null | Media Ownership Monitor Ireland

RTÉ News Online is owned by RTÉ the Irish Public Service Broadcaster which is ultimately controlled by the RTÉ Board, chaired by Siún Ní Raghallaigh. Day to day operations and management of RTÉ is the responsibility of the RTÉ Executive Board, which reports to the RTÉ Board. The RTÉ Executive is a committee of senior management in RTÉ led by the Director General, and includes Directors of television, radio, news and current affairs, Heads of channels and content as well as heads of corporate divisions such as marketing, finance, legal and strategy. Following the RTÉ payments controversy, which emerged in summer 2023, new Director General Kevin Bakhurst disbanded the RTÉ Executive and replaced it with an Interim Leadership Team.

The RTÉ News website was launched by then Director General Bob Collins in 1996, followed by the RTÉ News Now App in 2010.
The RTÉ News Now App is used by 34% of all Irish adults and is the number 1 news app in Ireland (2020). The Reuters Digital News report shows that 24% of Irish adults access news on the RTÉ website three or more times per week. The editorial team for RTÉ online is led by James McNamara, Digital Editor for RTÉ online.

The RTE News website and app cover national and international news, business news, climate and environment. They are housed within the overall RTE.ie website which includes content relating to sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture.

Key Facts

Audience Share	Missing Data
Ownership Type	Public
Geographic Coverage	National
Content Type	Free
Active Transparency	company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable

Ownership

Ownership Structure	RTÉ is Ireland’s Public Service Broadcaster, as such it is publicly funded and is set up as a Statutory State Body. It is owned by the RTÉ Board and for the purposes of this project we treat the chair of the board Siún Ní Raghallaigh as the ultimate global owner. We also provide details of every board and interim leadership team member. Within this structure there are no shareholders and no dividends are paid, RTÉ operates a dual funding model where income is derived from a public Licence Fee, collected by An Post for the State and advertising revenue from its various platforms.
Individual Owner	RTÉ Board ?

Ownership Structure

RTÉ is Ireland’s Public Service Broadcaster, as such it is publicly funded and is set up as a Statutory State Body. It is owned by the RTÉ Board and for the purposes of this project we treat the chair of the board Siún Ní Raghallaigh as the ultimate global owner. We also provide details of every board and interim leadership team member. Within this structure there are no shareholders and no dividends are paid, RTÉ operates a dual funding model where income is derived from a public Licence Fee, collected by An Post for the State and advertising revenue from its various platforms.

Individual Owner

RTÉ Board
?

Media Companies / Groups

RTÉ

Facts

Founding Year	1996
Founder	Bob Collins Bob Collins was RTÉ Director General 1997-2003. He joined RTÉ in 1975 as secretary to the RTÉ Authority and went on to work in television production in senior editorial roles including as Director of Television Programmes and Director of Corporate Affairs. He was the first Chair of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and has also served on a number of other boards including the National Concert Hall and the Ulster Orchestra. Between 2005 and 2012 he served as the Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. He is currently the Chairperson of the Irish Policing Authority, which he has been a member of since 2016.
CEO	Kevin Bakhurst RTÉ Director General, Kevin Bakhurst became Director General of RTÉ in July 2023 following the resignation of Dee Forbes by request of the RTÉ Board in the midst of the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal. Between 2006 an 2012 Kevin Bakhurst worked in senior editorial and Director level positions in BBC News. In 2012 he moved to work with RTÉ as Managing Director of News & Current Affairs at RTÉ and Deputy Director General from 2012 to 2016. During this time he was a member of the RTÉ Executive and acting Director General for six months. On leaving RTÉ in 2016 he moved to work with Ofcom, the media regulator in the United Kingdom as Group Director for Broadcasting and Online and was also a member of Ofcom Board. At Ofcom he was responsible for setting Broadcast Strategy and Policy, creating and implementing the regulation framework for the BBC and editorial standards for UK broadcasters. He also led work on the future of Public Service Broadcasting in the UK. He also led work on the Online Safety Policy for the UK.
Editor-In-Chief	James McNamara Head Digital and Radio News Editor, James McNamara is digital editor for RTÉ News online, in which he will be responsible for all aspects of RTÉ News & Current Affairs digital content, including content on social media platforms. He is originally from Salford in Greater Manchester, has previously worked in print news media for the Manchester Evening News, the Irish Daily Mirror and the Sunday Business Post. He joined RTÉ in 2017 as homepage editor of RTÉ.ie.
Other Important People	Siún Ní Raghallaigh Chair of the RTÉ Authority. A media professional and former TG4 Chairperson and Board member, where she was a founding member of the team who established the Irish language station. She was CEO of Ardmore Studios and Troy Studios until 2021 and previously Managing Director with Tyrone Productions. She was Head of Finance with Tribune Newspaper Group. She founded her own independent television company Ikandi Productions and produced several documentaries. Siún is also involved in the animation sector and has executive produced several animated feature films.
Contact	RTÉ Donnybrook Dublin 4 +353 (0) 1 208 3111 www.rte.ie

Revenue	Missing Data
Operating Profit	Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)	Missing Data
Market Share	Missing Data

Meta Data	There is currently no standard audience measurement available for print and online news titles in Ireland. Individual titles publish data on readership or users but measurement parameters and sources vary between organisations, therefore it is not possible to report an accurate audience share for the purposes of this project. The Reuters Digital News Report 2023 states that 24% of Irish adults use RTE News online services 3+ times per week. RTÉ does not report advertising income data broken down to news online level, digital trading income for all digital platforms which includes RTÉ Player and website/app was €600,000 in 2022, an increase of 7.1% driven mainly by advertising revenue from Video on Demand services. Onsite display advertising revenue decreased by 20.8% in 2022 while digital sponsorship revenue increased by 3.8%.
Sources	RTÉ appoints Will Goodbody as business Editor, The Irish Times (2023), Accessed on 9 October 2023 RTÉ Media Sales Digital Audience Report 2020, RTÉ Media Sales, Accessed on 9 October 2023 Reuters Digital News Report Ireland from Coimisiún na Méan 2023, Accessed on 9 October 2023 A Year in Review: Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2022, RTÉ, Accessed on 9 October 2023 RTÉ.ie About - How RTÉ is Funded RTÉ.ie About - Mission and Values, Accessed on 9 October 2023 RTÉ.ie About - Public Service Statement, Accessed on 9 October 2023 RTÉ.ie About - RTÉ Board, Accessed on 9 October 2023 RTÉ.ie About - RTÉ Audience Council, Accessed on 9 October 2023 JNLR Radio Listenership Press release July ‘22 to June ‘23, IPSOS, Accessed on 9 October 2023 Horgan, J. & Flynn, R. (2017), Irish Media A Critical History, Four Courts Press, Dublin