»»New channels as »»But staff facing cut UTV Ireland is axed hit out over lost jobs
TV3 is set to pull the plug on UTV Ireland next month and will replace it with a “female-focussed” channel called be3 as part of its new three channel line-up.
The move sees around 90 full-time and freelance staff from UTV Ireland facing unemployment just weeks before Christmas.
Armed with a new channel and a new look on January 9 the Ballymount station will go head-to-head with RTE.
Bill Malone, TV3 Group Director of Programming, described the plans for the TV3 group of channels as “ambitious”. Speaking at the launch in Dublin yesterday he said: “It represents a historic shift in Irish broadcasting. TV3 is now a three channel business with distinctive brands.
“Our commitment to Irish programming is clearly evident – we are now an Irish broadcaster of scale.”
TV3 will remain the group’s flagship channel and will screen home-produced programmes including garda drama Red Rock, Gogglebox Ireland, currents affairs shows and the recently returned soaps, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
The new channel be3 will be more “female focussed”, featuring a range of acquired programmes as part of its deal with ITV studios such as Midsomer Murders, Loose Women and Benidorm, along with children’s shows.
3e will show the likes of Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother, as well as aftershows including The Xtra Factor and Get Me Out Of Here, along with the Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross chat shows.
News across all three channels will be provided by 3 News Ireland, which launches on January 9.
TV3’S owner Virgin Media acquired cash-strapped UTV Ireland for €10million in July and confirmed redundancies may be unavoidable.
In a statement, TV3 said it is looking to fill 40 vacancies, which would be open to the existing 61 staff of UTV Ireland.
But employees there yesterday accused TV3 of glossing over the facts.
One member, who wished to stay anonymous, told the Irish Mirror: “What they didn’t say was there are actually an extra 35 freelance and contract staff who have no options at all and also that the 41 positions are available to not only those in UTV Ireland being made redundant, but also to staff in TV3 and Virgin Media. “Also most positions are in sales and digital/online, there are no reporter positions, studio tech positions or library and graphics. “There are seven camera operators but only two jobs and these look to be filled in TV3. “They also listed two correspondent posts, crime and business, which are very specific and automatically cut out other correspondents. “There are no positions for regional offices which means the Galway, Cork and Limerick offices will close.”
Commenting on the UTV Ireland staff complaint, Anna-maria Barry from Virgin Media said: “We are in a consultation process with staff at UTV Ireland and until that is completed we won’t be commenting further.”