Time to cancel your Friday plans m8s, RTE have really pulled out all the stops this week.
Daniel O'Donnell
Charlie Bird & his family
Paddy Cole
Dancing with the stars contestants
+ a few other randomers
Someone referred to the Irish version as "Dancing With The Staff."
It's just another cheap rehash of a BBC format that's made by former board member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Larry Bass's company, "Shinawil."
According to it's website, it's responsible for "smash hit" shows including:
DANCING WITH THE STARS, THE VOICE OF IRELAND, THE APPRENTICE, DRAGON’S DEN, MASTERCHEF IRELAND, and POPSTARS,"
RTÉ is obliged by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to spend some of the money it receives from the licence fee on independent produced programmes.
Shinawil, is an independent production company. Now, look at the list of "smash hit shows" above, and then read the following, penned by Larry Bass in 2017:
"Are we in Ireland serious about being Irish? If so, we need to double the television licence fee. Yes: double it. Much has been written and debated around television licence fees over many years, but very few have called for what is actually needed.
Public-service television costs money and if we do not pay for it it will not exist, pure and simple."
*******
So the CEO and founder of a major beneficiary of the BAI's requirement that RTÉ spend a portion of the licence fee on "Independent" productions thinks that we should all pay more.
Otherwise we will no longer be exposed to Irish versions of Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice, Dragons Den, The Voice, or Masterchef.
And of course when he was on the board of the BAI he "excused himself" from decisions that could benefit his company.
Heh heh heh......
