Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht

Future of Public Service Broadcasting and Impact of Covid-19 on the Media Sector: Discussion

Mr. Adrian Lynch:

We availed of the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS. In March, April and May, right through to the end of August, both our commercial revenue and licence fee reduced significantly, by more than 30%. We had a significant problem, which was on top of the fact that we had already come into the year in a financially exasperated situation. By managing costs and with a return of commercial income because of our audience performance and the fact that society opened up again so people could pay the licence fee, that has stabilised.

Looking forward to the coming years, obviously things are very dynamic, but we know there is a gap. I will not be able to put an exact number on it today, but the factors in the mix include commercial performance. We do not know what it will look like in 2021 in terms of the impact of unemployment and Covid on the economy. We do not know if the licence fee will renormalise. The situation is dynamic. Plus, next year we have the Olympics, if they go ahead, in August and September, which is a significant cost. We also have the Euros. They are events that were supposed to have taken place this year.

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