The Director General of Raidió Teilifís Éireann has (RTÉ) has called for a “meaningful solution” to the sustainability of public service broadcasting in Ireland.
Speaking at the launch of RTÉ’s autumn schedule, the Director General, Dee Forbes (pictured) said the range of programs on offer made a compelling case for the need to secure public service broadcasting for the current generation and generations to come.
Ms Forbes also said audiences in Ireland should be able to see themselves on screen, hear themselves on air and read about their experiences online.
“This is what is at the heart of the RTÉ mandate and what makes RTÉ distinctive from Netflix, Amazon and Disney, and from Spotify and Apple,” Ms Forbes said.
“It is also why the future of public service media is so important to Ireland,” she said.
The new schedule has revealed that there will be 40 hours of new Irish drama in the weeks leading up to Christmas, as well as the largest selection of free-to-air sport available to audiences in Ireland across all platforms.
For the first time since COVID-19 restrictions, this September will also mark the return of an audience to The Late Late Show.
Presenter, Ryan Tubridy said the numbers in the audience will grow as the weeks went by and this would be done in accordance with public health guidelines.
“All audience members will have to be vaccinated,” Mr Tubridy said.
Dublin, 23 August 2021
