ARTE & RTÉ Pledge €1 Billion for Co-Productions

DUBLIN: ARTE and RTÉ are each planning to contribute a minimum of €250,000 per year for an initial two-year term toward the development of co-productions in 2017 and 2018, focusing on the areas of arts, culture, factual, history and natural history.

Over the next two years, audiences across Europe will be able to access participating Irish music events and performances via ARTÉ’s online platforms. Meanwhile, audiences in Ireland will be able to access an online catalog of European arts, cultural and historical programming through RTÉ Player’s new arts and documentary hubs. RTÉ will share selected music broadcasts, performances and documentary content, as well as selected concerts from the likes of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and RTÉ Concert Orchestra on ARTE’s digital platforms.

Anne Durupty, the VP of ARTE GEIE and CEO of ARTE France, said: “This agreement will enable ARTE and RTÉ to work on several top-quality co-productions per year, helping to enrich their cultural output. With this partnership we’re continuing to enhance ARTE’s profile and visibility in Europe, one of the essential missions given to the channel by its founding treaty. Our objective, in the months and years ahead, is to showcase, via our digital offerings, the richness and diversity of European creativity to audiences across the continent of Europe.”

Dee Forbes, the director-general of RTÉ, commented: “This is an important partnership. With this agreement we will enable more Irish programs and performances to reach new European audiences. As Ireland’s national media organization, showcasing the best of Ireland, particularly in the area of arts and culture, is something that RTÉ takes very seriously. The online offering is also exciting, with RTÉ offering for the first time selected arts programming, documentaries and music broadcasts to European audiences through Arté Concert and Arté in English, while audiences in Ireland can avail of a carefully curated selection of fascinating, compelling and current arts and cultural content from Arté on RTÉ Player. We look forward to encouraging audiences everywhere to explore this fantastic resource.”