EU Referendum

The few seconds from the end of the sting music from the ITV Debate with Cameron & Farage during the ad breaks sounds very similar to the current theme used for RTE News in a much quicker tempo than what RTE provide themselves.

If you're referring to the theme tune it's the same one they've used for all of their debates since the first in 2010.

Update on schedules for Referendum night:

BBC One
21:55 Thu - 13:00 Fri: EU Referendum - The Result (listings show breaks at 6:00 and 9:00)

BBC Two
No Newsnight on Thursday.
Usual BBC One morning programmes are on BBC Two on Friday so no Victoria Derbyshire.
13:45-15:00 Fri: BBC News Special
22:30-23:15 Fri: Newsnight (extended for a Friday edition)

ITV
22:00 Thu - 6:00 Fri: ITV News Special - Referendum Result Live
6:00-8:30 Fri: Good Morning Britain
9:25-10:30 Fri: EU Referendum Results
22:00-23:00: ITV News at Ten (extended)

Channel 4
19:00-20:00 Fri: Channel 4 News (extended for a Friday edition)

I take it that will change if a Leave vote appears?

I don't think it'll change for a leave vote, it would be more likely to change for a remain vote, probably no need then for all the extensions and extra programmes after 9am.

No it's much more likely to change for a Leave vote. That would be huge and would lead to open-enders, especially as I suspect there will be calls for Cameron to resign.

If it's the vote results in 'leave' on top, I'd be surprised if the networks didn't plan the weekend schedules like they do after general elections - ready to go into full breaking news moment at any moment (I.e. to cover Cameron announcing intention to stand down, Nigel Farage deporting himself only to return three days later, Jeremy Corbyn being spotted in a shopping Center somewhere...etc.).

Then there the Scottish element - all eyes on Nicola Sturgeon regarding a new referendum on Scottish Independence. It could also be the catalyst for a Labour leadership challenge... A vote to leave carries a lot of uncertainties from a news perspective.

A vote to remain presumably means they'll repeat the same information over and over again, mixed with interviews with frustrated MPs criticising the way both campaigns operated, until Huw Edwards has given up the will to live. I'm very firmly in favour of remaining, but a vote to leave has far more exciting implications for news coverage.

I'd be very surprised if it's not like the Scottish referendum, where the plan was that if it was a vote to leave the coverage would go open-ended for hours and hours. With a vote to remain, things went more or less as scheduled, although I recall BBC Scotland had more coverage scheduled for the afternoon which they left early because there was nothing left to say and then quickly went back to when Alex Salmond resigned.

So you might get a few odds and ends of breaking news during the day with a remain vote, but it's with a leave vote that the schedule would be pretty much ripped up.

Yes, but that's for the news channels, not a referendum results programme, because the implications go way beyond that remit. Once the final declarations have been made, or the result is known, then we should round things up and end the programmes and if that means it ends at 9am on a Friday morning, then fair enough. The implications beyond the result, that's the territory of the news channels.

Admittedly, David Cameron's future after that result will be probably the biggest thing that weekend, with the Scottish question coming in a close second, but again, that's news channel territory, and not something the referendum results programme shouldn't be concerned about.

I think the broadcasters are preparing for the leave result to be the actual one, and if it isn't well, lots of filler programmes will probably come out of the woodwork.

I can't see this referendum being the end of it. As both campaigns have been criticised for misleading voters with dodgy statistics and claims to some extent I can imagine whichever side loses going to court to challenge the validity of the result. Probably announced soon after the result is confirmed, which should give the open ended coverage something to talk about.

I think you're really underestimating how big that decision is. If we leave, there will be huge ramifications. As the pound plummets, Cameron's under immense pressure, Sturgeon calls for another Scottish referendum and the stock markets go crazy, do you really expect to see Escape to the Country and Judge Rinder on the main channels?

I can certainly tell you that on ITV, that schedule is what will happen if we Remain. There won't be filler programmes.

Will reporting restrictions be in place on the day of the referendum, as per the General Election?

I can't remember what happened on the day of the Scottish referendum.