The company had paid €295,000 since last November to sponsor the show.
Center Parcs have informed RTÉ that they will not be renewing their current sponsorship deal for The Ryan Tubridy Show.
The holiday destination company initially signed a one-year deal to sponsor the show in November of last year.
They have, however, now opted to cease its association with the chat show amidst the ongoing financial scandal engulfing the State broadcaster.
There is also a sense that Center Parcs may go one step further, and pull out of their current sponsorship entirely.
Center Parcs opt against renewing sponsorship of The Ryan Tubridy Show
According to the Journal, RTÉ had been actively pushing for the company to renew its deal with Tubridy’s radio show.
However, Center Parcs have said that they saw the sponsorship as “only ever a one-year deal”.
Center Parcs communicated to the broadcaster that the deal would not be extended hours prior to the public revealing of the news that RTÉ had made €345,000 in undisclosed payments to the former Late Late Show host.
The deal was a significant investment on behalf of Center Parcs. A fee of €295,000 was to be guaranteed for three 10-second ads per show, along with cross-station promos, podcast mentions and homepage placements on the RTÉ website and app.
The Chair of the RTÉ Board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, has told the Oireachtas PAC she was appalled by how payments to Ryan Tubridy were recorded in the company's accounts and that it appeared it was 'an act designed to deceive' | Read more: https://t.co/9ZaRQkh7cx pic.twitter.com/LfhQGVIfSX
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 29, 2023
At present, with Oliver Callan deputising for Tubridy on the show, the company is reportedly no longer receiving these three short ads per show, but their advertising on RTÉ podcasts and their homepage continues.
Furthermore, Tubridy’s future at the broadcaster was cast into fresh doubt on Thursday, with RTÉ Director General Adrian Lynch stating that it was “impossible” for the presenter to return to the airwaves in the current climate.
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