Revealed: RTÉ’s Liveline is the most complained about show in Ireland

RTÉ’S Liveline was the broadcast agency’s most complained about program last year, although there have been no complaints from angry listeners so far.

this is a total of 91 complaints filed with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) in 2022, of which radio and television station RTÉ were the subject of more than two-thirds of them, or 63 in total. .

According to the BAI, none of these solutions have been successful, although a few are still under consideration.

RTÉ Radio One topped the complaints chart with 35, followed by broadcaster RTÉ One, which had 25 separate complaints from viewers.

An analysis of the program found that RTÉ Liveline with Joe Duffy was the subject of ten complaints, five of which were denied, four were deemed invalid and one is still pending.

Morning Ireland, Prime Time and Newstalk’s the Hard Shoulder are all second on the list with five complaints each, according to figures released by the FOI.

There are also four complaints about both Claire Byrne Live and Six One News, none of which have been upheld to date.

With RTÉ accounting for most of the complaints, the only other broadcaster with a relatively high number was Newstalk with nine.

There are also six complaints against Virgin Media One or Three and two against Today FM.

Out of a total of 91 complaints submitted to BAI, 39 were deemed invalid, 41 were denied and a single case involving a local radio station was listed as “resolved”. .

There are ten other cases that remain undecided, according to a database provided by the authorities.

The number of complaints filed dropped markedly last year, down more than half from 206 in 2021.

Video of the day

It is believed that the widespread return to the office and much higher levels of social interaction following the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic also played a part in the drop in figures at least.

Not all complaints are about shows with listeners, and viewers also have problems with some ads.

There was a complaint about the product Always Menstrual, which was deemed invalid by the broadcaster.

Another protested against Women’s Aid’s Don’t Fear campaign; and it is also considered invalid.

According to the BAI, there was even a complaint about an Aldi Christmas ad, and the file on it is still open.

A spokesperson for RTÉ said: “While more than two-thirds of broadcast complaints submitted to BAI involved RTÉ, none of these were upheld, with the majority being rejected or invalidated. . In our view, this highlights the consistently high editorial standards set by RTÉ.

“RTÉ welcomes and receives daily feedback from the public on RTÉ content and services through multiple channels, including the RTÉ Information Office and through the Statutory Complaint process explained in detail on the page. our website.”