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NEW TV STATION UTV will be available on all the main platforms next year – including free-to-air service Saorview, despite its chief rival reportedly trying to block the move.
After its launch on January 1, UTV Ireland will be broadcast on Sky channel 116, UPC channel 110 and Eircom’s eVision channel 108.
And yesterday it was announced the new channel would also be available on the state-run Saorview platform after Communications Minister Alex White signed off on the deal.
The move came after it was ruled UTV Ireland was “a television service having the character of a public service”, which was necessary to give the new station access to Saorview. It is yet to be given a channel number.
The Irish Times previously reported UTV’s main rival, TV3, tried to block the new station getting on the free-to-air platform.
The existing channel argued its license meant it had to produce significant local content, while its new competitor had less restrictions, according to the newspaper. TV3 didn’t want to comment when contacted by TheJournal.ie.
Davy analyst John Stokes said getting a prominent position on Electronic Programming Guides (EPG) across all the platforms would be important for the new station to ensure it got easy access to Irish viewers.
A TV showdown looming
UTV has said it expects to make a loss of up to €3.7 million next year, but it hopes to shift into profit in the second half of the year once the new station has a strong foothold.
Even before launching, the new station had TV3 in its sights, taking the rights to UK soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
It has also signed big-name talent like Pat Kenny and has set a long-term goal of being Ireland’s second most-watched channel after RTÉ1.
eVision and UPC have both welcomed the new station to their stables, while UTV said its Saorview access was “a major milestone” in the channel’s short history.
UTV Media chief executive John McCann said: “I am delighted that we have now reached agreements with all platform providers and UTV Ireland will be universally available across the country.”
UTV Ireland, to be based in Dublin, will be doing test broadcasts this month before it goes live on New Year’s Day.
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Any chance we can have an indigenous channel that is not affiliated to any political parties?
Not a hope.Try .www.TRNN.com
God no, man the truth must be obscured at all costs.
dave cullen, to which political party is TV3 affiliated?
(Vincent Browne seems to favour the looney left)
Vincent Browne is about as neutral as you’re going to get on Irish media.
DM you’re a right wing fascist langer
BERTIE, thanks for your support!!
Or Fox TV
Hopefully this new station launches and nurtures new Irish talent.
We’ve a woeful selection anchoring the leading shows on RTE on ridiculous salaries.
Please not more shows about Travellers, cooking or TOWIE-lookalikes.
I think you’re right Pontius, it’ll be more morning/afternoon yak (“Look what Breeda is wearing doesn’t she look a million dollars”) and less news current affairs to begin with.
It’ll be more tortuous TV3-like crap, time-filling talentless morons presenting shows in pairs because they can’t be trusted on their own, used to fill the gaps between commercials and b-rated Australian and American crappy serials.
How did that gobs**te get on the television?
Hard luck tv3 good try, next time try Block rte the people’s propaganda channel
Great!!
I hope that they poach Turdidy.
And Sack Him.
Tubs? The one with the face made for radio? No thanks!
Face for radio, brain and voice for bottom rung opinion pieces.
I like Tv3 but UTV is going to blow them out of the water and that will be a shame
Welcome Dennis O’Brien into you living room.
Another Rabbitte gift to the eminence grise……a board place in due course!
Joseph,
what has Denis O’Brien to do with any of this? He doesn’t own TV3 or UTV.
David he owns Communicorp which provides services for a lot of UTV’s radio stations in Ireland (any that aren’t directly owned by him already that is) and also has a collaboration with TV3. Dennis O’Brien may not own any of them but you would need to be very naive to think that there’s no connection or conflict of interests in having no independent broadcaster in Ireland anymore.
So does that mean you only watch the non Irish channels and listen to all the non Irish radio stations and buy the non Irish papers and buy your petrol or diesel from a non Irish company. Great way to support the Irish economy and jobs.
It means – via Sky – live Irish TV will now be available in the UK.
A few weeks before RTE radio ceases to broadcast there, on 252.
Yes, no need now for VPN’s and the like anymore. Just switch on live Irish TV in the UK. And Sky Sports are already showing GAA games live there!
With RTE radio (252) going in January, it seems that RTE have decided to stop catering for our emigrants – as 252 is the only way I can listen to, say Joe Duffy, in the car when I’m in the UK.
Its great that UTV and Sky take a totally different view.
Try tunein app on any smart phone and you can still listen
Yes Armon – I have an internet radio too. Its just the the car radio won’t be able to get RTE from January.
After the government talking about catering for our emigrants earlier this year, it now seems RTE have abandoned them.
With Sky and UTV stepping up to the plate.
