TELEVISION
Competitive issues
RTÉ Television’s performance in 2005 should be seen against the backdrop of significantly increased competition. Between December 2004 and December 2005 an extra 108,000 homes (or 8% of the population) migrated to digital. This brought the total number of digital homes to 607,000 (or 43%). These homes all have access to a myriad of cable and satellite channels in the English language.

In this context, RTÉ’s performance in 2005 was robust. RTÉ’s total national share in peak time (18.00-23.30) rose from 43.9% to 44.1% year on year. In multi-channel homes (the most competitive environment), RTÉ’s adult share also rose, from 38.6% to 38.8%.

RTÉ continues to dominate the 100 most watched programmes of the year. Of the top 100 most watched programmes in 2005, 97 were on RTÉ and 80 of these RTÉ programmes were indigenous Irish programmes. This strong share contributed to the continuing rise in advertising income, which in turn has facilitated further expenditure on indigenous Irish programming.

This increased investment in Irish programming attracted significant audiences. Examples on RTÉ One included the four part documentary series, Haughey, Rip Off Republic, presented by Eddie Hobbs and Killinaskully series II, starring Pat Shortt. Other notable successes were The Clinic series III, The Symphony Sessions and The Asylum. On RTÉ Two, notable rating successes included the midlands-based drama Pure Mule and hidden camera shows Naked Camera and Anonymous.

The Late Late Show and Tubridy Tonight proved essential viewing at the weekend with Fair City an important schedule anchor. Karl Spain Wants A Woman, The Panel and The Ex-Files each contributed to the re-positioned RTÉ Two. Young People’s Programming was re-launched in the Autumn with a new schedule including Dustin’s Daily News and The Café. Sporting highlights included the European Hockey Championship, the GAA Championships and the Champions League. Scannal and Léargas were strong Irish language programmes and Three 60, Mono and Altered States were among other quality contributions in 2005.

Indigenous hours broadcast on RTÉ Television in peak time by Genre - All RTÉ




Commercial revenue
2005 was a record year for revenue in television.

Television advertising revenue (net) for 2005 of €124.1m represented a 17% growth on 2004, which itself was also a strong year in revenue terms. This growth was achieved in the context of an increasingly competitive environment. In 2005 alone, there were three new stations available to the Irish advertiser, all of whom offer significantly lower prices for audience delivery. The 14 stations who now sell advertising in the Irish television market in 2005 compares with a total of seven in 2003.

The key areas of growth in 2005 were Food (+24%), Retail (+32%), Drink (+27%), Telecoms (+50%) and Motors (+52%), with total growth across these categories of €16.4m. Interestingly, only two of these five categories would have been defined as “traditional” television advertising categories – Food and Drink. A critical factor in our success over the recent past has been the focus on non-traditional advertising categories, many of whom had used the print media as their primary medium.

Television sponsorship revenue grew by 17% on 2004 to €5.8m. Again, this was the strongest recorded revenue for this area and was largely facilitated by the number of new series, both home produced and acquired, which became available for potential sponsorship. An interesting feature of sponsorships in 2005 was the increased interest by potential sponsors in leveraging opportunities across all RTÉ media - Television, Radio and Publishing.

Other income streams, including commercial studios and television merchandising, whilst small in overall terms, also experienced strong growth in income in 2005. Commercial studio revenue increased 70% on 2004, producing commercials and sponsorship stings for clients which included Diageo, Nestlé, FBD, Goodfellas, Dominos, Benecol and Gaelic Telecom. Television merchandising increased by 41% on 2004, with eight RTÉ DVD titles in the Top 30 over Christmas, and five in the Top 20.

Operational issues
Transmission on digital platforms was converted to widescreen over a six month period. All in-house programmes are now produced in widescreen with the exception of News, while viewers watching on the analogue terrestrial network receive pictures in a compromise format. This brings RTÉ in line with other major European broadcasters and was achieved by programme makers working closely with technical staff and technologists to ensure a smooth transition.

