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.

Duration:                             50 minutes
Budget Range:                   €100,000-€130,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)
Broadcast:                           TBC
Channel:                              RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Duration:                             25 minutes (number of programmes typically 6 to 8)
Budget Range:                   €90,000-€120,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)
Broadcast:                           TBC
Channel:                              RTÉ One & RTÉ2

RTÉ has a long and distinguished track record with its output in this area: recent examples include ‘The Burren: Heart of Stone’ and ‘Ireland’s Oceans’, big, long-term projects shot over time and with international ambition. We will continue to prioritise proposals that deal with Ireland’s unique physical make-up, over ground and under.

Upcoming content in this realm includes ‘The Island’, a three-part geology series fronted by Liz Bonnin, ‘North Atlantic’, a two-parter authored by Ken O’Sullivan, and a series on the expanse of wildlife on Ireland’s islands. All of these strands are multi-funded, high-end projects that will translate well in other markets also.

Our Natural History output can play on Sundays in pre-watershed or post-watershed and also in pre-watershed on weekdays, either in half-hour or, when appropriate, one-off, hour-long slots. Paul Duane’s terrific, immersive film, ‘The Dead Zoo’, is a recent example. We’re especially interested in pre-watershed series that blend various disciplines, like social history, geography, heritage and architectural science, for instance.

We will continue to support new perspectives and forms: ambitious, tiered live events that appeal to wide, family-centred audiences or projects that can enable and engage mass viewer participation.

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 “Natural History & Wildlife”.

Duration:                             50 minutes
Budget Range:                   €100,000-€130,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)
Broadcast:                           TBC
Channel:                              RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Duration:                             25 minutes (number of programmes typically 6 to 8)
Budget Range:                   €90,000-€120,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)
Broadcast:                           TBC
Channel:                              RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Over the last five years, RTÉ has greatly developed its history slate, not simply in respect of volume but in terms of form, style and aspiration. We will continue to broaden the manner in which we interpret history and explore the ways we tell the stories of Ireland.

Big, feature-length one-offs like ‘Election 18’ and ‘Treaty ‘21’ recently re-told the stories of the all-island general election of 1918 and the partition of Ireland and the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921/1922 respectively. Both pieces fused aspects of drama, studio-based analysis and on-line accompaniment and both played prominently on RTÉ One in pre-watershed.

The award-winning ‘Bloody Sunday, 1920’, the authored ‘Forgotten: The Widows of the Irish Revolution’ and Michael Portillo’s ‘Partition, 1921’ are recent examples of strongly crafted one-offs in the history space. Upcoming set-pieces on Michael Collins and the Irish Civil War will continue to innovate.

The slate also covers more recent Irish history. Broadstone Films’ ‘Sold: The Eircom Shares Saga’, the authored Vincent Hanley one-off, ‘Sex, Lies and Videotapes’ from Mind The Gap Films and Dearg Films’ ‘How Ireland Rocked the ‘70s’ are all examples of Specialist factual output aired over the last eighteen months whose narratives have been rooted in Ireland’s complicated social under-bellies.

More generally, proposals that can attract third-party and/or ancillary funding are of special interest. Particularly projects that have academic partnerships in place: editorial, financial or both.

Special consideration will now be given to ambitious, provocative strands about the transformation of Ireland over the course of its relatively short history. To this end, an upcoming two-parter about the history of Civil War politics in

Ireland is also about the changing face of Ireland and Irish society in the one hundred years since independence.

More generally, we are actively seeking bigger, event-based approaches to content and are also interested in new voices and fresh perspectives, both on camera and off.

All proposals should be strong enough to play on Mondays at 9.35 on RTÉ One but can also come into the schedule as self-standing event pieces.

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”.

Duration:                             50 minutes
Budget Range:                   €100,000-€130,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)
Broadcast:                           TBC
Channel:                              RTÉ One & RTÉ2

Duration:                             25 minutes (number of programmes typically 6 to 8)
Budget Range:                   €90,000-€120,000 per hour (If fully funded by RTÉ)
Broadcast:                           TBC
Channel:                              RTÉ One & RTÉ2

RTÉ continues to support strong, original content in these areas.

We will shortly air a third-series of the home-grown, formatted series about sustainability, ‘What Planet Are You On?’ and will continue to support Science Week with a dedicated, stripped series in November, 2022. Series like ‘Hospital Live’ and ‘Future Island’ – both of which have been co-funded as part of RTÉ’s joint initiative with Science Foundation Ireland – are other recent examples of successful, inventive strands in this space.

Other recent successes include the one-off documentaries, ‘The Change: Ireland’s Menopause Story’ and ‘Róisín Murphy’s Big City Plan’. The slate will also broadcast two up-coming films on the experiences of the Irish deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

All proposals should, where appropriate, state clear plans for digital additionality. The slate is especially keen on dual-platform story-telling and in exploring new opportunities in this regard. All proposals with formed cross-media potential outlined are very welcome. The recent class-platform series, ‘Brainstorm’, presented by Donal Fallon and produced by Midas Productions in association with colleagues in RTÉ.ie, is a useful reference point in this regard

The slate is open to discussion on strategic and funding partnerships, advertiser-funded programming and completion funding where appropriate. We have funded several recent projects in partnership with the BAI's Sound and Vision scheme and will continue to support particular proposals that comply with the spirit of that fund.

