With UTV Ireland officially launching on January 1st, 2015 - An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, T.D. has officially opened the channels’ brand new HD studios and headquarters, at Macken House, Dublin 1.
IFTN reported in July signed a contract with Brehon Capital Partners to secure the entire ground floor of Macken House which was transformed into the new channel’s broadcast centre.’
John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc, said: ‘Today’s official opening by An Taoiseach marks a very proud moment in our company’s history. Over the past year, our team has been working frantically behind the scenes to prepare the channel for launch, on New Year’s Day.’
He continued: ‘We have commissioned programmes, we have negotiated carriage deals with major platform providers, we’ve built a transmission infrastructure, we’ve set up satellite studios in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Derry and Belfast and we’ve fitted out our new headquarters with the latest HD studio and media technology. With three weeks until UTV Ireland launches, I would like to thank An Taoiseach for taking the time to officially open our Dublin headquarters today, and our staff for their dedication to ensuring UTV Ireland offers Irish viewers a fresh new viewing experience in 2015.’
Roisin Brennan, Chairperson of UTV Ireland, added: ‘Whilst UTV Ireland may be the newest entrant to the broadcasting market, UTV as a company is no stranger to Irish audiences. Our sister channel UTV was the first ever commercial broadcaster in Ireland when it launched 55 years ago and we own market leading radio stations in Cork, Limerick, Louth and Dublin as well as our Dublin-based digital agency, Simply Zesty. We are entering the market with that strength and experience behind us and, with UTV Ireland being universally available on all key platforms we look forward to launching the channel with an extensive marketing campaign in the coming weeks.’
Earlier this month, UTV Ireland was designated as ‘having the character of a public service’ under Section 130 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Alex White, TD. Following
The construction of UTV Ireland’s headquarters and HD studios was recorded in time-lapse. To see the journey, from beginning to completion, follow this link. For further information on UTV Ireland, visit www.utv.ie.