RTÉ soap opera Fair City has been cut to three episodes a week as part of budget cuts. Photograph: Beta Bajgart.The company, which plans and buys advertising campaigns, said it was forecasting growth of 4.1 per cent in overall advertising spend in the Irish market this year, with total investment set to reach €1.53 billion.
Core said the RTÉ controversy meant 2023 would go down as “one of the most significant years in recent times for the TV industry” and suggested that its planned €10 million budget cut in 2024, together with any future content cuts, could exacerbate the impact of media fragmentation. Television advertising revenue fell 5.8 per cent to €244.2 million last year and is forecast to drop 3.9 per cent to €234.7 million in 2024.Printed news media advertising plunged 11.7 per cent to €75 million in 2023, according to Core’s figures, with the decline exceeding the estimated 5.4 per cent rise in publishers’ digital advertising revenues, which reached €29.4 million.
Radio is the traditional medium that has been faring much better of late, with a “modest year of growth” in 2023 likely to be followed by a 1.8 per cent rise in revenue to €157.7 million, said Core, which noted “almost universal listening to audio” by Irish adults and “significant growth” in digital formats.