Budget range for submissions with no third party or co-production funding should be submitted in line with the advertised information above. Submissions which do include third party or co-production funding should clearly detail finance plans, identifying all funding parties and the amounts committed.

We ask, in the first instance, that producers submit ideas into the eCommissioning system https://e-commissioning.Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) system under the programme category Factual Specialist “Science & Education”.

History of the Fund

In November 2016, RTÉ entered into a formal co-production agreement with Arte GE.I.E., the Strasbourg branch of Franco-German public service broadcaster Arte. Both partners pledged to contribute funding annually to a central co-production fund and to work together to develop and co-fund standout documentary projects, bringing more Irish-made content to European audiences.

Since then, Arte G.E.I.E. and RTÉ have invested in a wide range of projects from every content genre, supporting a wide range of Irish production companies. Examples include Brexit: Stuck in the Middle (Motive), Young Plato (Soilsiú Films), Ireland’s Wild Islands (Crossing the Line Films), 100 Years of Ulysses (Create One), Ireland’s Dirty Laundry (New Decade), Shooting the Darkness (Broadstone Films), The Killing of Thomas Niedermeyer (Blueprint Films) and The Hunger (Create One/Tyrone Productions).

All of these documentaries have played on both RTÉ and Arte to critical and audience acclaim, and the relationship between Arte commissioning editors and Irish production companies continues to develop, with many new opportunities resulting for Irish creative talent.

The contract was renewed in late 2021, and a number of new projects are currently in development for support from the fund.

Practical Information

The fund is a rolling one, with projects being developed and funded on an ongoing basis. Arte G.E.I.E. and RTÉ also work together to support projects with other broadcasters and funding bodies such as the BAI, Screen Ireland, NI Screen and Creative Europe. We also work together to introduce production companies and professionals from across France and Germany to Irish production talent to work on projects together that are of mutual interest.

Arte will, in general, invest between €30K and €80K per project/TV hour, depending on what stage they get involved in a project and what slot the project is intended for.

Most documentaries for Arte are 52 minutes, with no commercial breaks. We work into specific slots with Arte commissioning editors; while most slots are TV hours, there are some (limited) opportunities for feature-length slots also. The fund is aimed primarily at standout single docs, but we have also begun to look at multiple-part doc series, particularly in areas like natural history. Drama projects are also welcomed.

Because Arte documentaries are broadcast in several territories, voiceover-led projects which can be revoiced in several languages prior to TX/on-demand are preferable;

presenter-led docs or series do not, in general, work for Arte, except in very rare cases where the presenter is a global icon - eg Angelica Huston on Joyce by Blueprint Films.

This also limits somewhat – though as the example of Brexit: Stuck in the Middle illustrates, doesn’t prevent - our capacity to make more reactive docs together, as companies must deliver the finished project to Arte 6-8 weeks in advance of TX on Arte for translation, subtitling and revoicing in French and German, as well as Polish, Spanish and Italian for their on-demand services in those languages. This cost is carried by Arte and should not be included in your budgets.

Rights:

The minimum territory/archive rights clearances requirement for any Arte co-pro is to clear for France and Germany. Preferable is to clear rights for all French- and German-speaking territories in Europe: France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria. Ideally, if you can clear for all of Europe or world-wide, that is the gold-star option. So please remember to account for multiple-territory archive clearances in your budget.

Arte, like RTÉ, also have a blanket music agreement which covers the use of commercial music in the French- and German-speaking territories into which they broadcast.

How To Apply

If companies are interested in availing of the fund, they should pitch, in the first instance, to the relevant RTÉ genre head or executive producer in the normal way and via RTÉ e-commissioning, indicating if they think that the idea might be suitable for co-production with Arte. The RTÉ genre head or executive producer will then work with RTÉ’s representative to Arte, Sarah Ryder, to triage the best ideas for the fund and prepare to pitch to the relevant Arte commissioning executives.

We welcome ideas from all genres: Factual, Specialist Factual, Science, History, Current Affairs/Geopolitics/Society, Arts, Music. Particularly of interest are strong Irish stories of international interest (both ancient and contemporary history, arts and society/current affairs-style docs) and ambitious factual, specialist factual and arts documentaries which will appeal not only to the domestic Irish audience, but to audiences across Europe who are interested in Irish and European affairs.

For more information on Arte G.E.I.E.: ARTE GEIE | ARTE

For further information on the fund, Sarah Ryder manages the RTÉ/Arte G.E.I.E. co-production initiative for RTÉ and will be happy to answer any questions. Sarah.Ryder@rte.ie.