Mr. Noel Curran:

I thank Deputy Coffey for his complimentary comments at the outset of his contribution. In regard to digital television, the challenges in that regard are something of which we are acutely aware. We are working and living with them every day. The Deputy is right to highlight the advent of services like Netflix and others. It is important to bear in mind that we live close to one of the most well funded and best broadcasting markets in the world. We have faced that competition since our foundation. We are now facing increasing competition from huge multinationals like Sky which are looking increasingly at exclusive acquired programming rights, including the sports broadcasting rights market. It will be interesting to see where that ends up over the next period. As I said, we are used to facing that kind of competition.

Digital poses particular problems and challenges for us, which is why we launched a new digital strategy. We have restructured our digital division by moving it out to the different divisions. Digital has been completely integrated into the newsroom, for example, a development which my colleague, Mr. Bakhurst, might talk about presently. Our News Now app is one of the most downloaded apps in the country and we are constantly reviewing it. The RTE player has been very successful for us and we are already considering where we go from here with it. These are issues we discuss on a daily basis. On top of that, we must not lose sight of the fact that Irish people like traditional linear viewing. In fact, they are watching it in increasing numbers, even among the younger demographics. What is different is that they are doing other things while watching, which poses particular problems for us. These are issues we have been working on for several years. We have introduced a number of innovations in this regard and are very conscious of the need for continuous development. Despite what some people externally might think, RTE has reacted to competition. We reacted to the UK channels, to TV3 and to Newstalk. We can adapt and we are adapting, particularly in the digital space.

Saorview has been much more successful for us than we ever anticipated, particularly in second homes. The latest figures are above 700,000. Although a significant portion relates to second televisions, we really did not expect to be in 700,000 homes at this stage. That success has led us to consider what the next innovation should be in regard to Saorview, an issue that was discussed only a few weeks ago at the executive board. I cannot go into too much detail at this stage other than to say that we are developing the proposal in our strategy document, Saorview Connected. It is about growing Saorview as a brand and a proposition and positioning ourselves for what we expect is going to happen in terms of broadband penetration. Saorview is a national brand which could well become the largest platform in the country in the next 12 months. We have started to look at how we can position and utilise that brand to best effect.

Reference was made to where we are competing. I will ask Mr. Bakhurst to discuss some of the digital changes, particularly around the newsroom, but I do not believe we have lost the match on 2FM. We have taken a hammering in the first half but I do not believe we have lost the match. We have made several tough decisions in RTE in recent years because we have had to. No one in this organisation has been afraid of making tough decisions if they believed it was necessary. The station has an 8% share and an 800,000 or 400,000 daily reach. Fully 41% of the audience is under 35 years. The equivalent figure for Radio 1 and others is 10%. Those listeners are still the youngest audience we have and we are moving it even younger in terms of the changes. We have not given up the ghost on 2FM. Some of the changes need to be bedded down and then we will assess where we are. We will see. No one is under any illusions about the fact we need to turn 2FM around. However, it provides a service to a much broader range of younger people than most people realise. Mr. Bakhurst will answer the question on digital changes.