The Newsroom

Northern Ireland news thread

(July 2006)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
SC
SCBNI
Some news about UTV Live's ratings:

Quote:
UTV LIVE ENJOYS DRAMATIC RISE IN AUDIENCE

UTV Live is enjoying a dramatic rise in audience figures thanks to the remodelling of the programme in late August.

UTV Live, which is broadcast each weekday between 5.30pm and 6.00pm has shown audience growth of 21% in volume terms for September and October 2006, compared to the same period in 2005. And for the same period, the volume growth for BBC1 Northern Ireland was just 7%.

Michael Wilson, Head of Television at UTV, said: “UTV Live is regional programming at its best! I am delighted with the dramatic increase in audience over the past two months and huge congratulations go to everyone involved. It really does show how much our viewers appreciate the work that’s gone into the redesigning of the programme.”

This improvement rolled into October with UTV Live at 5.30pm delivering an average of 85,000 viewers with an audience share of 22.4%. This is against a network average in this timeslot of 10.2%. And UTV Live at Six has also shown an increase in October 2006 to 36.9%, compared with 35.7% in October 2005.

This performance completely bucks the trend of all other ITV regions (which have broadcast network programming) and against its competitors, UTV took year-on-year share from Channel 5 and multi-channel. Demographically, the largest growth in viewers has come from ABC1 adults and men.

UTV Live, weekdays at 5.30pm on UTV.
CO
Colm
Ah, but they are acknowledging that Newsline is gaining ground...

I would have thought that a combination of wooden/irritating presenters, inconsistent graphics and THAT sofa would have driven viewers away - but maybe it's sort of a Crossroads effect...
MA
marksi
It's an entirely meaningless statement.

Audiences are lower in the summer as people are out more doing other things.

I could read the figures to say that they lost more viewers in the summer than Newsline did.
PE
peterrocket Founding member
It's just standard UTV publicity rubbish. They'll be sending one out praising their Christmas schedule saying it's the home for Christmas or other "your family christmas" kind of nonsense.

Still, at least BBC Newsline will be on air over Christmas.
CO
Colm
Come to think of it, without School Choir of the Year or School Around the Corner, there won't be as much locally produced Christmas shows on UTV this year... unless we get another Gerry and Lulu's New Year's Eve Party style show Shocked

Just caught up on last week's UTV Lives online...

Tuesday: Why was Fearghal McKinney reporting from Belfast about events which took place in a coroner's court over 80 miles away? Paul also missed the cue out of that report, and had to clear his throat quickly.

Wednesday: Did UTV really show a trail for Heartbeat tonight at 8.00 during the UTV Live break? Good use of Hard-Fi's "Hard to Beat" on Neil's Glentoran report.

Thursday: What was the deal with Kate and Paul exchanging alternate lines when introducing the Budget DIY report? Are they picking up tricks from the other ITV regions? You could see the time code bar on many reports on the internet feed on this edition. Nice sudden end to Mark McFadden's report too.

Friday: Couldn't UTV get their hands on something better to use in their report on HIV/AIDS than that horrible 1987 "Don't Die of Ignorance" PIF? But well done to UTV for leading on the story on World AIDS Day. And I see that Paul and Kate cocked up the link into the ITV News sting/sport... not sure if Darren Clarke, Neil Brittain or Thomas Niblock had the scruffier haircut during the sports news Smile Thought it was hard to hear some of the MOTP interviewed by Niall Donnelly's report about what irritates men - great ending to it though, at least Paul and Kate tried a bit of banter out of it too.

Also, were there a shortage of reporters at UTV last week? Paul was on reporting duty as well as hosting for a couple of days, and Alison filed a report on Thursday.

And it seems like this week's part of the longest relaunch is played the UTV Live music sting over the headline recap before the ITV Evening "Nooz" sting.
CO
Colm
Poor Graham Little - being lumbered with interviewing Cliff Richard tomorrow on UTV Live (yes, lagging one day after Newsline...), I'm sure he'd rather be reporting on something sport related...

Oh dear, another attempt at the Kate and Paul Comedy Show gone wrong coming out of the report on keeping wild animals as pets Very Happy And Gary trying to muscle in on the act at the end of sport - are UTV chasing ratings by chucking in a few jokes to keep the audience rolling in the aisles?

Now it's been happening for a week, I think UTV Live's use of a headline round-up, followed by the ITV News sting, works well - even if the idea has been ripped off from BBC Newsline Wink
PE
peterrocket Founding member
Col posted:
Come to think of it, without School Choir of the Year or School Around the Corner, there won't be as much locally produced Christmas shows on UTV this year... unless we get another Gerry and Lulu's New Year's Eve Party style show Shocked


I heard a rumour it's a tie in with George Jone's showbands programme, since U105 now sponsor it, but dunno how true this is

Quote:

Friday: Couldn't UTV get their hands on something better to use in their report on HIV/AIDS than that horrible 1987 "Don't Die of Ignorance" PIF? But well done to UTV for leading on the story on World AIDS Day.


So did BBC Newsline going on HIV and also general STDs too - they also used the PIF in a bit of the headline sequence / report.
CO
Colm
Peter:
"I heard a rumour it's a tie in with George Jone's showbands programme, since U105 now sponsor it, but dunno how true this is"

Pale Silent
PE
peterrocket Founding member
Well - it couldn't be any worse than the Gerry and Lulu nonsense that went out last year!

I remember once they did a pre-rec'd new year show, that was late on air, so it was midnight at about 12.10.... and this didn't just happen once!
CO
Colm
Was someone trying to make Susie Millar look like a Smurf on her report on UTV Live on Tuesday night? She has been getting some rough treatment lately by whoever edits her reports.

Laughed at the fact Jamie Delargy almost said there were 20,000 immigrants coming to live in Northern Ireland from East Belfast Laughing

Paul Clark's daily wooden-ness and Frank Mitchell's daily smug-ness is really starting to infuriate me... are they really the things that make UTV Live more popular than BBC Newsline?

Onto Newsline, and does anyone know where was Micheal Harron being interviewed in the two-way with Noel? The CSO backdrop looked like a blurred version of a newsroom - but not the familar shot of the BBC NI newsroom.
PE
peterrocket Founding member
Col posted:

Onto Newsline, and does anyone know where was Micheal Harron being interviewed in the two-way with Noel? The CSO backdrop looked like a blurred version of a newsroom - but not the familar shot of the BBC NI newsroom.


It wasn't Belfast - I think it was London...
CO
Colm
On tonight's UTV Live, the lead story about the death of the young student in Portavogie was only covered with a 30 second telephone conversation with the principal of the dead boy's school.

Followed by three lengthy reports from the Greater Belfast area.

A bit weak and definitely biased towards Belfast I think - I imagine that Newsline had two OBs from outside the capital tonight and I've yet to watch it...

Newer posts