RADIO
Successful radio is part of the pattern of daily life – so much so, that it is usually taken for granted. The radio is the familiar companion, always on in the kitchen or in the car. It is also true that radio today is a medium in competition with other attractions. It has to innovate to hold its share of attention. Every year, more stations are licenced and technology offers increased control and choice for listeners via broadband, iPods and MP3 files. So RTÉ Radio has to reinvent itself, gradually changing its familiar forms and finding new ways to be part of everyday experience – in public affairs, sport, music and features.

Competitive issues
The competitive outlook for RTÉ Radio is testing. It is not simply the fact that RTÉ competes with 29 licensed commercial stations and that more new radio services – local, regional and near-national – will be on air in the near future. Audiences now enjoy a level of choice and control that is transforming their radio listening. Cable and satellite television packages offer radio channels and there are hundreds of services available on the Internet. People aged between 15 and 35 are the listeners who most use the new technologies – broadband, podcasting and MP3 players. They are also the audience that advertisers most want to reach.

Radio in Ireland still has a very strong appeal – 85% of us listen for more than four hours a day on average. But since 2000, the daily audience for radio has slipped by 4%. While RTÉ Radio delivered 18 of the Top 20 programmes in 2005, all with strong audience numbers, its national reach has gone from 55% to 43% in the last five years.

The response has to be confident and competitive. It means moving to serve new audiences, to increase listening at times when we know that people are available and looking for good radio. This explains RTÉ Radio 1’s new weekend schedule introduced in autumn 2005, which is already proving its popularity with listeners.

The challenge for RTÉ Radio is to maintain its distinctive offering as a Public Service Broadcaster whose schedules offer quality programmes for a wide range of interests. By staying relevant to Irish life, and central to Irish media, RTÉ Radio will secure the public support that is the basis for its public funding and its commercial revenue.

Programming
There were important changes in the schedules of all four RTÉ Radio channels in 2005. Marian Finucane launched her new weekend programme on RTÉ Radio 1 in September; Ryan Tubridy joined RTÉ Radio 1 from RTÉ 2fm in June; Raidió na Gaeltachta introduced Anocht fm in May, a new evening strand for young people that includes English language songs for the first time in the channel’s output; Marty Whelan joined RTÉ 2fm to present the breakfast show in September; and RTÉ lyric fm refreshed its afternoon and evening weekday schedule, as well as introducing new programmes at the weekend.

International events – including the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI and the London bombings – received thorough radio coverage, as did the elections in Northern Ireland and Britain.

At home, Five Seven Live drew on the resources of a new investigative unit to report in depth on the case of Brian Rossiter. This work was recognised by a Justice and Media Award for Philip Boucher Hayes. Among the highlights of the year on Liveline were the story of Nigerian student Kunle Elukanlo, his deportation and subsequent return to Ireland, and the overcharging by some solicitors acting for people at the Institutional Redress Board.

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta improved its presence in the smaller Gaeltachtaí when it opened three new studios in Mayo, Donegal and Kerry, making a total of seven centres linked by ISDN to its network. At the Celtic Film and Television Festival, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta won the award for the best radio service in the Celtic countries. Two Oireachtas na Gaeilge awards were also made to broadcasters on Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Each year the output from RTÉ Radio Sport increases both in quantity and quality, and 2005 was no exception with coverage given to all major events involving Irish competitors. With more and more events unavailable on terrestrial television, it is important that this trend continues.

Of the four channels, it is RTÉ 2fm that has experienced the keenest competition as more stations contest for listeners. Still, it reaches 21% of the available audience every day, putting its daily listenership at almost 700,000. Gerry Ryan continues to set the pace for all competition.

RTÉ lyric fm broadened the ambition of its schedule in 2005. Celebrity interviews and concerts featured Placido Domingo, Michael Nyman, James Galway, Kiri Te Kanawa and Maxim Vengerov. Jazz, traditional and world music were more prominent on the station this year.

Operational issues
In 2005, RTÉ Radio carried out research and evaluated the options for digital services. As a result, digital audio broadcasting (DAB) trials began in January 2006 – a sign of RTÉ Radio’s commitment to maintain its distinctive presence and its availability to the public in the digital age. Podcasting of programmes started in November 2005. This is an exciting step that makes it easier for listeners to order programmes where and when they want to hear them.

