Cash-strapped national broadcaster, RTÉ is set to spend an estimated €1.8 million (ex VAT) over a five-year period on the provision of an ‘Internet-based Audience Reaction Panel’ to its programming.
In tender-related documentation published on Thursday, it states that the service “will enable RTÉ to continue to understand the views of Irish audiences to television programmes and other forms of audio-visual (AV) content as well as radio programmes and other forms of audio content on traditional and new media platforms”.
The documentation states that 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 related documentation states that 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 states that “this is a recurring contract for services previously purchased under other tender processes”. The estimated €1.8 million spend over the five years works out an at average annual cost of €360,000 to RTÉ.
The documentation states that 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 (PQQ).
The documentation states that it is anticipated that 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 time-table for the award of the contract, would be candidates are to deliver the PQQ by October 4th.
The five short-listed candidates are to be notified on October 18th. The candidates are to then lodge tenders by November 15th.
The successful tenderer is to be informed by December 12th though a note states that "this date may vary depending on the progress of RTÉ governance processes".
The contract is to be awarded by January 31st 2025 and the panel is to come into operation on June 1st next.
RTÉ’s unpublished annual report for 2023 shows that the broadcaster recorded a deficit of €9.1 million for last year, which its chairman Terence O’Rourke described as a “difficult and damaging” period for the national broadcaster.
The report notes that licence fee income received by RTÉ last year was down €17.3 million 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 €9.1 million for 2023”.
