The Specialist Factual brief covers any content for linear or on-line that deals with History, Natural History, Wildlife, Environment, Science, Education, Diversity and, on occasion, one-off docs about sport and music.

Budget Range:                   €100,000-€140,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)

Duration:                             50 minutes

Broadcast:                          TBC

Channel:                             RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Budget Range:                   €90,000-€135,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)

Duration:                             25 minutes (number of programmes typically 6 to 8)

Broadcast:                          TBC

Channel:                             RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Home-grown Natural History and Wildlife content is core to the RTÉ brand and notable recent projects in this space include The Island [New Decade], Ireland’s Wild Islands [Crossing the Line Films], and North Atlantic [Sea Fever Productions]. We will continue to prioritize proposals that explore Ireland’s unique physical landscape, both above and below ground. 

Our output in these areas performs well both on linear and on catch-up and via streaming on RTÉ Player. 

Upcoming projects include Wild Connemara [Crossing the Line Films], a multi-part series set in the West of Ireland, and another multi-part series in County Kerry from the producer of The Burren: Heart of Stone [Silver Branch Films]. Gambit Pictures are currently producing a strand based on the book ‘An Irish Atlantic Forest’ while another long-term, multi-year project traces the evolution of life in rural Ireland.  

Our Natural History content can be scheduled on Sundays, either before or after the watershed, and on weekdays before the watershed. These can be half-hour segments or, when suitable, one-off hour-long specials.  

We will continue to support innovative perspectives and formats, including ambitious live events that attract family audiences and projects that encourage mass viewer participation. Natural History and Wildlife content often tends to be costly and time-consuming: co-production and multi-agency funding will be key to all prospective projects in this genre. 

Producers are invited to submit their ideas through the RTÉ eCommissioning system under the category Factual Specialist “Natural History & Wildlife”. 

Budget Range:                   €100,000-€140,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)

Duration:                             50 minutes

Broadcast:                          TBC

Channel:                             RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Budget Range:                   €90,000-€135,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)

Duration:                             25 minutes (number of programmes typically 6 to 8)

Broadcast:                          TBC
Channel:                             RTÉ One & RTÉ2

RTÉ is committed to History content and will continue to broaden its approach to interpreting and narrating Ireland’s complicated and nuanced history. 

RTÉ’s coverage of the Decade of Centenaries covered, in detail, the political, economic and military history of Ireland during the revolution years in the early 20th century. The slate’s focus, for now, turns to more recent history: the transformation of Ireland since 1985. How is it that the country developed so quickly to get to where it is today and what does that journey tell us about where we are now and where we go next? 

Form and tone are especially important: can we use contemporary leads, stories and clues as entry-points into the telling of modern Irish history? 

In this regard, one-offs can be information-led, access-led or personality-led and should mark Irish successes as well as the failures of the state. Recent examples include Henry Mount Charles: A Lord in Slane, The Great Pretenders, a one-off about Irish tribute bands and Ben Dunne: An Extraordinary Life. These films tell not just the unique experiences of a broad range of citizens but also another range of the many stories of Ireland.  

Broadstone Films’ Sold: The Eircom Shares Saga and Leathered, the recent one-off from RTÉ’s in-house documentary unit, are examples of strong factual output aired recently whose narratives have been rooted in the country’s complicated social under-belly. So also, Kevin Brannigan’s upcoming multi-parter: Noraid: Irish-America and the IRA.  

We are interested also in ambitious, multi-part history strands that cover the development of Irish society over the last fifty years. We welcome proposals that have third-party or multi-agency support attached: The Records Show [Midas Productions] which plays on Sundays on RTÉ One in pre-watershed and which is co-funded by The National Archives, is a relevant case in point.    

All proposals should be strong enough to play on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:35 PM on RTÉ One but can also be scheduled as standalone event pieces. Proposals should also be strong enough to attract strong on-line audiences. 

We ask, in the first instance, that producers submit ideas into the eCommissioning system Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) system under the programme category Factual Specialist “History”. 

