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THE NEW TV channel that could be offered to Irish viewers at the start of 2015 won’t just be relying on ITV staples like ‘Coronation Street’, ‘Emmerdale’ and ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ — at least according to the submission handed into the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland by UTV Media.
The company announced this morning that it plans to have a new station on the air within the next 18 months. The move follows the signing of an agreement giving UTV exclusive Irish broadcasting rights for ITV Studios programmes, including the above-mentioned soaps and a raft of entertainment shows like ‘I’m a Celebrity…’, yesterday.
The development is likely to have set alarm bells ringing in TV3: the ITV shows are currently staples of the Ballymount broadcaster’s schedule – the station even flew Jeremy Kyle over to help launch their new season of shows earlier this year.
In its submission to the BAI, the company says it’s applying to set-up “a television service, web and mobile platform” that will also offer video on demand.
It says the TV service - to be known simply as ‘UTV’ will have a “similar style” to UTV’s Northern Ireland station, but will be “a completely separate” channel.
One of the anchors of the proposed new channel will be a “one hour, peak-time news, current affairs and community programme similar to UTV Live Tonight” which runs from Monday to Thursday evenings.
According to the submission, the station will develop original documentary programming as it grows, launching shows similar to ‘Lesser Spotted Ulster’ and ‘Hidden Heritage’.
The company has announced plans to create 100 jobs as part of the new venture — with a likely 70/30 between Dublin and the rest of the country. About 50 per cent of those jobs will be on the editorial side.
Announcing details of the plans at a press conference this afternoon, UTV Managing Director Michael Wilson confirmed the company would be looking to set up additional office space in the Docklands/Point Village area.
UTV currently occupies two floors of a building on Mayor Street, where its two Dublin stations Q102 and FM104 are based.
The media firm runs six radio stations in the Republic of Ireland, including Cork’s 96FM/C103, the Drogheda-based LMFM and Live 95FM in Limerick, alongside the two Dublin services. Wilson said there is “no intention to change the model of the stations”, adding that radio journalists will work with the new station to generate news content.
Its UK stations include TalkSport, which is the country’s number one commercial speech broadcaster.
Wilson would not be drawn on earlier reports that UTV had considered a takeover of TV3 but cited the station as a new rival.
“We will be going head to head with RTÉ and TV3,” he told reporters.
The BAI application process is expected to take about three months. Although an exact figure was not given, the move is a multi-million-euro investment and the executives today said they had “faith in the Irish economy”.
Additional reporting, Sinéad O’Carroll.
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Heartbreaking. Is that the best that the USA can do, with its huge resources. So many live in abject poverty.
They’d sooner spend their billions on other children from far flung areas of the globe turning them into orphans and refugees. If they don’t care about their own children own whey would they care about anyone elses.
Kid needs to check his privilege.
Congrats to the boy
Poor little boy hasn’t had a great start in life, so many more out there like him, contrast this and the story about little Prince George and it’s just such a shame how one little boy has it all while another little boy has nothing!, hardly seems fair, hope his future is brighter!
Good luck to them all. Tis hard to be a child growing up without a proper home. Hopefully they can make it through.
And people give out about having to stay in hotels
Wow. Poor little guy. And sometimes we have a cheek to complain about silly things
Land of the Brave, Home of the Free. If you can cut it in the rat-race, never get ill, never get tired, never make a mistake. Given this country’s adoration of all things American, look out for a similar story in a venue near you – sooner rather than later.
Has already happened, SDCC evicted a 17 year old girl from her family home on Wednesday morning after the passing of her mother last year. They wouldn’t even let the poor child back in to get her mothers ashes and left her curled up in a ball, in her pyjamas, on the doorstep heartbroken. They told her she wasn’t their concern….. an orphaned 17 year old should be everyones concern.
Ann…i didnt hear about this..tell us more?
Please share more information on this story. Those responsible need to be called to account for their despicable behaviour. We can’t do that with sufficient information.
Scroll down their page – the media is too busying with other stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/Cairdeas-Homeless-Action-Group-768034629939704/?fref=photo
The girl wasn’t actually living in the house ..
You seem to know more than I do Suzie – do you know what the story behind it is? I searched the other night when I came across the post but could find nothing more about it. But the fact remains regardless of whether or not she was living there, her mothers ashes need to be returned to her.
Ann , the young girl is living wuth her grandmother and they were corresponding with her at all times , she knew it was happening so I would say she had her belongings in her grandmother’s house .
When this young ladies mother was alive she used to spend a couple of nights a week in her grannies and the rest of the time at home with her mother. When her mother got sick she stayed with her all of the time. Before her mother passed her gran was diagnosed with a terminal illness and when her mam died she stayed with her granny to look after her while she was sick (and lets not forget this young girl has school and doing her leaving cert). Her grandmother is now dying and in the hospice. In February the council wrote to her and told her that because she was a minor they could not leave her in the house and that as it was a 3 bedroom house it was needed for a family. So it will probably be back to square one when her granny passes.
Free to live in abject poverty. God bless America. It bloody-well needs it.
Contemporary sociologists have a nice cuddly descriptive term for this type of non traditional family unit – “a blended family”. Its essential…mandatory even,to be non judgemental about such social constructs so i will say only…well done.
You know the sad thing about this.
In a decades time some angry feminist or rights group activist will accuse him of having had a privilieged white male existence.
And social media will believe them.
Ireland 5 to 10 years on ?
Land of the free, home of the brave. Shocking how those in most need are let down by society.
For the love of God tell me if I can donate to this family. I don’t have much but I will send what I have. I can’t comprehend what these people have been through. Is this America?
Yeah.
Obama’s America.
Democrat’s America.
thejournal.ie you are way to PC with what people want to say, shame on you.
Ah god she left the buying of his birthday cake til the middle of his birthday party. …..that’s a bit odd
If only the Patriarchy would come to this guy’s rescue
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