Sir, - In his reaction to some comments I made recently on the state of RTE's finances, James Hickey perceived a begrudging attitude on my part to the independent television production sector and a lack of appreciation of its very substantial contribution to RTE programming. This misperception may have resulted from my remarks being presented out of context.
I am, in fact, extremely impressed by the quiet revolution that has been brought about in Irish broadcasting by the steady growth of the independent sector and its increasing presence at the heart of the television schedules. This has been stimulated by an investment of over £27 million since the establishment of RTE's Independent Production Unit in 1994 in response to the Broadcasting Act of the previous year.
It should not diminish audiovisual art one whit to talk about the cost base of its production, or to express real anxieties, as I was doing in my original remarks, about the widening gap between the ambitions of programme makers in Ireland and our society's inability (or unwillingness) to pay for their realisation. It would be very nice if RTE, like our very large competitors in the UK who control vastly greater resources, could support far more independent production, including feature films that would showcase Irish cinematic art in a global marketplace. The reality I was delineating, which James Hickey misread as denigrating the independent sector, is the converging set of forces putting pressure on RTE's budget and producing a broadcasting deficit of over £2 million in each of the past two years.
These include:
. Rapid inflation in the cost of television programme rights internationally.
. The outflow of funds to the independent production sector which will build by 1999 to a whopping 20 per cent of RTE's total costs incurred "in making, commissioning the making of, acquiring, preparing, producing or co operation in the production of television programmes" in accordance with the Broadcasting Act of 1993.
. The supply of 365 hours of television programming a year free of charge to Telifis na Gaeilge, without any new source of revenue being supplied for that purpose (not to be read, please, as denigrating the wonderful television service delivered by TnaG!).
But the challenges don't stop there. The fact that we are predominantly an English speaking country means that, despite its tiny home audience which supplies its income through licence fees and advertising, RTE has been operating for many years in what is one of the world's most competitive same language television environments, dominated by very large broadcasters having all the advantages of a huge Anglophone domestic audience and a substantial international reach into the world's wealthiest language market.
In a few months' time these broadcasters will multiply the number of channels they will make available to this part of northwest Europe through digital compression and transmission via terrestrial, cable and satellite systems, forcing the pace of change in Ireland too from analogue to digital television. These changes will be far more radical than the switch over from black and white to colour in the 1970s. Long before the Government switches off analogue television forever, British digital television will stimulate in Ireland an appetite for the 30 new DTT channels to be offered from the UK along with the already familiar channels, some in widescreen format, some promising interactive services integrated with the Internet, all offering enhanced picture and sound quality right up to the edges of their transmission footprints.
Because of our unique geographical and linguistic position, the Irish consumer demand for changeover will be driven by factors and at a rate quite different from our fellow EU members in, say, Greece, Denmark or Finland.
RTE must be ready for these changes in the very near future, at a time not of its choosing, and have in place the funds necessary for capital investment in digital television. Clearly, we need to debate both the challenges presented to programme makers and the challenges of funding Irish television into the future. Yours, etc.
RTE, Chairperson,
Dublin 4.