Have I missed something? I can’t see anywhere where it says UTV Ireland will be available in mainland UK. (I thought RTE was already available in Northern Ireland anyway?).
See ‘Sky Channel 116′…..
Sky Channel 116 doesn’t necessarily mean it will be available in the UK
RTE is broadcast on Sky but only in Ireland… it’s not available in mainland UK.
You cannot get access to RTE1,2,TV3 & TG4 if you cancel your sky subscription (you can get watch the BBCs, ITV1,2,3,4,Channel4, more4,E4, and a few others for FREE even if you cancel sky, Channel 101 will change to BBC on the skybox) UPC charge you for these channels even tho they are free to air. They have said broadcasting rights stop RTE going free to air.. BBC in England charge for a TV license but you pick all them English channels up for free here in Ireland. not the case with RTE!
Do people really expect a Long Wave transmitter to be maintained into the 21st century? Do you want a horse-and-cart lane on every motorway too?
Best thing I ever did was get saor view and freeview. Have about 200 stations and no big bills from Sky or UPC.
Only disadvantage is no sky sports and you cannot record.
We have it in 3 rooms and NO MORE BILLS.
If my Husband or I want to watch a particular match we go to the pud. Another plus!!
@Mary.. You can record from Saorview/freeview box on to an external hard drive, if there’s a usb port the back.. just need to connect via that.. :-)
Hands up if the only thing you watch on TV3 is VinB…thought so…
The problem with all this current affairs stuff is it isn’t really TV- it could be just on radio. Another sign TV has had its day perhaps..
Marko, your not wrong about vinb, but tv in general is not as enjoyable as it was. Apart from BBC the rate and length of advertising in general programming has ruined TV. RTE is totally biased and their attempts to put an anti Sinn Fein spin on so many stories makes them look as desperate and afraid as the main political parties.
Very disappointing from a national service provider.
I wonder will they show the Champions League games they show on ITV/UTV? Pain in the hoop missing them when you are with Sky.
You can get all UTV channels on sky in free channels , Google the codes
No need for codes, just go into “extra channels” in the Sky menus.
Bt Sport will have all the champions league in the UK from 2015. RTE keep their 1 game and Setanta get the rest in Ireland.
Pat Kenny
?
THEY SIGNED PAT KENNY?
Just for friendly matches though.
€160 for essentially 9 Channels when UTV Launches
£145 in the UK for over 60 Channels
For anyone who doest have Free to Air, Freeview SKY via a Dish or UPC that ridiculous.
Good man Pat.looking forward to listening to you.
Majority of programmes are rubbish,and this will be no different,anything worth watching is on pay per view
Wont watch any of it, mind numbing muck.
And the Journal isn’t????
Oh whoopdeedoo, another English tabloid channel packed to the gills with English soaps, English drama, English sport, English reality shows etc etc – the Anglo indoctrination continues apace.
It would be a great deal if they could recruit VinB for the heavy stuff. I certainly don’t want to lose him from the airways if TV3 goes under.
The prospect is distinctly underwhelming.
And their big secret weapon is…………Pat Kenny!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Pat the plank great,and more DOB control over what we read and listen too just great.
You can opt out, and not listen/watch/read any media you like.
The media rightly takes a bad rap, but give people the credit they deserve to listen/read from many sources and make their own minds up given the weight of evidence.
If someone is so easily swayed by imagery and soundbites, they haven’t a hope anyway.
I find it amazing that TV3 broadcasters can lecture everyone else on how competition is good and then TV3 try to stifle UTV
NIMBY strikes again
What about Saorsat…will it be available on Saorsat???
TV3 ‘s hypocrisy is irritating – it tries to block UTV Ireland from being on Saorview but it has the nerve to accuse RTÉ of having an unfair advantage.
Itv will not include any of the 26 Counties in the competitions such as X Factor even down to the weather forecasts they dont give it considering Rte Tv3 will . So is this going to change when this new comes on live?
116 in fairness is surprisingly quite a bit down on the EPG
That’s a bit rich.
The only TV station that shows more muck than UTV is TV3
To be fair UTV muck + Homegrown muck = TV3
At least the news here will what it is and not decive people like RTE and tv3
@Laurence
There is no news on TV3 at weekends and on bank holidays anyway.
Is it available on freeview in England?
I wouldn’t suppose anyone would know if the channel would be scrambles on satellite? I have a freesat reciever and would be nice to have the channel on that platform…
soon you will be able to watch?
Are UPC customers going to lose existing UTV channel together with it’s soccer coverage?
Hopefully there is more religious programmes been shown
have your say