Last news broadcast from U105 today from Havelock House.
End of an era at UTV as the U105 radio news is broadcast from the Ormeau Rd for the final time. Good luck as they go their own way, one floor below the new UTV building at CQ2.
UTV had warmth and actually felt like they cared about their region. Shame that as now they are part of the ITV mix, all that has gone, never to return
UTV had warmth and actually felt like they cared about their region. Shame that as now they are part of the ITV mix, all that has gone, never to return
That went long before the takeover.
Did I give a time when I said it went? No. I just meant that with the takeover it was fully completed.
Well, what you said was "Shame that as
now
they are part of the ITV mix, all that has gone, never to return" and, like Denton I read it that way as well, i.e. sounded like you were saying that it's something that only happened since the takeover. Though let's be honest, we all knew it had gone long before the takeover was even rumoured!
MR
mr_vivian
It makes you wonder if they'll drop the Utv LIVE brand. I wonder if it might be Utv NEWS from June?
I'm surprised there's even any Utv branding in the new place because UTV has pretty much disappeared apart from the news.
It makes you wonder if they'll drop the Utv LIVE brand. I wonder if it might be Utv NEWS from June?
I'm surprised there's even any Utv branding in the new place because UTV has pretty much disappeared apart from the news.
ITV bought the name UTV under the deal, and UTV is important in Northern Ireland. Please remember, Northern Ireland is a totally different entity to the rest of ITV regional news. Northern Ireland is a very sensitive region. In 1996 the BBC dumped "Inside Ulster" and renamed it Newsline, as "Ulster" caused problems for them, as does Ulster mean 6 counties or 9 counties. Yes, these little things causes problems. They will keep UTV. I never see the day where it will be renamed ITV NI or simply ITV.
The "jump the shark" moment at UTV will depend on who you ask, really.
There's the whole autopilot during daytime and night-time from around 1999 onwards, the axing of Kelly, School Around the Corner etc. in 2005, the period when every ad break contained four or five ads for UTV's offshoot business ventures, the big round of redundancies in 2009 where most of the long-serving reporting staff moved on, the whole UTV Ireland fiasco and the fall-out... take your pick.
I think their move into Radio was a shrewd move, it’s just a pity that the company that used to be UTV plc (i.e. Wireless Group) didn’t stay locally owned for long.
