Cash-strapped national broadcaster RTÉ is set to spend an estimated €1.8m over a five-year period on the provision of an ‘Internet-based Audience Reaction Panel’ to its programming.In tender-related documentation, published this week, it says the service “will enable RTÉ to continue to understand the views of Irish audiences to television programmes and other forms of audio-visual content as well as radio programmes and other forms of audio content on traditional and new media platforms”.The documentation says the panel “will be nationally representative of the Irish population in terms of age, gender, region, social class and shall have the capacity to provide for the daily reporting of audience reactions to television and other AV outputs”.The successful candidate will also provide “at least weekly reporting on audience reactions to radio and other audio outputs and the usage of relevant media websites and apps”.The tender documentation says the methodology for the audience reaction panel “will provide sufficient flexibility to enable panellists to regularly respond to structured, semi-structured and open-ended questions on issues identified by RTÉ as being of particular relevance".The documentation says “this is a recurring contract for services previously purchased under other tender processes”.The estimated €1.8m spend over the five years works out an at average annual cost of €360,000 to RTÉ.The documentation says RTÉ is currently inviting expressions-of-interest submissions from potential candidates.Further details of the work specification will be set out in the invitation to tender that is to be subsequently issued to the candidates who are to be shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of the procurement process.Potential candidates are to now provide certain information to assist the broadcaster in completing a pre-qualification questionnaire.The documentation says it is anticipated a maximum of five of the highest-ranked candidates will be shortlisted at the sole discretion of RTÉ and issued with an invitation to tender.Providing a timetable for the award of the contract, would-be candidates are to deliver the pre-qualification questionnaire by October 4.The five short-listed candidates are to be notified on October 18.The candidates are to then lodge tenders by November 15.The successful tenderer is to be informed by December 12, though a note says "this date may vary depending on the progress of RTÉ governance processes".The contract is to be awarded by January 31, 2025, and the panel is to come into operation on June 1 next.RTÉ’s unpublished annual report for 2023 shows the broadcaster recorded a deficit of €9.1m for last year, which its chairman Terence O’Rourke described as a “difficult and damaging” period for the national broadcaster.The report notes licence fee income received by RTÉ last year was down €17.3m on 2022.A hiring freeze announced by RTÉ and a delay to “strategic projects” were among efforts to offset some of the licence fee decline, but the report says “it was not enough and RTÉ are reporting a deficit of €9.1m for 2023”.
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