Budget Range:                   €100,000-€140,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)

Duration:                             50 minutes

Broadcast:                          TBC

Channel:                             RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Budget Range:                   €90,000-€135,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)

Duration:                             25 minutes (number of programmes typically 6 to 8)

Broadcast:                         TBC

Channel:                            RTÉ One & RTÉ2

The slate will also continue to support innovative and original content in the areas of science, climate, and education. Recent examples here include Heated [indiepics], the magazine series in pre-watershed that deals with green issues and last year’s three-part documentary Rising Tides with Philip Boucher Hayes [Earth Horizon]. 

The slate will continue to work with Taighde Éireann – formerly Science Foundation Ireland – and will announce upcoming plans in a general call for ideas later this year.  

Recent projects in this space include one-off documentaries like Gamechanger: AI and You [Animo] and the three-part Science Week stripped series, Welcome to Futureville [Rare TV]. An upcoming three-part series on the science of addiction, Hooked [Cable Rock Films], has been produced with co-funding from Taighde Éireann. 

The slate also features documentary films about diversity in Irish society, and Pamela Drynan’s Sound & Vision funded documentary on dyslexia, Lost for Words [Subotica] is a recent example. Upcoming projects about the changing face of Moore Street – six parts playing in pre-watershed – and a documentary about Patrick Lydon and story of the Camphill community in Kilkenny, are films rooted in the diversity at the heart of modern Irish society.  

Proposals should include plans for digital additionality and dual-platform storytelling. Projects that comply with the Coimisiún na Meán Sound and Vision scheme are particularly encouraged. 

Producers are invited to submit their ideas through the RTÉ eCommissioning system under the category Factual Specialist “Science & Education”. 

History of the Fund

In November 2016, RTÉ and ARTE G.E.I.E., the Strasbourg branch of the Franco-German public broadcaster ARTE, joined forces to develop and co-fund exceptional documentary projects, aiming to bring more Irish content to European audiences. Since then, ARTE G.E.I.E. and RTÉ have invested in a diverse range of Irish documentaries covering factual topics, current affairs, history, and the arts. The collaboration between ARTE commissioning editors and Irish production companies has flourished, creating numerous opportunities for Irish creative talent.

Practical Information

The fund operates on a rolling basis, with projects being developed and funded continuously. We seek standout single documentaries that have secured development or broadcast commitments from an RTÉ Commissioning Editor, which can then be pitched to ARTE’s specific documentary strands. Most documentaries for ARTE are 52 minutes long and do not include commercial breaks. The RTÉ version of the programme should be a 50 minute duration with two commercial breaks as agreed with the RTÉ Commissioning Editor.

RTÉ and ARTE welcome ideas from all genres, including Factual, Specialist Factual, Science and Natural Science, History, Archaeology and Human Endeavour, Current Affairs/Geopolitics, and Arts, Culture, and Music. We are particularly interested in compelling Irish stories with international appeal, whether they focus on ancient or contemporary history, arts, or society/current affairs. Ambitious factual, specialist factual, and arts documentaries that resonate with both Irish and European audiences are highly valued.

Given that ARTE documentaries are broadcast in multiple territories, projects led by voiceovers that can be revoiced in several languages are preferred. Presenter-led documentaries or series are generally not suitable for ARTE, except in rare cases where the presenter is a global icon, such as Angelica Huston on Joyce by Blueprint Films.

Completed projects must be delivered to ARTE 6-8 weeks before the broadcast date to allow time for translation, subtitling, and revoicing in French and German, as well as Polish, Spanish, and Italian for on-demand services. The costs for revoicing and subtitling are covered by ARTE and should not be included in the programme production budgets.

How To Apply

Production companies interested in submitting a programme proposal for the fund should initially submit their proposal through RTÉ’s e-Commissioning system Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) . Indicate that the idea is suitable for co-production with ARTE and provide information on any other third-party funders if applicable. If the proposal is approved for further consideration, Sarah Ryder, RTÉ’s ARTE lead, will present it to the relevant ARTE commissioning executives.

Further information

For more details on the RTÉ / ARTE G.E.I.E. co-production fund, please contact Sarah Ryder at sarah.ryder@rte.ie.