The RTÉ Radio Archive contributes to RTÉ’s Library and Archive website and we have added to the catalogue of CDs and books that are available through www.rte.ie/shop. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta deposited a copy of its Ulster archive with the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Belfast and an agreement has been made to make a copy of the Munster archive available at the Blasket Centre in County Kerry.

Technical adjustments have been made to improve the FM reception and audio quality of both RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2fm, as well as to the medium wave broadcasts of RTÉ Radio 1.

In 2005, RTÉ regional studios increased their production hours for Radio by an average 12% per month, a clear measure that technology is making the programmes more reflective of life as it is lived outside the capital and the larger cities.

Commercial revenue
The RTÉ Radio sales team improved year-on-year revenue by 10%, with each of the three stations which carry advertisements performing well. In particular, a clear plan was implemented for RTÉ lyric fm which saw airtime revenues double, albeit from a low base. Airtime, sponsorship and promotions revenues were all up on 2004, in a highly competitive market.

The development of the Airtime Inventory Management System meant the level of business analysis was improved yet again. It also meant both forecasting and rate card determination was achieved with a greater level of accuracy.

There were numerous new initiatives such as having the weather and time-checks sponsored, SMS and IVR entry mechanisms for competitions were implemented and integrated commercial production facilities came on stream.

2005 also saw the start of cross-media solutions being sold. With the appropriate structures in place, there were successes in Television, Radio and Publishing.

The year saw the implementation of the RTÉ Radio Marketing Strategy. With a clear three year plan, B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer) and inter-IBD marketing plans were implemented. Notable successes included the RTÉ Radio 1 ‘We’ve got the nation talking’ and the RTÉ 2fm ‘u know u want 2’ campaigns as well as a concerted trade push for RTÉ Radio itself. The summer RTÉ 2fm ‘it’s all about u’ €20K giveaway was the most successful promotion to date. All marketing initiatives in 2005 involved teams working closely across RTÉ.

NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
Competitive issues
RTÉ News and Current Affairs programming is at the heart of RTÉ’s public service function and continues to perform extraordinarily well relative to other broadcasters across Western Europe.

• On weekdays, Six One has gained 1.7 share points on last year’s average to almost 48%. The number of viewers is also up slightly; an extra 22,000 viewers watched in 2005 compared with 2004. Share gains made in 2004 have been consolidated and built upon. Saturday and Sunday’s share are stable year-on-year, registering 38.4% and 41.4% respectively.
• Nine O’Clock News is up over a point to 40% share. Viewing figures are also up with an average of 532,000 now tuning in, up 30,000 since 2004 (up 6%).
• RTÉ News on Two has gained half a point on 2004 to 13.5% share. Viewing is also up 20,000 to 125,000.
• Compared with 2004, share for Prime Time was up or stable for 7 out of 12 months in 2005 (up or stable on 11 out of 12 months for 2003).
• Share for Prime Time Investigates in 2005 (9 programmes) was 35.1%, up almost 3 points on 2004 (10 programmes), the average number of viewers increased by 77,000 to 479,000 (up 19%). The number of viewers in winter 2005, at 544,000, is up by 30% on winter 2004.
• Questions and Answers had an average share of 31.1% in 2005, up over 3 points on 2004. Total audiences had a 21% increase to 327,000.
  

The major news events covered during the year included the Tsunami disaster, the death of Robert Holohan, the death of Pope John Paul II and election of Pope Benedict XVI, the fatal bus crash in Co. Meath, the British general election and Northern Ireland elections, the London bombings, IRA decommissioning, Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquake.

There was a focus in 2005 on Africa and development issues - in particular there was a series by Aoife Kavanagh on Radio and Television, documentaries by Jim Fahy and Margaret Ward, while George Lee reported from major international conferences on Africa.

In Current Affairs, the Leas Cross programme was part of the continued strong performance by Prime Time Investigates. Other significant programmes included the Prime Time special investigation into the murder of Robert McCartney and Mary Wilson’s interview with Pádraig Nally.

Nuacht had special coverage of the Údarás na Gaeltachta elections and a number of bulletins broadcast from Gaeltacht areas. Nuacht also made documentaries on the aftermath of the Tsunami and a special Féilte programme from Chicago.

