€5,000 flip-flops, balloons and concert tickets were among the highlights of RTÉ spending revealed at the Oireachtas media committee this week.
Among the most significant figures was a loss of €2.2 million incurred by the broadcaster’s ill-fated live Christmas offering, Toy Show: The Musical.
The production was dogged by mediocre reviews, poor ticket sales and criticisms from established theatre producers and politicians.
RTÉ had taken a punt on being able to build a brand extension of its most lucrative TV asset, the Late Late Toy Show, and lost.
American killed in Ballyfin Demesne had just arrived in Ireland to try to help his son
Miriam Lord: Conor McGregor stuns High Court onlookers with evidence about night of alleged sexual assault
Mike Tyson’s glowering silence cuts through Netflix show noise
Alleged assault on child at Dublin creche under Garda investigation
But how and why did RTÉ end up wasting millions on such a risky bet?
On today’s In the News podcast Irish Times Arts and Culture editor Hugh Linehan explains what went wrong, why it was always likely the show would be a costly failure, and what the story tells us about where RTÉ is today.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.