The licence fee should fund public service programmes, not benefit shareholders, writes Cathal Goan
The chairman of Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, David Tighe, claimed in an article in The Irish Times on Friday, November 4th, that it was wrong for RTÉ to receive €170 million in annual revenue from television licence payers.
Mr Tighe represents and lobbies on behalf of commercial radio and television stations in Ireland. So it is not unexpected that he would see his members as somehow in opposition to RTÉ and, therefore, opposed to the proper funding of public service broadcasting.
Mr Tighe's arguments are supported by a piece of research commissioned by Independent Broadcasters, which, not surprisingly, found that RTÉ's funding inhibits competition.
RTÉ has many serious reservations about the research carried out on behalf of Independent Broadcasters by DKM Economic Consultants.
RTÉ welcomes a debate on the future of Irish broadcasting, but DKM argues that as RTÉ is dual-funded, through licence fee and advertising, competition is distorted. This completely ignores the hugely competitive nature of the Irish broadcasting market.
There are over 30 radio stations, both national and local, licensed in Ireland, that are in daily competition. In television, indigenous channels, in addition to the two RTÉ ones, include TG4, TV3, Setanta Sports and the new Dublin City channel. For a market of less than five million people this is hugely competitive.
Readers of Mr Tighe's article might conclude that revenue from the licence fee goes exclusively to fund RTÉ television. This is simply not the case. Much of RTÉ Radio 1's quality public service programming depends on licence fee funding.
It is not an exaggeration to say that without licence fee funding there would be no radio drama in Ireland and there would be very few documentaries and arts programming. In addition, revenue from licence fees goes to a whole range of other uses.
The Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has launched the broadcasting fund scheme for new programming. It makes available to all broadcasters funding for new and innovative programming. This fund is financed by revenue from the licence fee.
In addition the licence fee goes towards funding TG4's output (RTÉ provides over an hour a day of programming to TG4).
The licence fee also fully funds Raidió na Gaeltachta, provides most of the funding for RTÉ Lyric FM and the two national orchestras, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, as well as other performing groups.
What RTÉ finds most objectionable in the DKM report is the claim that only 30 per cent of RTÉ output can be characterised as public service, a claim repeated by Mr Tighe in his article.
In arriving at this figure DKM and Mr Tighe ignore entertainment programmes which are recognised throughout the world as part of any public service broadcaster's remit. They also ignore the hours of children's and young people's programming, which RTÉ transmits each week. They also ignore the large volume and nature of coverage RTÉ provides to a whole range of sporting organisations.
Also missing in their consideration of public service broadcasting is RTÉ's contribution to indigenous drama, found in such programmes as Pure Mule, The Clinic and Fair City.
These important programmes would not be made were it not for the revenue available from the licence fee. In a market as small as that of Ireland, commercial revenue will not generate sufficient funds to enable quality indigenous programming to be made.
Many of these quality Irish-made programmes are made by independent producers for RTÉ. If licence fee income were to be diverted to commercial radio and television stations to assist in meeting their news and current affairs obligations, resources which are currently allocated to drama and documentary programme making would be lost.
The large majority of RTÉ's most watched programmes are those made in Ireland, dealing with Irish issues, designed to meet Irish audience's needs and relevant to our contemporary society. If licence fee revenue was diverted away from these kinds of programmes, the audience would suffer most.
In recent years RTÉ has been subjected to an annual audit of its performance, which is carried out by Government-appointed independent consultants. These consultants examine our output, our efficiency and our ability to adapt to the changing broadcasting environment.
At the end of that process the level of licence fee for the following year is determined. This is a level of accountability far in excess of what commercial broadcasters face.
RTÉ accepts and welcomes this level of scrutiny as it makes us publicly accountable for the uses we make of the revenue we receive from the licence fee.
Were the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland to have their way licence fee revenue would be diverted into commercial operations where shareholders would be seeking to maximise returns on their investments. It is difficult to see how this would better serve the public than the present arrangement.
On October 20th Mr Dempsey announced the composition of the new board of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission. One of the people appointed to that board is David Tighe.
The commission reviews complaints about issues such as impartiality and objectivity in programmes broadcast by public service and commercial broadcasters.
In his capacity as CEO of 95 FM Limerick and as a member of the commission, Mr Tighe commands an influential position in Irish broadcasting.
It would be desirable that the debate he seeks to foster over RTÉ and its use of licence fee income were founded on robust research and inclusive reasoning.