Operational issues
There will be significant operational change in News in 2006 with the introduction of iNews and the move to server based transmission, where all News ingest material will be processed, edited and made ready for transmission using computer based technology. This transition to a fully digital environment is to the fore in RTÉ’s overall strategy of moving to an entirely digital environment for all aspects of its broadcast activities.

NETWORK
Competitive issues
In the area of the provision of national analogue television broadcast transmission services, ComReg decided to designate RTÉNL, our transmission network subsidiary, as having significant market power (SMP) and set three overall obligations for RTÉNL to comply with into the future. RTÉNL is already in full compliance with two of the three obligations set (Transparency and Non-discrimination). ComReg is currently deliberating on the details of the third obligation (Accounting separation).

In the area of the provision of local, regional analogue transmission services, RTÉNL’s business is relatively static as there are very few suitable frequencies available. The increasing number of mast sites for mobile telephone and other wireless services ensures very stiff competition.

RTÉNL’s existing infrastructure is focused on broadcasting. However as a by-product, the height and location of the infrastructure makes it useful for some commercial tower rentals (i.e. mobile telephone, private radio and broadband collection points). Developments in technologies such as 3G are of less advantage to RTÉNL as these types of systems require compact cell sizes local to the consumer whereas RTÉNL’s infrastructure is primarily mountaintop and remote.

Commercial revenue
Third party income is in line with budget. The expansion of revenue from existing major customers has been slower than anticipated. However an increase in activity, which commenced in the second quarter of 2005, and which was mainly driven by more recent entrants to the mobile telecoms market, has accelerated during the year and remains ongoing. This has led to increased income from these newer companies offsetting the shortfall from existing major customers.

Income from broadband providers remains slow with only a very small number of broadband operators taking up space on company structures.

Operational issues
Overall system availability for television and radio broadcasting is comparable with previous years (99.8% or better). A catastrophic failure caused by a lightning strike was experienced on TG4 equipment on a main site which resulted in an initial outage followed by a number of weeks operating at reduced power in early 2005.

In 2006, we hope to introduce digital terrestrial radio, in the form of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), as an experiment from Three Rock Mountain and Clermont Cairn to provide a service to the Louth, Meath and Greater Dublin area. Work will continue towards the introduction of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), which will be a large part of RTÉNL’s future business. The introduction of DTT and the switch-off of analogue television services is being planned and implemented across Europe. Analogue television services in Ireland have a limited future. However current legislation is an impediment to the development of a DTT platform in Ireland and changes are necessary to bring DTT to fruition.

PUBLISHING
Competitive issues
90.8m magazines are sold in Ireland each year, of which 20% are Irish titles. The RTÉ Guide represents 16.8% of the indigenous market and 6% of the total market. Despite an increasingly cluttered market, the RTÉ Guide has stemmed the long-term reduction in circulation experienced and, for the first time in several years, succeeded in increasing its circulation. For July to December 2005, circulation was up 1.4% on July to December 2004 and up 9.8% when compared to the January to June 2005 period. The RTÉ Guide format has been re-positioned to reflect findings of consumer research. Sign posting was added to the front cover and certain colours were introduced to the masthead. New programme related supplements and features were introduced. Amongst them were the Dawn Chorus CD and poster, Show Me the Money magazine and the Sunday Game magazine.

The on-line market is extremely competitive and RTÉ.ie has managed to compete by offering a broad range of up to the minute multimedia content. RTÉ.ie achieved an average of 14.97m page impressions per month in 2005. This represents a 51% increase on 2004 usage. Independent industry measurement is in development and independent benchmarks are as yet immature measures of relative performance. In 2005, RTÉ.ie won two Golden Spider awards for “Best Media Website” and “Best Mobile Content”. The development strategy of RTÉ.ie is built around expansion of both the volume and breadth of on-demand RTÉ Radio and RTÉ Television programmes and the content provided online.

