Dancing With The Stars could be cancelled unless TV licence fees are raised, a producer of the show has claimed.
The latest season of the hit dance show attracted over half a million viewers making it one of the most popular reality TV programmes on RTE.
The finale saw broadcaster Mairead Ronan and dance partner John Nolan winning the competition.
But producers have warned that the show might be axed unless the rate is increased from the current €160.
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Executive producer Larry Bass said: “I think the whole of RTÉ is in jeopardy - it's not just Dancing with the Stars.
“If RTÉ isn't correctly funded, it can't run the schedules as it's been running.”
He added that advertising revenue has been under “severe pressure” since the economic crash and hasn’t fully recovered yet.
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He said it was “virtually impossible” to produce shows at the same price as 15 years ago.
He told Newstalk: “The licence fee hasn't increased for over 15 years, and the licence fee that is set... there's over 20% not collected.
“We have to ask ourselves do we want Irish TV and Irish people on our screens, or are we all happy with looking at UK TV, Netflix or US TV?"
