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RTÉ publishes New Direction strategy

June 26, 2024

RTÉ, the Irish public service broadcaster, has published A New Direction: Statement of Strategy 2025 – 2029 providing further detail on RTÉ’s strategic vision document published in November 2023.

The new strategy sets out how, over the next five years, RTÉ will respond to the “urgent need” for transformation and for the “restoration of trust” to ensure the relevance of RTÉ, to audiences and within the sector, into the future. In tandem, RTÉ has published a new Governance Framework, which will provide the RTÉ Board, management, staff and external stakeholders with a guide to RTÉ’s governance arrangements.

RTÉ says its planned transformation takes account of major changes in the media landscape, evolving audience preferences and behaviours and the expanding role and importance of public service media. Over the period of this strategy, RTÉ will be improved and streamlined, with the adoption of new ways of working internally and with external partners, particularly the independent sector. The content that RTÉ provides to audiences will evolve, with more programmes that share uniquely Irish stories, national moments, and shared experiences.

This strategy also incorporates feedback from consultations with the public, RTÉ staff and a wider group of stakeholders, generating insights which sharpened the focus on areas for action and shaped the resulting strategy.

RTÉ Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst (pictured), commented: “This New Direction strategy is about ensuring the future and the relevance of a transformed RTÉ. It is about delivering a strong and independent public service, available to everyone; it is about creating a trusted organisation delivering for Irish audiences; it is about backing creative ambition and digital innovation; it is about supporting Irish culture and bringing people together; it is about reflecting all of the country and supporting the creative industry across the island. This strategy sets out ambitious change in how we deliver for audiences and how we run the organisation; how we ensure that we deliver value for money and are transparent and accountable. It is ambitious – but it is deliverable. It is a plan based on our core values; it is outward looking. We are determined to build a strong, modern RTÉ that will play its role in Irish life, that Ireland will be proud of and that will deliver a better outcome for the public we serve.”

Chair of the Board of RTÉ, Terence O’Rourke added: “Public Service media is facing fundamental challenges. RTÉ is not immune to this and throughout its long history it has adapted its services from radio to television to online to the Player. Now, technology, social media and shifts in how information is consumed have all framed a new world in which RTÉ must go through a radical evolution to continue to serve and reflect Irish society into the future. We, as a Board, have tested this strategy and believe it offers a realistic roadmap for the organisation to change. Its vision is clear. Its financial underpinning is realistic and sustainable.”

Five Strategic Goals

The strategy sets out five goals for RTÉ to achieve the required transformation of the organisation, along with the initiatives that will support these goals and the milestones RTÉ aims to reach during the lifetime of the strategy:

  • Goal 1: Engage audiences with high-quality impactful content
  • Goal 2: Provide excellent streaming products and services
  • Goal 3: Diversify production and support sectoral development across Ireland
  • Goal 4: Ensure robust financial management performance
  • Goal 5: Build a sustainable, trusted and responsible organisation

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