"There needs to be a Late Late special for Aertel"

Last night, RTÉ announced it's making some massive changes. RTÉ's plan aims to tackle the financial crisis it finds itself in. 200 jobs will be cut by 2020, fees paid to top on-air presenters will be cut by 15%, and executives will take a 10% pay cut. RTÉ's digital radio stations (RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Pulse, RTÉ Gold, RTÉjr Radio and RTÉ Radio 1 Extra) will cease. Additionally, their studio in Limerick is set to close while services such as Aertel, Ireland's teletext services, will be dumped.

Somehow, the shutdown of Aertel ended up sparking the biggest reaction on Twitter last night. It just goes to show the power of nostalgia, really.

The service offered up-to-the-minute sports scores, news headlines and the weather forecast. But now people turn to apps or the internet for that stuff, rendering Aertel superfluous.

Still, many mourned its cancellation today.

 

RTÉ intends to reduce projected costs by €60m over the next three years. Director General Dee Forbes estimates that it is losing up to €50 million each year through TV licence evasion, public funding and collection costs.

She said they remain in discussions with the government regarding funding and hope to reform the TV license system.