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Michelle Visage and Denise Van Outen of Ireland's Got Talent, alongside Ivan Yates.

TV3 'Virgin' rebrand confirmed at station's spring schedule launch

Ireland’s Got Talent is the main attraction in the Ballymount broadcaster’s new schedule.

Updated at 1.30pm

TV3 WILL REBRAND as Virgin Media TV in the second quarter of this year, the broadcaster’s managing director confirmed at its spring schedule launch in Dublin today.

Pat Kiely told reporters that “a very significant rebrand” would take place within the first half of the year.

“Our plans on this front will roll out in the second quarter of 2018. These developments will see our business take another giant leap forward and, most importantly, mean more connections with viewers and opportunities for our advertisers.”

The TV3 Group of stations was bought by Liberty Global, the parent company of Virgin Media, in July 2015 for €80 million.

A year later, the company snapped up UTV Ireland for €10 million, which it rebranded as be3.

The CEO of Liberty Global revealed the rebrand plans at a media conference in New York late last year, without confirming a planned date.

“We will rebrand those broadcast networks in Ireland as Virgin and we’ll see how that works,” Mike Fries told the UBS Global Media and Communications conference in New York, the Sunday Times reported.

Spring schedule launch 

The broadcaster was giving a big push to Ireland’s Got Talent at this morning’s launch, held in Roberta’s restaurant in Temple Bar.

The Irish version of the well-tested franchise will air from Saturday 3 February, with Lucy Kennedy hosting and a judging panel of Louis Walsh, Jason Byrne, Denise Van Outen and US TV personality Michelle Visage.

A spin-off show, Ireland’s Got Mór Talent, was confirmed today – to be presented by Glenda Gilson and social media personality James Kavanagh.

The Tonight Show, fronted by Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper, will extend to four nights a week (Monday to Thursday) from Monday 5 February.

Elsewhere, Rachel Allen has been added to the lineup of the Marco Pierre White-fronted The Restaurant, and in sport the Six Nations championship comes to TV3 for the first time beginning on Saturday 3 February as Ireland take on France.

Red Rock also returns to the channel for 13 episodes from 22 January – but TV3′s head of programming Bill Malone confirmed the drama remains “on hiatus”.

TV3 revealed last August that production of the soap, which is produced by Element Pictures, was being postponed.

The drama first appeared on Irish screens in 2015 and has since been picked up in the UK by the BBC and by the Amazon Prime streaming service.

Questioned by reporters today, Malone said that no decision had been made about the show’s future.

“It’s on production hiatus but that doesn’t mean the door’s closed – it’s a very strong production.”

- With reporting from Paul Hosford 

Read: UPC Ireland buys TV3 for €80 million >

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    Mute Dave Walsh
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 5:59 PM

    We dont recognize mandate.What country do they think we’re in South Korea.Its your right be a member of a union.Any one who goes past a picket is a S___.

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 6:31 PM

    @Dave Walsh: They have more then 800 staff so 30% is not happy and 70% agreed
    a deal. Yes it is everybody’s right to be a member of a union but it’s also our right not to agree with the picket.

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    Mute Bilbo Baggins
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 6:32 PM

    @Dave Walsh: I always found it interesting that it’s a ‘right’ to be part of a union but you’ve no ‘right’ to pass a picket , you’ll be called every name under the sun. Find it pretty hypocritical to be honest.

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    Mute Lisa Byrne
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 6:40 PM

    @Bilbo Baggins: It is a right under the constitution that you can be a member of a union. You can pass a picket if you want but of course you will be called names and be scorned for passing a picket, not because you have the right to pass picket but because it is a not a nice thing to do.

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    Mute Dave Gibney
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 7:14 PM

    @Hans Vos: incorrect. Senior management and the Directors allowed themselves a vote on their own proposals, including 70 staff in Head Office who are not impacted by the deal at all. They gerrymandered the vote. They also didn’t allow an anonymous vote because you had to supply your name and staff number in order to vote. 96% of staff who voted in the only independent anonymous ballot rejected the deal – and that was a vote by people affected by the proposals. The company are the most profitable multinational pharma company in the world and they pay their irish workforce as low as €10 per hour. The CEO paid himself €15 million last year. These workers deserve better.

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    Mute Dave Walsh
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    Sep 3rd 2018, 3:11 PM

    @Bilbo Baggins: where you born that way?

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    Mute Gerard O'Brien
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 5:47 PM

    Lloyd have mercy!

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    Mute Roy O'Rourke
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 6:42 PM

    @Gerard O’Brien:

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    Mute postmanbill
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    Sep 3rd 2018, 12:40 AM

    Well done to the Lloyds workers keep up the fight. Anybody who passes an official picket should be ashamed of themselves.

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    Mute Steven C. Schulz
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    Sep 2nd 2018, 10:44 PM

    They don’t deserve to serve in healtcare even tangentially.

    Fire them all.

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    Mute Steven C. Schulz
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    Sep 3rd 2018, 4:14 AM

    @Steven C. Schulz: This is a strike against the public safety and should be illegal.

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