RTÉ takes €2m Cork studio off the market as it continues search for new centre
On Produced Picture: Mathew Cork 'nationwide' Fr 'the Show' Street, Are Rté Today And Denis Where Minihane
RTÉ has taken its southern regional studios off the market as it continues its search for a new Cork city centre production site.
The national broadcaster confirmed the property on Fr Mathew Street is not currently on the market.
About 50 people work out of the studios, where its southern news team is based, and where and are produced for television, alongside several landmark documentary, travel, cookery and radio programmes.
A spokesperson for RTÉ declined to comment in detail on its long-term plans for the property, which was put up for sale last January with a price tag of about €2m, insisting its staff would be told first.
In a statement, a spokesman said: “As stated in RTÉ's five-year strategy, 2025-2029, RTÉ will invest in a new, expanded production centre in Cork.
“This facility will be home to a mix of in-house and commissioned programmes that will increase the number of regionally produced hours across our linear schedules and on-demand libraries in video and audio."
The sale of the Fr Mathew Street studios was among several potential property disposals that were being considered by the organisation at the start of 2024 as it grappled with a funding crisis.
RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst had said the sale of the Cork studios was being considered as well as an increase in production from Cork, including extending and .
It was understood RTÉ had viewed space in the One Albert Quay building in Cork city centre as a potential option for a new studio base.
In June, RTÉ launched its five-year strategy, A New Direction, and the following month, the Government announced a €725m bailout for the broadcaster spread over three years.
The New Direction document said by 2027, a new Cork production facility should begin operations, enabling the launch of a major daily peak-time programme from the facility, together with the relocation of selected activities from Dublin.
It also discusses the launch of two audio incubator units for new content creators, in Cork and Galway, in 2025, and the creation in 2026 of a dedicated climate unit in Cork, within RTÉ News and Current Affairs.
Then it emerged in November that RTÉ was set to spend up to an estimated €200,000 over the next five years on property advisory services as it considers various options in relation to its extensive property portfolio at Donnybrook, and around the country.
It is seeking bidders to advise across commercial markets, to maximise value and to advise on the transaction process in relation to its various property interests, so the potential sale of the Fr Mathew Street studios may arise next year as part of this process.