RTE may stop selling DVDs after sales slump

TUMBLING sales of DVDs and CDs by RTÉ’s commercial arm last year contributed to revenues at the company declining sharply by 20pc or €5m to

€20m.

The sales of DVDs – such as the record-breaking ‘Love Hate’ series – have always been a major cash cow for RTÉ Commercial Enterprises DAC.

However, with the closure of HMV’s brick and mortar stores in Ireland, the company has lost a major outlet for the sale of its DVDs and CDs and the directors report that sales “significantly reduced” last year.

In the company’s directors’ report, the directors also point to consumers moving away from CDs and DVDs purchases “and this has necessitated a complete re-evaluation of the activity”.

They state: “Currently, we are reviewing our presence in the market with business activity limited to managing existing and exploring licensing deals.”

The company last year slimmed down its operations and reduced costs resulted in pre-tax profits increasing by

68.5pc to €7.4m. Numbers employed reduced from 85 to 37 with staff costs declining from €6.3m to €2.6m.

The directors also state that revenues from the sale of RTÉ programming was constrained by the content of the programme which serves the needs of the Irish audience but limits international appeal.

The directors state: “2016 was a steep revenue decline driven by the non-recurrence of a significant domestic sale, combined with the impact of currency depreciation.”

International success was achieved with the sale of 1916 programming, Bridget & Eamon and Vogue Williams.