RTÉ Aertel is the market leader in teletext services and is the only full service Irish offering. The latest Nielsen Establishment Survey shows that 858,000 households use Aertel (92% of all Aertel homes), a 6.5% increase on 2004. 2.06m individuals accessed Aertel in 2005, a 5.6% increase on 2004. Market developments are taking place on digital platforms and the offerings are becoming more competitive. There is no Irish digital text service available at present.

Publishing also operate a highly successful commercial telecoms unit which, as well as facilitating the in-programme competitions and voting polls, also began providing a text-to-screen service to programmes such as the Late Late Show and The Big Bite, where viewers can text in their comment on the programme discussion. In 2005, 6.6m messages were generated by RTÉ audiences and 58 programmes had such audience interaction.

Operational issues
RTÉ is pioneering development in the mobile content business, by providing news, sport and entertainment video content. This market will become more competitive as 3G and broadband penetration grows, and as consumers access content through different devices.

RTÉ content has also been made available for distribution over 3G mobile platforms in Ireland this year. This includes daily One O’Clock and Six One news bulletins, over 150 GAA video match packages and UEFA soccer. Karl Spain Wants A Woman was the first Irish television show to be made available on 3G, with clips from the show, off-screen and promos.

RTÉ sees both Broadband and IPTV as alternative, but complementary, distribution platforms to Terrestrial Transmission, Cable and Satellite. The internet is viewed as having a key role in the shift from linear to on-demand content consumption as it evolves from a text-based information source to a complete multi-media environment. RTÉ.ie is currently serving an average of 500,000 audio/video files each month. Users can listen live to all four RTÉ radio stations.

The amount of Video-on-Demand content was increased in 2005 to offer users 40 hours each week of News (One O’Clock, Six One and Nine O’Clock) and Current Affairs (Prime Time, Questions and Answers and Nationwide), and a growing number of RTÉ Television entertainment programmes including the Late Late Show, No Frontiers and Off the Rails. Video clips from The Den children’s programme are also available on an ongoing basis from RTÉ’s website.

A PDA version of RTÉ.ie was launched in October 2005 at www.rte.ie/pda.

In the future, new media rights will become an important operational issue. The market is still in development and commercial and licensing models are not consistent.

PERFORMING GROUPS
Performances and audiences
There were a total of 240 live performances by RTÉ Performing Groups in 2005, a slight increase on the previous year. Almost all RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet and choirs’ concert programmes were broadcast on RTÉ lyric fm. RTÉ Concert Orchestra output was broadcast across both RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ lyric fm. Reflecting general increases and also a number of exceptional large-audience third-party events, total live audiences for all RTÉ Performing Groups events increased to a record 212,530, an increase of 15.6% on 2004. Average attendance per event rose by 14.2%. This resulted in an overall increase in revenue for the division of €424,000 to a total of €2.307m.

The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (RTÉNSO) had a strong year artistically, with the 2004/2005 season ending with a successful week-long Beethovenfest and the world premiere performance and recording of Gerald Barry’s new opera, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, an RTÉ co-commission. The short summer season was also strong, and the early 2005/6 season has produced fine performances over a wide range of repertoire and has begun an important cycle of Shostakovitch symphonies. Another highlight was the RTÉ Television series, The Symphony Sessions.

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra (RTÉCO) performed well across a wide range of repertoire in a year of considerable change of business mix. The number of third party promotions increased significantly, including performances with Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Kiri Te Kanawa. Changes were also made to the flagship classical series at the Helix after persistently small audiences for classical music at the venue in spite of generally very high performance standards, including a memorable performance of Haydn’s Creation. It was a particularly strong year for the Orchestra’s light entertainment output and its performances for Opera Ireland.

The RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet (VQ) continued its main concert seasons in Dublin and Cork, with a successful autumn move to a new Dublin venue in the National Gallery, and it also toured extensively to smaller regional venues. The Quartet anchored the successful West Cork Chamber Music Festival and was also the anchor group of the first European Quartet week in Cork city as part of the Cork 2005 programme. In addition, it recorded its first CD for RTÉ lyric fm (for release in 2006) and released a well received Stanford CD on the Hyperion label.

The RTÉ Philharmonic Choir continued to perform to a very high standard in a record number of performances with the RTÉ NSO. RTÉ Cór na nÓg continued to make strong progress under its new director, the highlight of which was the production of its first CD for RTÉ. This reached a large audience as a cover-mount on the RTÉ Guide.

