FUTURE DOUBT

Newstalk star fires gloomy job prospects warning to Ryan Tubridy as he makes Claire Byrne comparison amid RTE scandal

• Published: 7:00, 15 Aug 2023
• Updated: 8:55, 15 Aug 2023

IVAN Yates has warned the public are missing the point on the RTE scandal – and Tubs “needs RTE more than RTE needs him”.

The legendary broadcaster told how he thinks the RTE scandal is “now a financial story” with hundreds of staff set to lose their jobs.

He told the Irish Sun: “I think the public are missing the point here, and the point is with each passing week, the whole debate about Ryan Tubridy is (like moving) deck chairs on the Titanic.”

He told how he believes Tubs needs RTE more than they need him and that the fans will always be there, but that doesn’t bring work.

Ivan said: “I think it actually is immaterial to the finances of Ryan whether he goes back or not.

“Obviously, it’s only in a limited radio role. I think that morning stop between nine and 10am. It’s a bit of frippery.

Yates

“It’s not like Claire Byrne and current affairs where you actually need an authoritative anchor.

“Ryan has his hardcore supporters and fans, and that’s fine. I don’t wish him ill, but I just don’t see a queue of foreign broadcasters lined up to hire him.

“So I think he probably needs RTE more than RTE needs him at this stage.”

The former Newstalk host said he believes RTE is “now technically insolvent” as it is facing a cash shortfall of €50 million.

The Wexford man warned that about 1,800 people do not have a “secure future” in RTE.

He said: “They need to cut their overheads by €30 million a year and that this story is now primarily a financial story.

“RTE and Bakhurst are continuing on. I think it’d be very soon before his honeymoon is over.”

He continued: “I think the bigger picture is ‘how are they going to survive?’ and I can see 500 redundancies coming down the track.

“They have borrowings of €95 million. This is before the erosion of the license, which is adding to the problem by about €1.5 million and €2.5 million a month and getting worse because they get about €190 million from the TV licence.

“If they’re going to lose we’ll just say €2 million a month of non-payment of that – which will be difficult to enforce – that’s another €20-plus million on top of a predicted loss of €30 million.”

CASH CRISIS

Ivan said the broadcaster will “run out of cash by December” but are reliant on a bailout.

He said: “It’s quite clear to me that they’re assuming that they will get a State bailout.

“My biggest criticism that I said way before this erupted was about Dee Forbes.

“Her only plan was to get more money from the Government.

“And she had no plan to say in a modern landscape: ‘What does the future of RTE look like?’”

Ivan continued: “As I say, by statute, their borrowing requirement is frozen at €100 million and they’re already at €95 million.

“So they cannot run desk contingency on it. So I really think people are missing the point.”

But from the flip flop spending to the luxury cars, Ivan believes there’s more to come.

He said: “We’ve had the flip flops. We’ve had ‘how many more cars are going to come out to the Montrose carpark?’

“We’ve had all the fun and games, but I think of some of the exit packages of €500,000 for jobs that were actually not gotten rid of.”

‘SOMETHING HAPPENS’

Ivan admitted some of his former colleagues changed forever once they walked through the doors of Montrose.

He said: “It couldn’t have happened to nicer people because the one thing – and I have worked with loads of people over the last 20 years who went on to work in RTE – something happens to them.

“They were regular guys and women, they had great fun. They get this aura of self-importance when they work for RTE.

“They’re hardly recognisable from the people I knew. So all of this misery couldn’t happen to nicer people.”

The ex-Fine Gael minister confirmed he does still pay his TV licence.

And he discussed the idea of a tech tax that he believes “all media” should benefit from.

But Ivan said clarification is needed on what content the public broadcaster produce.