Ryan Tubridy could be set to lose half of his salary after giving up the Late Late Show gig.
But the star – who is RTE’S highest paid presenter - could make up his lost earnings if he continues to work at RTE through various other TV projects. The presenter – who earns a massive €440,000 as a contractor through his company Tuttle Productions Ltd - made a shock announcement last week that he will step down as host of the coveted Friday night chat show on May 26.
Ryan confirmed he will still host his RTE Radio 1 show every morning. But an insider revealed Ryan could lose half his salary now that he has bid farewell to the show – but he could maintain the six figure sum as a contractor if he works on various different TV projects at the station.
Read more: Miriam O'Callaghan pulls out of running to become new Late Late Show host
An insider told us: “If he only went back to doing radio, he would lose significantly. His salary would be halved anyway but if he ends up fashioning a contract whereby he does, say some television, maybe history programmes, books programmes, the things that he’s interested in, they might fashion a contract with him that way if they figure he will still draw an audience for other kinds of programming.”
A spokesman for RTE said the national broadcaster will be making “no comment” on the star’s contract negotiations now that he has given up the coveted show.
Ryan has always been a contractor for RTE and is not a staff member, which means he gets paid from RTE through his production company Tuttle Productions Ltd. His salary is funded between licence fees and commercial revenues.
The top 10 earners list features the likes of Joe Duffy, Miriam O’Callaghan, Claire Byrne and Ray D’Arcy – who are all contractors and own their own companies. Bryan Dobson and Mary Wilson, who feature at the bottom of the top ten list, are RTE staff.
Ryan earned €466,250 in 2020 and €440,000 in 2021, according to the latest figures. He was paid €495,000 in 2019 - meaning his annual pay has been reduced by €55,000 since then, as RTÉ struggled with a financial crisis. In 2011, he was paid €723,000 before taking a 31 per cent pay cut in 2013, reducing his salary to €495,000 in 2013.
Last month, Willie O'Reilly, former Group Commercial Director at RTÉ, defended the star’s salaries. Mr O’Reilly told Newstalk Breakfast that RTÉ salaries are much lower than they used to be with Tubridy’s pay reduced from €495,00 in 2021 and €446,250 in 2020.
“We all know the top one is the presenter of the Late, Late Show - which is Ryan Tubridy,” he said. "There have been significant changes there. I went back and I looked at his salary 10 years ago - in 2013, he was on €723,000.
“That's a cut of almost 40pc. In that 10 years, there's been wage inflation as well of, maybe, 1pc to 2pc, so add that up. In real terms, his pay is less than half of what it was 10 years ago.”
He said that while Tubridy’s previous €723,000 salary may seem “astronomical”, it can be defended because of his “top” skills.
“All these people are the top talent in that area that they are - whether it's entertainment or journalism. If they were lawyers or top doctors, they would be getting commensurate amounts of money - that's the way it goes.
“We also have to remember they all bring significant advertising revenue to RTÉ, so there is a commercial aspect to it as well.
“I don't want to be the judge on it, but the point I was making is that it has changed”.
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