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UTV IRELAND WILL air its final live news programme from its Dublin studio this evening.
The channel, which was launched in January 2015, was recently taken over by Virgin Media and will be replaced from Monday with a new “female orientated” channel called Be3.
The move has resulted in a number of job losses for UTV Ireland staff. As the team prepared for the final live broadcast of its news programme Ireland Live this week, one employee told TheJournal.ie there is a “morale deficit” in the newsroom.
“Most of the people left behind haven’t been offered jobs, but we still have to put out the show,” they said.
“The atmosphere has been different, but everybody is still doing the job and doing it well.”
Ireland Live’s final broadcast will air at 5.30pm this evening. The newsroom and studio at Macken House is expected to be stripped over the weekend.
The relaunch of the channel is part of a TV3 rebrand, which will see 3e become the “fun” channel, while a centralised news hub will deliver increased current affairs content across all three channels.
The new Be3 channel which will replace UTV Ireland will be female focused and will show second viewings of the soaps, as well as shows such as Midsomer Murders, Loose Women and Benidorm.
Children’s programming will also move to the new station.
Though the last live broadcast from Dublin will air this evening, normal scheduled programming for UTV Ireland will continue up until the official Be3 changeover at 7am on Monday.
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Just proves the absolute rubbish quality of TV. Got rid of it recently. Just have internet and streaming now. Channels that one might watch are tuned in automatically to saorview tv. Stream the rest. Best decision ever. Watch what you want when you want, no ads
There’s always a way Freg. DAZN are the Netflix equivalent to sport. They are based in Germany and only stream American sports, but this kind of viewing is on its way in years to come. Like a Jedi knight, its up to you figure out the sports question, but find the answer you will if look hard enough you.
ah a such a contrast to the days when we had the real ITV and gave us decent coverage of the champions league, the euros and the football/ rugby world cups
They show tgis tripe because women watch it and it’s profitable. If women didn’t watch it, there would not be at least ten channels on Sky and Virgin doing the same thing.
I don’t watch any of these programs and find it quite condescending that this is a thing. But come on, TV that would fall into “what men watch” can be just as bad!
Does this mean they will be showing the women’s 6 nations live or re runs of Jeremy Kyle and keeping up with the kardashians? I don’t think it will take a genius to answer that.
“female orientated”? You mean like daytime RTE viewing all every weekday so? And exactly how RTE daytime radio for decades was aimed at housewives? Right so. That’s original.
Utv Ireland televised Lorraine which devotes all its time to the UK and the N of Ireland and no coverage of where the station in the ROI.. competitions were not opened to anyone in the ROI The station in my mind did not cater for all sports I am delighted to see the end of them .
What a rubbish channel. Didnt show anything that you couldnt see on tv3 or itv. Eastenders, cironation street etc. Absolute garbage. Never watched it once.
Sad to hear of job losses at any time. Unfortunately broadcasting is a cutthroat business. Best of luck to those who have put their heart and soul into the project for the ladt two years.
I’m flabbergasted by the stupidity of the people who ran UTV Media, which has since sold its TV operation, been renamed Wireless Group and taken over by Murdoch.
Did it not occur to Michael Wilson that UPC (now Virgin Media Ireland) customers would be peeved at losing access to ITV News, UTV Live and other programmes that were available on UTV (Northern Ireland)?
Ireland Live never had a chance of success (and I’ve nothing positive to say about TV3 News either!)
On Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, RTÉ still has a monopoly over Irish television coverage of national and international news (and does it much better than TV3 – though I acknowledge that RTÉ has flaws).
It will be interesting to see what this established broadcaster consider of female interest. It could turn out to be a really unique channel or could be really condescending. Incorporating family viewing :) Bill Malone (ex-RTÉ) as programming director. I wonder why it’s not a woman. Wonder how the board is made up? WOnder will they do business programming, current affairs, arts programming, music etc too? Anyway why not. I think there is a market if it’s done right.
TV3 could do with hiring Alison for its appallingly bad and absurdly named @ the 5.30. It like most of its home produced or should that be vomited programming are quite simply dreadful and somewhat embarrassing to watch.
I’ve just looked ahead for Monday on a TV entertainment app and it’s worse then UTV Ireland ever was, Bring back UTV NI ffs ! You have taken a decent channel away and replaced it with crap. It was fine as it was and there was plenty for everyone to watch .
Do the people that own and run this station not have a brain? Calling a station Ulster TV Ireland? Like where else is it going to be? Good luck securing adverts of tampons and Jacobs creek
It was a brutal channel anyway- my nanny would watch paint dry & even my nan didn’t watch it.
The soaps returned to TV3 recently (apparently! Was home over Christmas, the ma does watch them, on my life, I don’t, I swear!) anyways, I says to her “are they not on UTV anymore?” “no, TV3. And thank God for it; didn’t like them on that channel at all at all!” Now a soap is a soap is a soap as far as I’m concerned, you could show it on one of them French news channels towards the end of the register & it’d still be the same thing but for some reason, people didn’t like it. Preferred seeing Gail on TV3….
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