RTE faces up to replacing lost `soaps'

RTE executives will this morning start the job of finding something to plug the hole in the station's schedule that will be created by the departure of Coronation Street for TV3 at the end of the year. There was much bullish talk yesterday of finding a home-grown alternative but nothing - Irish or otherwise - is likely to draw the 500,000-plus viewers that regularly tuned in to the British soap opera.

The loss of its flagship programme comes a week after the station reported losses of £16.6 million for last year and predicted it would lose £12 million this year. An increase in the licence fee of £40 - bringing it to £110 - combined with more than 330 job cuts were needed to return the station to profitability by 2002, according to the station last week.

Whether this plan is still realistic following the loss of Coronation Street remains to be seen. RTE said yesterday it could not put a figure on either the revenue or viewers it might lose.

TV3 plans to screen other popular Granada shows including Emmerdale, Heartbeat and London's Burning, all of which will eat into RTE's share of the market. RTE now faces a rival with a strong schedule and deep pockets. Both Granada and CanWest, which owns another 45 per cent, are committed to funding the expansion of the station which is due to get three digital channels next year.

The ease with which RTE has been outwitted highlights the vulnerability of a national public service broadcaster in a small State such as Ireland, according to Mr Kevin Healy, the head of public affairs at the station. RTE lost Coronation Street because it could not offer Granada equity participation and not because it would not pay as much as its smaller rival, he said.

The crisis over the loss of the soap opera also highlights the dilemma that faces RTE, according to Mr Healy. As a State body it has to fulfil its mandate as a public service broadcaster while finding more than 60 per cent of its revenue from commercial activities. The station is expected to use the Granada investment in TV3 to press its argument for an increase in the licence fee and also to put pressure on the Government to act quickly to restructure the station's future.

Under proposals in the broadcasting Bill expected later this year, RTE will sell its broadcasting network, with the new buyer obliged to upgrade it to a digital platform. RTE will retain 28 per cent in the new venture and be guaranteed several digital channels.

Any discussion with the Government will take place against the currently high level of inflation as the increase will feed directly into the Consumer Price Index. The Government will also be awaiting the outcome of an EU investigation of the licence fee regime following a complaint by TV3. The rival station has complained to DG 10, the directorate that deals with competition matters, because it says there is not enough transparency in RTE's accounts to ensure that money raised from the licence fee is spent on public service broadcasting and not on buying programmes such as Coronation Street to boost ratings.