€5,000 flip-flops, balloons and concert tickets were among the highlights of RTÉ spending revealed at the Oireachtas media committee this week.
Among the most significant figures was a loss of €2.2 million incurred by the broadcaster’s ill-fated live Christmas offering, Toy Show: The Musical.
The production was dogged by mediocre reviews, poor ticket sales and criticisms from established theatre producers and politicians.
RTÉ had taken a punt on being able to build a brand extension of its most lucrative TV asset, the Late Late Toy Show, and lost.
Ukraine authorised to fire US missiles at targets inside Russia for first time
Reality bites at Wembley as England dismantle 10-man Republic of Ireland
Labour will not offer tax cuts, instead commits to investment in housing and childcare
‘We bought our son a flat in his name but we took the rental income’
But how and why did RTÉ end up wasting millions on such a risky bet?
On today’s In the News podcast Irish Times Arts and Culture editor Hugh Linehan explains what went wrong, why it was always likely the show would be a costly failure, and what the story tells us about where RTÉ is today.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
