The UTV Ireland Thread

JP Liz V1

TV3 will have less airtime to fill with popular soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale returning

http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepage/7214727/Xpose-TV3-plans-revamp.html

Go Harvey Go

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

TV3 will have less airtime to fill with popular soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale returning

http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepage/7214727/Xpose-TV3-plans-revamp.html

...I'd wait until it was officially confirmed.

I'm sorry, I just don't trust the Sun.

Go Harvey Go

Now it has been officially confirmed.

http://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1122/833564-tv3-confirms-return-of-coronation-street-and-emmerdale/

But they're remaining tight-lipped as regards UTV Ireland's future. Surely it cannot survive in its current state now that its only big shows are going?

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

Now it has been officially confirmed.

http://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1122/833564-tv3-confirms-return-of-coronation-street-and-emmerdale/

But they're remaining tight-lipped as regards UTV Ireland's future. Surely it cannot survive in its current state now that its only big shows are going?

I think UTV Ireland will be re-branded at some point in the not too distant future and simply become a 3e type station.

Gonzo

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

Now it has been officially confirmed.

http://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1122/833564-tv3-confirms-return-of-coronation-street-and-emmerdale/

But they're remaining tight-lipped as regards UTV Ireland's future. Surely it cannot survive in its current state now that its only big shows are going?

only a matter of time before it gets closed down. Or move 3e to UTV Irelands slot and broadcast it in HD.

DivingDuck

Here's hoping we can get UTV proper back at some point soon.

iseegirls

DivingDuck wrote: »

Here's hoping we can get UTV proper back at some point soon.

Don't think that will ever happen on Virgin Media.

jimmyw

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

Now it has been officially confirmed.

http://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1122/833564-tv3-confirms-return-of-coronation-street-and-emmerdale/

But they're remaining tight-lipped as regards UTV Ireland's future. Surely it cannot survive in its current state now that its only big shows are going?

How ridiculous, the two stations are going to show them together AT THE SAME TIME! Whats the point in that? I thought TV3 could not afford the two shows when they had them, and now with the takeover they can??......!!

I think UTV Ireland is doomed........maybe not??

Skid X

jimmyw wrote: »

How ridiculous, the two stations are going to show them together AT THE SAME TIME! Whats the point in that?

It's only for a few weeks while they bombard people with messages to "turn over to 3" or something.

Quite a good idea, might save some wailing on Liveline who would otherwise be missing their soaps.

icdg

Not even a few weeks - just two days.

JP Liz V1

TV3 are set to launch a new channel to replace UTV Ireland in early 2017.

The news comes just weeks after Virgin Media acquired the station.

The channel will be replaced as be3, which will be launched on January 9, according to Independent.ie.

lertsnim

And it will be for women and children.

Dr. Nick

So what's to stop UTV/ITV being put on the Sky EPG now? And what happens VM cable customers, do they get UTV back?

lertsnim

Dr. Nick wrote: »

So what's to stop UTV/ITV being put on the Sky EPG now? And what happens VM cable customers, do they get UTV back?

TV3 can stop it appearing on Sky as they own the rights to most of what ITV shows again.

Virgin Media will not be reintroducing UTV from Northern Ireland. It would be rather stupid to include a competitor that shows the same programming that TV3 have on their channels. Virgin Media and TV3 are both owned by the same parent company these days.

Go Harvey Go

Collating what has been reported: be3 will broadcast the likes of Loose Women and Midsomer Murders, offer a second chance to see Corrie and Emmerdale, broadcast two half-hour news bulletins every weekday evening, and take over responsibility for 3Kids.

So it'll be both different and the same, then.

What happens to this thread when the new channel launches, I wonder?

Radio5

Feel sorry for those who will lose their jobs as a result of the shakeup. Not everyone from UTV Ireland will be employed in this new channel.

What drove me mad about TV3 and UTV Irel. is the seemingly endless range of repeat British entertainment shows hosted by Phillip Schofield/Vernon Kay/Holly Willoughby etc. I recently saw a Celebrity Mr and Mrs with Brian McFadden and Vogue as a couple......

If the new merged channels mean less of this filler rubbish then that may be a positive.

lertsnim

Radio5 wrote: »

If the new merged channels mean less of this filler rubbish then that may be a positive.

