnings from RTÉ were at all times included in his company’s accounts and that all his taxes were up to date.

According to the NK Management website, Mr Kelly had been developing his CMS Marketing business, focused on marketing, promotion and event management, for 16 years before he began working with some of the “most high-profile talent in the country”.

“Noel recognised a gap in the market for a management structure to promote the brand potential of the talent and work with them on their long-term career goals,” according to the website. Having worked in sales and marketing, talent management was a natural progression, according to the profile.

“Noel’s focus on strategy and long-term brand building and planning has helped build NK Management to be Ireland’s number one talent management agency.

“Noel advises, negotiates and represents the best interests of our celebrity clients in all commercial dealings. He sources and manages opportunities, seeing him match celebrities with relevant brands and companies to result in mutually beneficial partnerships.”

Mr Kelly’s “forward thinking approach” contributes to the success of each project NK Management is involved in, according to the profile, whether it be TV projects, endorsements, sponsorships or other ventures.