Permanent TSB will sponsor the upcoming season of The Late Late Show, it has been revealed.
Renault previously sponsored the RTÉ chat show for a five-year stint between 2001 and 2006, and again from 2015 until the most recent season – which ended in May.
Ahead of Patrick Kielty’s Late Late Show hosting debut tonight, RTÉ announced Permanent TSB as the programme’s new sponsor for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.
Permanent TSB’s sponsorship agreement includes a total of 730 credited stings per season – which will air across RTÉ One, RTÉ One +1, the series repeat, and a 30-day catch-up on the RTÉ Player.
In a statement, Permanent TSB’s Head of Customer & Marketing Stephen Jackson said: “We’re delighted to become title sponsor of The Late Late Show, the world’s longest-running live chat show and a national institution, as it begins an exciting new chapter in the show’s history.”
“Permanent TSB has proudly served Irish communities for more than 200 years and with over 1.3 million customers, we look forward to the opportunity to connect with customers nationwide in their homes each week.”
“With 25 new branches and over 185,000 new personal and SME customers joining Permanent TSB over the past 18 months, our sponsorship of The Late Late Show supports us in continuing to grow our business and our reach, enabling us to achieve our ambition of being Ireland’s best personal and small business bank.”
RTÉ’s Head of Sales Dara Meaney said: “RTÉ Commercial are delighted to announce our two-year partnership with Permanent TSB for the 61st and 62nd season of this unique and iconic show with new host Patrick Kielty.”
“We are really looking forward to the new look Late Late Show and the opportunity for our Sponsor to connect and engage with Irish audiences on a massive scale across RTÉ television and RTÉ Player.”
Meanwhile, RTÉ’s TV Sponsorship Manager Ruth Kennedy stated: “We are thrilled to share the exciting news that Permanent TSB has come on board as the official sponsor of The Late Late Show for the upcoming two consecutive seasons.”
“As the world’s longest-running live chat show the Late Late Show has become an integral part of Friday night television, deeply embedded in the fabric of Irish households. We are so excited to be working with Permanent TSB into the 61st season of this iconic show with new host Patrick Kielty at the helm and look forward to a successful partnership.”
Picture: Andres Poveda
RTÉ was plunged into chaos when it was revealed that the former host of The Late Late Show Ryan Tubridy’s earnings were publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
The issue was identified during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, prompting an independent review of the matter.
The issue was partly the result of a commercial deal which saw Ryan receive additional income from Renault, which was guaranteed and underwritten by RTÉ.
The commercial partner only paid €75,000 to Tubridy once in 2020, but RTÉ paid out for the years 2021 and 2022.
The manner in which these payments were recorded led to an understatement of his earnings.
RTÉ labelled two invoices of €75,000 payments to Ryan as “consultancy fees”, and the now-infamous barter account was used to pay them.
Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly have adamantly maintained they didn’t know the payments came from RTÉ, and believed they came from Renault.
At a Public Accounts Committee meeting in July, RTÉ’s interim deputy director-general Adrian Lynch apologised to Renault for being “dragged into” the payments scandal and added that it is “it is outrageous in a way”.