Don't count on it. TV3 love the "celebrity" editions of those ITV shows.

nice_guy80

be3 is aimed at women?

right, rule out half of the viewing public before you even start up
what idiot thought of that!!

Go Harvey Go

nice_guy80 wrote: »

be3 is aimed at women?

right, rule out half of the viewing public before you even start up
what idiot thought of that!!

It'll be for little boys and little girls too...

Mr.Nice Guy

So like the mythical Hydra, one awful beastly head gets struck down yet more emerge.

This whole episode has been a travesty for viewers losing an inoffensive, often pleasant channel in UTV (classic) that offered sport and entertainment programmes that would be of interest to Irish viewers, coupled with a window into NI - now only provided via BBC NI. And all that has been pissed away so we can get TV3 and TV Treacle aka be3 aka Hello Magazine: the telly version. Let me guess the schedule: some programmes about making over homes, a travel programme, something about Hollywood where they obsess about skinny actresses, etc. Set those DVRs!

Go Harvey Go

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

This whole episode has been a travesty for viewers losing an inoffensive, often pleasant channel in UTV (classic) that offered sport and entertainment programmes that would be of interest to Irish viewers, coupled with a window into NI - now only provided via BBC NI.

And it has cost UTV Media everything.

Had they accepted that there was no real need for them to set up a channel specifically for ROI viewers, then UTV NI would almost certainly still be independent and everyone on the island would still be able to watch Julian Simmons introducing Coronation Street with "But now on the UTV..."

Also their radio stations wouldn't be owned by a certain 85-year-old Australian billionaire tyrant.

They had it all, we had it all. But they just weren't satisfied - and everyone has suffered as a result. (Except for ITV plc and the aforementioned billionaire tyrant, of course.)

The Rape of Lucretia

nice_guy80 wrote: »

be3 is aimed at women?

right, rule out half of the viewing public before you even start up
what idiot thought of that!!

But they've got that covered. The idea seems to be be3 for women, with soaps, gossip chatshows, reality show repeats, and general who's-shagging-who lightweight fluff, and then 3 News Ireland, with current affairs, politics, and serious programmes for the men.

ofcork

Has the 7 o clock show been taken off air because of the takeover.

jimmyw

ofcork wrote: »

Has the 7 o clock show been taken off air because of the takeover.

No, its moved to 6 o clock instead because of corrie moving back.

Vic_08

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

And it has cost UTV Media everything.

Had they accepted that there was no real need for them to set up a channel specifically for ROI viewers, then UTV NI would almost certainly still be independent and everyone on the island would still be able to watch Julian Simmons introducing Coronation Street with "But now on the UTV..."

Also their radio stations wouldn't be owned by a certain 85-year-old Australian billionaire tyrant.

They had it all, we had it all. But they just weren't satisfied - and everyone has suffered as a result. (Except for ITV plc and the aforementioned billionaire tyrant, of course.)

I assume the UTV shareholders got a nice payout from the sales, after all in the corporate world that is all that matters anyway.

serfboard

Vic_08 wrote: »

I assume the UTV shareholders got a nice payout from the sales

I wouldn't have thought so - UTV lost many millions in the sale so I would expect that that would have negatively effected any dividend - and presumably the share price if it's quoted on the stock exchange.

AugustusMinimus

The funny thing is that a lot of the less intelligent viewers still can't tell the difference between UTV and UTV Ireland.

It is these people who will lose the plot when UTV Ireland gets removed from Virgin Media.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

The new channel sounds abysmal, not to mention patronising to women.

Go Harvey Go

And so we come to UTV Ireland's last day.

And it's perhaps even less surprising than the Pope being Catholic that they're just going through the motions. Their final five programmes, from 7pm until 1am, are The Chase, Midsomer Murders, Holiday Horrors: Caught on Camera, The Chase and The Chase...

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

I see UTV are screening a new series of Endeavour tonight, while here in Ireland we're getting an old episode of Midsomer Murders [sigh]

AMKC

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

And so we come to UTV Ireland's last day.

