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BoyleSports Offers Odds on RTÉ Director General

07/02/2023 | Categories: Betting | Published by: admin

One of the biggest news in the world of television and broadcasting recently has been the position of RTÉ Director General. With Dee Forbes leaving the broadcaster at the end of her 7-year term in July, an advert has gone out for her replacement. Now, in an exciting turn of events for betting fans, one of the leading Irish betting sites, BoyleSports is offering odds on the favourites in the Director General race.

While this is not an usual market for betting sites to offer, BoyleSports has never aimed at “usual”, and often offers non-traditional betting markets, including ones involving TV and Entertainment and Politics. Other interesting betting options from BoyleSports include markets such as Dancing on Ice Winners, Oscar Winners, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and Eurovision Winner. In the Politics section, bettors can find various options across Irish, UK, or US Politics. For example, the odds for the next Taoiseach start with Mary Lou McDonald at 2/7 and Leo Varadkar at 7/2, and end with Richard Boyd Barrett at 500/1.

In terms of RTÉ Director General, BoyleSports is offering odds on 16 highly experienced public figures who may be favourites to win the race. The best odds are for David McRedmond, currently CEO at An Post and Non-executive Chairperson at Eir. According to the bookmaker, McRedmond’s odds to get the job are 7/4. This may be partly due to the fact that McRedmond was interested in the job 7 years ago, and also because he has experience as CEO at TV3. His experience and good results at An Post will also give him advantage in the race.

Next on the list is Alan Esslemont with odds of 3/1. Esslemont is currently the Director General at TG4, which will certainly come in handy against other worthy opponents such as BBC Scotland’s Head of Multi-platform Commissioning Steve Carson (4/1), RTÉ’s Director of Strategy Rory Coveney (6/1), and RTÉ’s Director of Audience Channels Marketing Adrian Lynch (7/1). So far, there has been no indication that any of the names on the list, apart from McRedmond, are interested in the job, however applications are expected to start arriving in the coming weeks.

And while other betting sites in Ireland or the UK are not offering odds for this unorthodox market, it is important for bettors to be able to find the correct sections on the BoyleSports website. The easiest way to find it would be using the search function on the website using the keywords RTÉ Director General, however it is also possible to find the market by selecting “All Sports” from the menu, and then “Entertainment / TV”. Those interested in trying their luck could do so while also taking advantage of the current BoyleSports introductory offer for new customers – bet €10 get €50 in free bets. To find out more and sign up, please consider visiting our dedicated BoyleSports review and information page.

Whoever the new RTÉ Director General is, they will certainly have a lot on their plate. One of the constant struggles faced by the current post holder Dee Forbes was that of trying to obtain sufficient funding from the Government in order to maintain the existence of a credible public service media providing accurate news. In a recent statement, the outgoing Director General said:

“[…] I know that future generations will not forgive us for letting this Irish cultural institution slip through our fingers. Public service media is one of the last platforms capable of challenging the rise of fake news, of disinformation, by striving to speak the truth of the social, cultural, and economic nation it represents. It can only do this if is supported, and adequately funded.”

Discussing the odds on a new Director General, industry experts are suggesting other names which do not yet feature on the betting site’s list. One of these is Ofcom Group Director and ex- RTÉ deputy director general Kevin Bakhurst. Bakhurst is well-known and generally respected and well-liked in Ireland, and may be one person to look out for in the competition for the post. Those who know the industry well, however, suggest that the new Director General may be someone completely unexpected, especially because the appointment of Dee Forbes came as a surprise 7 years ago. And the more adventurous bettors may decide to put their money on Denis O’Brien, the founder and owner of mobile network Digicel. With odds of 100/1 for O’Brien, every €1 put on O’Brien will bring an (unlikely) profit of €100.