The Late Late Gay Byrne Irish Television Thread

I'm trying to find the link now. I remember it said UTV Ireland's deal was for the ITV Studios Global Entertainment which didn't include the live daytime shows that had to be bought in a separate deal, hence why GMB didn't start on the channel till after its launch. It said the live deal wasn't included in the sale to TV3.

Even if that was the case, it was only GMB that wasn't aired from day one. Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women all aired from 5th January 2015, the first Monday after the holidays ended.

And if what you're saying is true, we will know very quickly, as all of these shows will have to be pulled on the day the sale closes if they aren't included in any sale to TV3.

I always figured the decision not to show Good Morning Britain in the early days was more down to the awkwardness of having a station called UTV Ireland where the breakfast show had that name.

Of course, a lot of people were somewhat pee-d off in Ireland that they'd lost access to actual UTV from Northern Ireland, so it wouldn't surprise me if the intent from there was to make the station as close to its counterpart as possible - including that show.

RTE had announced yesterday evening that they are to outsource programming for young people by opening it up to the independent sector. Commitment & spending on RTE's production on young people's programming to the independent sector will not be reduced during this period.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/rte-to-outsource-young-peoples-tv-programming-765550.html

That was exactly my feeling too - that the decision not to show GMB - particularly when they were showing joined-at-the-hip show Lorraine - was purely down to not wanting a show with the word "Britain" in the title and the precieved connotations. From what I could tell, when they did decide to show GMB - a month or so after they started broadcasting - the implication was that they could have shown it from day one if they had wanted.

The strangest acquisition that UTV Ireland did was Sesame Street - completely baffles me as to why they decided to acquire it

You know when all is said and done ITV made the right decision not keeping UTV Ireland. Let Virgin Media build up the losses instead. TV3 and UTV Ireland lost almost 40 million between them in 2015. The Stations appear to be the 21st Century version of Victorian follies.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/tv3-losses-widened-to-17m-last-year-1.2880595

The decision to launch UTV Ireland in the first place must go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Irish broadcasting in recent years.

Thats a shame - he seemed like a good guy....
Wonder if they will bring in anyone from UTV Ireland to replace him - can't see that somehow

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/soaps-back-at-tv3-as-head-of-news-and-programming-departs-1.2878116

There's actually a lot of competition for that title. There was the mistake that TV3 made playing hardball with ITV and looking for a reduction on how much they paid for Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Had they paid the going market rate (which was profitable for all parties) UTV Ireland could never have launched. There's the Irish TV Channel (Sky 191) who have losses of 8.7 million and are likely to go into liquidation in 3 months time. That station was built on a fantasy which was funded by a Multi Millionaire that had dreams of an Ireland that has never existed.

Let's not even start on RTE, who run their stations in a bizarre manner with millions and millions wasted on Star talent. Pat Kenny being the obvious example here, he left but the audience stayed. I would think the same thing would happen with several other well paid RTE Stars.

The actual decision to Launch UTV Ireland was probably a good one. They did increase UTV market Share in the republic from 3 percent to almost 7%. However, every choice they made from that point on was mad. From the naming of the station to the presentation, the lack of Irish programmes at times when they would have done well. Hiring Pat Kenny and an actual commitment to News which they spent a fortune on, was a very good product but no one watched.

Fair points, plus the lack of weekend news, and any vague understanding of the type of schedule that would appeal to the Irish viewer.

You're right about both, but to list all UTV Ireland/Irish Broadcasters mistakes would take a very long time.