And it's perhaps even less surprising than the Pope being Catholic that they're just going through the motions. Their final five programmes, from 7pm until 1am, are The Chase, Midsomer Murders, Holiday Horrors: Caught on Camera, The Chase and The Chase...

Tell me about its terrible its like they just don,t care.

I watched "Ireland Live" on Friday being as it was there last ever news bulletin you would think they would at least thank all the viewers that have watched it maybe from them and the news team they had but nope nothing zilch just ended it like every other one as if all was normal and they would be back again on Monday.
I watched it (there news that is) whenever I could but not always as there was times the signal for that channel in my area is just terrible.

Go Harvey Go

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Well, wherever you heard that from, it was wrong...

Midsomer Murders is on now - and the "YOU TV" idents are still in use, too.

Channel branding has been absent from the trailers for the last few days, however.

Harry Palmr

UTV Ireland will end transmission tonight and me having not watched a single programme on it.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Go Harvey Go

Harry Palmr wrote: »

UTV Ireland will end transmission tonight and me having not watched a single programme on it.

Not even Bradley Walsh's quiz?! :eek:

Harry Palmr

Sure if I wanted to watch the Chase I'd do so on ITV London.

Go Harvey Go

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Sure if I wanted to watch the Chase I'd do so on ITV London.

Fair enough...

Mr.Nice Guy

Is there even one person in the country that will miss this station? I doubt it. Such a shame that we lost the old UTV for this abomination.

Cazale

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Is there even one person in the country that will miss this station? I doubt it. Such a shame that we lost the old UTV for this abomination.

Most of it will be on tv3 or this new station anyway.

Kristopherus

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Is there even one person in the country that will miss this station? I doubt it. Such a shame that we lost the old UTV for this abomination.

Be careful what you wish for. We don't even know what is going to be transmitted on Be3

Skid X

Their news team did a decent job, professional up to the final bulletin (on Friday).

The staff were let down by Management who failed to realise the importance of programming. Not securing the rights to some big ITV shows, not bothering to show new episodes they did have the rights to, throwing Jeremy Kyle repeats into every available slot etc. Not nearly good enough in the digital era.

ITV/UTV is badly missed from Virgin Media, not expecting much from Be3.

Go Harvey Go

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Is there even one person in the country that will miss this station? I doubt it. Such a shame that we lost the old UTV for this abomination.

I certainly won't miss it, anyway.

Losing UTV NI also meant losing ITV Nightscreen. It may be no more expensive than the American infomercials that UTV Ireland have filled the small hours with - but it's still better than them, because of its soundtracks...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6w_3qF8Syo

lertsnim

Kristopherus wrote: »

Be careful what you wish for. We don't even know what is going to be transmitted on Be3

Sure we do. The schedules are out with a couple of weeks now. There is nothing at all on there that I will watch. I watched The Chase on UTV Ireland sometimes but now that is moved to 1pm on TV3. Utter stupidity from TV3 but then again anything else from them would surprise me.

Skid X

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

Losing UTV NI also meant losing ITV Nightscreen. It may be no more expensive than the American infomercials that UTV Ireland have filled the small hours with - but it's still better than them, because of its soundtracks...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6w_3qF8Syo

I think that still pops up on ITV3 for a little bit most nights.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Is there even one person in the country that will miss this station? I doubt it. Such a shame that we lost the old UTV for this abomination.

I will miss being able to record GMB on Sky!

fryup

fryup wrote: »

it'll be closed in a year ala sky news ireland

mark my words

was nearly right, :cool:

pinkypinky

Does this mean there's a faint hope of getting real UTV back though?

It's never been on the Sky EPG. I'm bummed about having to miss the new Endeavour tonight.

lertsnim

pinkypinky wrote: »

Does this mean there's a faint hope of getting real UTV back though?

It's never been on the Sky EPG. I'm bummed about having to miss the new Endeavour tonight.

Virgin Media owns TV3 and they own the rights to all of those shows now and they aren't going to allow a competitor on their platform.

Go Harvey Go

And that is that.

A standard, pre-recorded announcement into the final programme - then, after that ended, a trailer for a show airing on TV3, one final "YOU TV" ident without an announcement of any kind, and a plain green holding slide.

Then a loop of trailers with the Be3 logo in the top right corner.

Can't say I was sad or surprised...