The RTÉ Living Music Festival at the Helix was an artistic success, giving Irish audiences their first major exposure to the work of Hans-Werner Henze, one of the most important living composers and attracting strong EBU interest. The continuing difficulties with audience generation at the Helix prompted a review and redesign of the event for 2006. The RTÉ Farmleigh Proms were extremely popular, generating great public interest with demand for circa 160,000 tickets (10,000 capacity) in the public ticket lottery.

TG4
Competitive issues
The mixed schedule format continued to reap rewards for the channel, with the Irish language and children’s strand forming 59% of the broadcast output. National audience share for 2005 was a creditable 3.2% with a very strong year-end performance. TG4 had its highest ever weekly share of 5% for the Christmas 2005 holiday period, the most competitive week in the television market. The channel’s reach for this period was 1.28m viewers per day.

The channel’s scope to develop and grow was constrained only by the limitations imposed by its ongoing low level of Exchequer funding and no effort has been spared in seeking to access all other appropriate sources of funding.

Programming
Sport continues to be a key part of TG4’s success. While developing further its established reputation as the main provider of televised live Gaelic games coverage from autumn to late spring (men’s and women’s), 2005 saw the introduction of an even wider range of sports on TG4. Innovations included domestic soccer (Eircom League) and global events - exclusive extensive live coverage of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the Tour de France as well as snooker, horse-racing and motor sport.

The channel has been careful not to be put in a position of over-reliance on any one genre and has had a strong performance across the range of factual, drama, reality shows, music and entertainment with series such as Cúla4, Laochra Gael, Ros na Rún, Cogar, Bean an Tí, Spré na Seascadaí, Paisean Faisean, Hector san Afraic, Geantrai, Underdogs, Meirligh, Trom go Trim and Glór Tire all performing strongly.

Exceptional events during 2005, some planned and some unforeseen, gave TG4 the opportunity to test its ability to provide meaningful and complementary coverage. The Údarás na Gaeltachta Board elections and the death of Pope John Paul II each provided a challenge for our Nuacht and Internal Production teams. The channel’s coverage of major annual cultural events, like the Gradam Ceoil TG4 and Oireachtas na Gaeilge, were also augmented and positively received.

The annual provision of Irish language programming from RTÉ to TG4 (365 hours) was another key part of the success and enhances the channel’s output. In particular, the daily Nuacht TG4 service continued as the anchor for the programme schedule and a daily visible manifestation of the ‘súil eile’ approach to news gathering and processing, providing an attractively different and differentiated view of affairs.

The schedule has a particular need for innovative acquisitions, content that will serve both national and niche audiences. TG4 has been particularly successful in attracting viewers for its regular slot for Western films and first-run showing of the most high-profile US television drama series aimed at teenagers The OC.

Operational issues
In spring 2005, a pilot scheme was introduced for analogue terrestrial transmission of the TG4 signal to the Belfast area from a transmitter on Divis Mountain. In addition, in April 2005, both TG4 and RTÉ were made available to Northern Ireland subscribers to the Sky satellite service. Both of these developments are of enormous significance for TG4 and for the Irish language community and the television audience in Northern Ireland.

TG4 has been assiduous in seeking additional funding for Irish language programme-making. 2005 saw the inauguration of two funds that are key potential partners in this regard – the Irish Language Broadcast Fund in Northern Ireland (ILBF) and the Sound and Vision funding scheme operated by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI).

TG4 has been working closely with the administrators of both funds. It has already been successful in attracting funding from the ILBF and looks forward with confidence to working in partnership with the BCI fund.

The channel’s website has grown beyond all expectation and is now the main interactive conduit for audience reaction to programming and for feedback from the public, media and academics. Website traffic increased by 62% during 2005 with over 50% of visitors originating in the USA. The site had 19 million hits during the year and one indication of its success is the 53,000 votes cast via the web for a sports competition.

