RTÉ announced a hiring freeze this week amid the ongoing payments crisis leading to calls for a sale of its Montrose home and one former Government minister advocating the adoption of a publisher-broadcaster model similar to Channel 4 in the UK.
But what is Channel 4's broadcasting model? And how does it work?
The crisis at RTÉ entered a new phase this week with Director-General Kevin Bakhurst announcing an immediate recruitment freeze and a halt to discretionary spending at the broadcaster.
Mr Bakhurst appeared in front of the Oireachtas media committee on Wednesday to field questions about the current state of the stations’ finances and spoke of a need to preserve cash "while we get clarity on our financial position going forward."
A forecasted €21 million TV licence fee deficit was also discussed with committee members calling on the broadcaster to consider the sale of its 23.5-acre Montrose campus in Dublin 4 in a bid to repay debts.
"All options are on the table as far as the site on Montrose goes," Mr Bakhurst said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government will not be "making demands" that RTÉ sells its site at Donnybrook however.
His comments came after Tánaiste Micheál Martin cautioned against calls for the broadcaster to dispose of the site, saying "often selling land is something you regret later."
Another drastic measure suggested this week was for RTÉ to explore adopting a publisher-broadcaster model, similar to British station Channel 4.
Speaking on Upfront with Katie Hannon, broadcaster, businessman and former Minister for Agriculture Ivan Yates said: "This is RTÉ’s problem and they’re going to have to cut costs and make it into a publisher model, something like Channel 4."
"This is not the government's problem, this is #RTÉ’s problem and they’re going to have to cut costs" - Ivan Yates #RTEUpfront
— Upfront with Katie Hannon (@RTEUpfront) September 11, 2023
We're debating the funding model for RTÉ following a summer of scandal on @RTEOne pic.twitter.com/uMhDk5uvS5
But how does Channel 4 operate and could RTÉ adopt its approach?
"With Channel 4, their whole DNA is based on risk taking," former documentary-maker with the broadcaster Shaunagh Connaire told Katie Hannon on Upfront: The Podcast this week.
"I've made about 40 films for Channel 4. None of them were made in-house. It is publicly owned but commercially funded," the twice-Emmy nominated journalist and producer said.
Listen: Katie Hannon speaks to Shaunagh Connaire about her career in journalism and the importance of public service broadcasting
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The Channel Four Television Corporation is a British state-owned media company which runs 12 television channels and a streaming service.
It was set up by the 1990 Broadcasting Act. Unlike fellow British broadcaster the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its own commercial activities.
Everything it produces is supposed to be governed by its public service remit, which is agreed by Parliament and enshrined in UK legislation.
Publisher-broadcasters, like Channel 4, commission all their programming from companies independent of themselves.
Channel 4 operates a not-for-profit model meaning all its commercial revenues are then invested back into content.
Ms Connaire worked with Channel 4 on their Unreported World and Dispatches programmes.
"It's a very diverse place and that's why the output was so good because it was coming from different people. It wasn't just a bunch of white posh men at the top who were dictating what we should see," the Longford woman said.
On whether she thinks RTÉ could adopt a similar model, Ms Connaire says it is worth exploring.
"I don’t think it’s a bad idea. If you wanted a model like Channel 4, it's not an overnight fix, it would require a complete rethink. You have to have the right people there taking calculated risks, willing to go the extra mile, go against the grain, open up conversations that have never been opened up."
Ms Connaire, who now works as the Director of Communications for the Clooney Foundation for Justice, worked on films for Channel 4 in Sierra Leone and Iraq and covered subjects ranging from ballet in Baghdad to conversion therapy targeting the LGBTIQA+ community in China.
"Channel 4 has open doors for risk takers. Crazy ideas are not laughed at. Getting stuff done and getting stuff across the line was hugely fulfilling."
Listen to Shaunagh Connaire chatting to Katie Hannon on Upfront: The Podcast here, on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts.
