TV licence revenue down €19m in year

Only 824,278 people pay up amid RTE woes

THE number of TV licence fees bought last year fell by 13%, according to figures from the Department of Media.

There was a total of 824,278 licence fees collected by An Post in 2023, of which 732,532 were renewals.

It represents a drop of more than 123,000 licences compared to the previous year – and a revenue drop of €19million.

Though the previous five years show a steady decline in television licences being bought, the drop last year is higher.

The figures released by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media show that from July to December last year, the months after the RTE controversy became public, 378,974 TV licences were bought – of which 345,303 were renewals.

This compares to

502,495 in the same six-month period in 2022, of which 443,442 were renewals. On June 22, RTE revealed it had under-declared fees to its highest paid presenter Ryan Tubridy, prompting a crisis at the broadcaster that put a focus on its governance and financial practices.

RTE executives appeared before Oireachtas committees and were grilled over the highest-earning presenters and employees, entertainment for commercial clients – and almost €5,000 spent on flip-flops. In the

SALARY Ryan Tubridy following months, the number of TV licence fees bought appeared to drop and the Government was pressured to announce a new longterm funding model for RTE.

Ministers have pledged to make the decision before the next general election, suggesting it would involve a fund to all media outlets fulfilling a public service mandate.

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has said the licence is still a major funding stream for the broadcaster, and could not “conceive of a future for RTE that doesn’t consider to have a television licence”.

RTE boss Kevin Bakhurst said in December the broadcaster ended the tumultuous year “in a reasonable place” and that licence fee payments had begun to “improve quite significantly” towards the end of the year.

A total of €132million in revenue was raised through the licence fee last year.