There are question marks over The Ryan Tubridy Show’s sponsorship future - if and when he returns to the airwaves.
Tubridy has been off the airwaves since late last week as RTE’s secret pay scandal continues.
The State broadcaster has been thrown into chaos since it emerged last week Tubridy was paid €345,000 more than was publicly declared in recent years.
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Interim Deputy Director General at RTE Adrian Lynch, told the Oireachtas Committee on Media on Wednesday that “at the moment, obviously, for editorial reasons, it’s impossible for Ryan Tubridy to be back on air.”
Satirist and impressionist Oliver Callan has been filling in for Tubridy on his weekday morning radio show and confirmed he will continue to do so next week.
And according to well known columnist and communications consultant Terry Prone, RTE will know within a month if any financial damage has been done as a result of the pay scandal.
“The first thing is RTE will know within a month if financial damage has been done,” Ms Prone told this paper.
But, she said, she doubts there will be any financial fall out for the State broadcaster in general.
“My betting is RTE will not suffer as reputational damage is largely conceptual. It’s not always financial.
However, she said she thinks there will be question marks over The Ryan Tubridy Show.
“I think there will be question marks over one particular show but other than that I don’t see advertisers or sponsors suddenly saying ‘Oh my God, we can’t advertise on Morning Ireland or another show,” Ms Prone said.
“We would have heard by now if sponsors were pulling out of other shows and if advertisers were pulling their adverts.”
