RTE’s advertising prices should face regulatory scrutiny, a new report commissioned by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland recommends.
The report was conducted by Athena Media, whose founder Helen Shaw is a former director of RTE radio.
It says that broadcast advertising has been “dramatically devalued” by the collapse in advertising since August 2008 and by a lack of transparency in the market. Taking volume discounting into account, RTE is offering discounts as high as 70%, the report finds.
“The pricing of RTE, especially if heavy discounting is involved, needs to face regulatory scrutiny because it is particularly problematic for the sustainability and development of the commercial sector and may have anti-competitive implications,” it adds.
The Competition Authority could have a role to play in an independent “third party review of the rates being set by RTE as the dominant player in the broadcast advertising market”, it suggests.
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The report, an Economic and Environmental Review for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, recommends RTE’s broadcasting operation should be separated from RTE NL, which owns the transmission network. This would enable transmission costs for users to be reviewed by an independent third party. The status quo is “a continuing block” on the development of digital radio and television broadcasting and on “the provision of an equitable, competitive market”, it says.
The network could be moved to a separate state body and eventually be operated as a public-private entity. The report’s authors add they are not convinced that commercial, digital terrestrial television can wait until after 2013, and say separating RTE and RTE NL could help the development of digital, terrestrial broadcasting on television and radio.