Separation
During the second half of 2005, TG4 worked with all parties involved in implementing the Government’s stated policy of establishing TG4 as a separate statutory entity, independent of RTÉ. In July 2005, consultants Deloitte & Touche and solicitors William Fry & Co were appointed to assist the Minister in the preparation of an implementation plan to establish an independent TG4. A report was presented to the Minister in late November and he is currently preparing a Memorandum for Government on the issue.

Commercial revenue
Revenue from TG4 airtime sales continued to increase in 2005. Net advertising revenue for the year was €3.3m, a 21% increase on 2004. Sponsorship revenue for 2005, €290k, was also buoyant, showing a 10% increase on the previous year.

The channel ran a number of high profile marketing campaigns during the year. The campaigns focussed on the station’s best known brands and series - Ros na Rún, GAA Beo, Paisean Faisean, Glór Tíre and Underdogs.

As in previous years, TG4 programmes continue to garner national and international awards and prizes at prestigious festivals and events. Over 20 major awards were presented to TG4 programmes and content during 2005, most notably the ICAD award for Paisean Faisean, the five Oireachtas na Gaeilge Media Awards and the main prize (Spirit of the Festival) at the International Celtic Film and Television Festival in Cardiff for Cinegael Paradiso.

Outlook
There remain many challenges for TG4 for 2006 - to secure increased public funding with a view to being able to output six hours a day of original Irish language programming; managing the process in the lead-in to independent status for TG4; maintaining and increasing audience share; extending reception and achieving due prominence on all delivery platforms in Northern Ireland; and marking the channel’s tenth on-air birthday in an appropriate and celebratory way.

CHARTER DEVELOPMENTS 2005
In keeping with RTÉ’s responsibilities outlined in the Public Service Broadcasting Charter, published by Government in June 2004, RTÉ has undertaken a number of initiatives in 2005 to improve the delivery of its public services to the audience. In addition to those detailed elsewhere in this report on RTÉ’s activities, these include:

• the publication of an updated and revised second edition of RTÉ’s Guiding Principles – Implementing the Public Service Broadcasting Charter. The third edition will be published in 2006;
• the establishment of a working group to co-ordinate RTÉ’s active response to its obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003 and to review its Irish language programming on services other than RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and TG4;
• the addition of the RTÉ Libraries and Archive to RTÉ.ie; and
• the upgrading by RTÉNL of a number of small community broadcast systems. Within the RTÉNL Self Help Projects 2005, a number of old self help sites or community broadcast systems not maintained by RTÉ were brought up to acceptable maintenance and safety standards, so they could be added to the RTÉNL official site list. The project focused on twelve sites in 2005. Of these sites, ten sites are commissioned and all works complete. For the remaining two sites, the relevant equipment was purchased but commissioning will only commence in early 2006.

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
As Ireland’s Public Service Broadcaster, RTÉ is fully committed to operating ethically, with integrity and responsibly, towards all groups with which it interacts.

RTÉ’s values commit it to, inter alia:

• Operating in the public interest, providing news and current affairs that is fair, impartial, accurate and challenging;
• Being honest and transparent in all of our activities;
• Being responsible to our staff and considering everyone as an individual; and
• Respecting each other and our diversity.

Based on our values, we are focussed on integrating corporate responsibility into all aspects of operations relating to our employees, customers, licence payers, other stakeholders and the wider community. We will be publishing a separate corporate responsibility document during the course of 2006.

PEOPLE
Broadcasting is a creative and complex set of activities. Public Service Broadcasting, in an extremely competitive and dynamic environment, requires the commitment and skills of very many people across many different areas. The skills involved need to be continually re-assessed, refined and developed. That challenge is particularly current as we migrate to a fully digital environment. In preparing a Five Year Strategy, RTÉ is conscious that its main asset is the creative talent and commitment of its staff. The future welfare of Public Service Broadcasting in Ireland will be secured with their engagement and energy, qualities which have been amply demonstrated again in 2005.

In conclusion, I wish to thank Patrick J. Wright for his advice, support and encouragement since I became Director- General until the end of his term as Chairman of the RTÉ Authority in May 2005. In addition, I acknowledge with gratitude the commitment, energy and support of Fintan Drury who served as Chairman of the RTÉ Authority from June 2005 until early January 2006.

Cathal Goan