RTÉ Publishes 2023 Annual Report
RTÉ RETURNS NET DEFICIT OF €9.1 MILLION IN 2023 – A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR THE ORGANISATION
A DECLINE IN TV LICENCE REVENUES, ALONG WITH AN INCREASE IN OPERATING COSTS AND THE BROADCAST OF SPECIAL EVENTS CONTRIBUTED TO DEFICIT FOR 2023
To view RTÉ’s 2023 Annual Report, visit https://about.rte.ie/reports-and-policies/annual-reports/
RTÉ is today releasing its Annual Report and Group Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st December 2023, following it being laid before the Houses of The Oireachtas this evening.
>>> RTÉ’s 2023 Annual Report in summary:
TOTAL REVENUE: Total revenue (TV Licence/Commercial) decreased by €3.7m between 2023 and 2022 (€344.0 million in 2023 vs €347.7 million in 2022).
LICENCE FEE: Licence fee income received by RTÉ in 2023 was down €17.3 million compared to 2022, as TV licence sales were negatively impacted by the RTÉ payments controversy. While this decline was somewhat offset by the additional €15m of interim funding, this additional funding was already allocated in RTÉs 2023 plans. This interim funding means that TV Licence revenue declined by €2.3 million (€193.3 million vs €195.6 million).
COMMERCIAL REVENUE: Commercial revenue of €150.7 million in 2023 represented a year-on-year decrease of 0.9% (2022: €152.1 million). The main reason for this was the decline in Television Trading offset by Other Non-Trading revenues as RTÉ continues to diversify its revenues.
OPERATING COSTS: Operating costs, excluding Special Events, increased by €9.3 million year-on-year (€341.9 million in 2023 vs €332.6 million in 2022) as the 2022 pay agreement with the TUG took effect and the Irish economy entered a high inflation environment. RTÉ also provided for additional amounts relating to the on-going investigation by the Department of Social Protection into the PRSI status of contractors.
SPECIAL EVENTS: Special Events costs increased in 2023 by €0.7 million (€7.4 MILLION IN 2023 vs €6.7 million ion 2022) due to increased activity as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Rugby World Cup, European Qualifiers and the visit of US President Joe Biden occurred in 2023 vs the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Nations League in 2022.
PERSONNEL-RELATED COSTS: Personnel-Related costs increased by €9.8 million due to the Pay Agreement reached in November 2022, the increase in the contractor provision and pay increments awarded. These were offset by the hiring freeze announced in response to the decline in licence fee sales. Following a significant increase in energy costs in 2022, 2023 saw a €1 million drop in energy costs as the wholesale market price declined across 2023.
TRANSPARENCY: For the first time, and in line with the previous commitment of RTE Director-General; Kevin Bakhurst, RTÉ has published in its annual report the earnings of its ten highest-paid on air presenters for the year as well as remuneration details of the permanent members of its Leadership Team
CASH BALANCES: Total cash balances, including liquid investments, on 31 December 2023 amounted to €78.7 million (2022: €114.0 million). This represents a decrease of €35.4 million and was primarily due to the decline in the level of licence fee sales following the RTÉ payments controversy along with negative working capital movements during the year.
NET DEFICIT: The Net Deficit after tax and Exceptional Items for the year was €9.1m (- €2.8m in 2022)
Chair of the Board of RTE, Terence O’Rourke, said: “While the publication of this report is an opportunity to reflect on the challenging year that 2023 was for RTÉ, we are very much focused on the important work now well underway to transform the organisation. With the support of the multi- annual funding commitment announced by Government in July, RTÉ is moving forward with an ambitious new five-year strategy. The Board is dedicated to ensuring that this work is underpinned by the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency.”
Director-General of RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst said: “2023 was a difficult year for all of us in RTÉ and for the many who had placed their trust in us. In response, through wide-ranging and significant reforms, I, along with my leadership team and the Board of RTÉ, have faced the key issues head on and been committed to delivering the transformation RTÉ needs to rebuild trust and restore confidence, both internally and externally. Through an unprecedented reform agenda, we have delivered greater transparency, rigour in our decision-making and more financial discipline, while focusing on the future and fulfilling our ambition for RTÉ. We are grateful to all those who have paid their TV Licence during this period.
As I have said many times, one of my biggest sources of frustration when I look back on last year is that the hard work and dedication of our staff and partners in the creative sector and their many achievements on air, on screen and online, and elsewhere, were overshadowed by the revelations. I believe this is changing following a year in which our focus on serving our audience has seen RTÉ deliver incredible live sport, vital investigative journalism, important news and analysis, engaging discussion and debate, great original Irish drama and entertainment, wonderful live music and performances, excellent factual programming, and so much more, in English and in Irish.
While we remain committed to addressing key issues, through the delivery of our five-year strategy, we are excited about what the future can be for RTÉ. We are thankful for the multi-annual government funding which will enable us to plan ahead and to achieve our vision to evolve RTÉ into an organisation that is relevant and cherished, that brings the country together for important national moments and events, that produces important and engaging public service programmes and content, that delivers value for money, and is trusted again. I and my team are committed to the work required to make that happen.”
>>> RTÉ’s Achievements in 2023
The Annual Report also highlights RTÉ achievements in 2023, including the 10 listed below:
- RTÉ delivered 42 of the Top 50 of 2023’s most-watched shows on television in Ireland, with RTÉ News, the Rugby World Cup, GAA All-Ireland Finals, Kin, the Six Nations and Room to Improve among the Top 20.
- RTÉ’s elf-themed Late Late Toy Show slayed its mission of spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear, raising an incredible €3.6 million for the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal, and was watched by 1.7 million people.
- 2023 was the biggest year ever for RTÉ Player, with a record 105 million streams and 35 million streaming hours, reaching 1.8 million unique users per month.
- Sinéad O’Connor won the inaugural RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Classic Album, in association with IMRO & IRMA, for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.
- The RTÉ Concert Orchestra celebrated its 75th anniversary with performances throughout the year, including a collaboration with US-based jazz and blues impresario David O’Rourke and The Delta Blues Project as part of the UCD Festival, with honorary master of ceremonies Morgan Freeman.
- RTÉ marked the end of the Decade of Centenaries with a series of landmark documentaries, including The Silent Civil War, a two-part series that sought to lift the 100-year silence that surrounded the events of the Civil War.
- RTÉ and South Wind Blows also presented Ireland 100: An Old Song Resung, a live concert to mark 100 years of the Irish State with performers and contributors including Damien Dempsey, Aiden Gillen, Tolü Makay, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Síle Denvir, Bláth na hÓige, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Loah, Martin Hayes, FeliSpeaks, Diarmaid Ferriter, Sally Mulready OBE, the London Irish Pensioners Choir and Dermot Kennedy.
- RTÉ News delivered extensive coverage of news events the Middle East, the RTÉ crisis, the Ashling Murphy murder trial, the Dublin riots and significant weather events, while News2day, RTÉ’s news service designed specifically for children, celebrated its 20th birthday.
- The RTÉ News App retained its position as number one news app in Ireland.
- A total of 315 programmes on RTÉ achieved Albert certification in 2023, an increase from 111 in 2022. These included series such as The Late Late Show, Today, Prime Time, The Tommy Tiernan Show, The Rugby World Cup and The Nobody Zone.
You can access RTÉ’s 2023 Annual Report in full – and download the English and Irish versions – at https://about.rte.ie/reports-and-policies/annual-reports/