Consultants reviewing plans by TG4 to launch a new multi-million euro children’s channel have forecast that its audience would initially be 1,000 people, only some of whom would be children.
ommunications Chambers, which specialises in media and telecoms consultancy work, was tasked with a public-value assessment of the new standalone children’s channel Cúla4. As previously reported in the Sunday Independent, the channel will have an incremental content budget of €5.6m.
The review argued that this initial number of 1,000 viewers would most likely fall and that children are watching less and less television.
Communications Chambers agreed with a number of the positives put forward by TG4 for Cúla4, which was approved by Media Minister Catherine Martin last September.
The report said: “The public value of locally produced children’s programming is widely recognised. However, the magnitude of this value is limited by the relatively small audience the new service might reach. In part, this is an inevitable consequence of addressing a minority language.”
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TG4 says the channel will address an under-served demographic, provide a safe space for children, and offer an educational resource.
The consultants agreed that children’s content is a key genre for public-service broadcasters.
“The main caveat to this argument is that young audiences are consuming ever less television of any type. Ultimately, public value depends on public consumption.”
TG4’s estimate for cost per viewer, a metric used by the television sector, was significantly lower than that forecast by the consultants
“We estimate that the Cúla4 channel will initially have a 0.13pc viewing share, equivalent to an average audience of 1,000, with children a modest portion of this,” said the report commissioned by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland on behalf of Martin.
“Share and average audiences are both likely to fall over time.”
However, in a statement to the Sunday Independent, TG4 said: “Based on what we see in terms of viewing to the existing Cúla4 service on TG4 and also the RTÉjr channel on Saorview, we estimate that a dedicated Cúla4 channel will achieve an average 5pc to 6pc weekly audience reach with children on the Saorview platform alone.
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“Over time the new channel will be more widely available across TV reception types in Ireland. This will translate to a rise in the number of children watching Cúla4 in homes.”
As a result, TG4’s estimate for cost per viewer, a metric used by the television sector, was significantly lower than that forecast by the consultants.
TG4 research in 2020 also suggested that 17,000 teachers and 250,000 primary pupils regularly use the TG4 or Cúla4 players in the classroom.
The consultants’ review noted that the impact on Ireland’s independent production sector might ‘more modest’ than had been suggested by TG4.
In September, Martin announced she had given clearance for the new channel.
“The €3.3m provision for the channel was included as part of the Budget 2023 allocation for TG4 which received a record increase of €7.3m in funding, the largest ever annual increase to the broadcaster,” said the announcement.
When asked about the review a spokesman said: “While the report did caution that the magnitude of this value is limited by the relatively small audience the new service might reach, it was noted that this is an expected consequence of addressing the needs of Irish speakers.”
