THE HEAD OF UTV Ireland has resigned.
Mary Curtis confirmed in a statement this afternoon that she has resigned her position.
“I was delighted to have the opportunity to be part of this new chapter in Irish television,” Curtis said.
I am very proud of what we have achieved – both in 2014 whilst setting up the channel and throughout our first year of broadcasting in 2015.
I am very lucky to have been surrounded by a highly talented and enthusiastic team in UTV Ireland and I wish everyone at the station every success in the coming years.
Curtis said that it had always been her intention to review her position once the channel had been on air for a year.
“We have succeeded in attracting more than 2.3 million viewers every week, which is a tremendous achievement for a new television channel,” she said.
Curtis was first appointed head of channel at UTV Ireland in April 2014, having previously worked with RTÉ in various roles for 20 years.
She will leave the channel in early February although a direct replacement seems unlikely at present. The station says that Michael Wilson, Managing Director of UTV Television, “will continue to work with UTV Ireland’s strong management team to ensure the channel continues to provide high quality programming for its growing audience”.
John McCann, Group Chief Executive of UTV Media plc said of Curtis that the station appreciates “her huge contribution to the channel and she will be very much missed by the team here”.
Ratings
From its inception UTV Ireland has struggled somewhat in the ratings wars with RTÉ and TV3.
In September it was announced that Pat Kenny’s In The Round programme would not be renewed, while last June UTV Media estimated that the station could be set to endure losses of €16.3 million.
The station launched a “new look” in mid-September in an effort to re-invigorate its brand.
Last May UTV Media released an interim results statement suggesting that the station has endured a ‘volatile’ time in its first three months of existence.
The station officially began broadcasting on 1 January 2015.
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