The finances of Irish broadcaster RTÉ are “not sustainable” and are undermining the broadcaster’s capacity to remain relevant, according to a document from Ireland’s Department of Communications.
The briefing note to new Catherine Martin, the new minister for Media, Tourism and Sport, said the public service broadcaster’s assets are “fully stretched” in terms of collateral against loans and “its capacity to borrow more is therefore limited.”
The document laid out the impact of the changing viewing habits in the past decade, which has led to fewer viewers watching traditional broadcast television.
It added that these trends, alongside challenges around TV licensing fee collection, are “having a critical impact on RTÉ’s revenues and have resulted in a position where the financial sustainably of the organisation is now under immediate threat.”
In a statement, RTÉ said it “remains in discussions with government regarding both our short term financial challenges and longer term reforms to fix the broken TV Licence funding system.”
RTE did not provide a detailed outline of its financial outlook for 2020.
