UTV Ireland wins public service status

Forthcoming channel UTV Ireland has been granted public service status and has signed numerous carriage deals.

The channel was deemed to have the “character of a public service” by communications minister Alex White, who granted the status under the Republic of Ireland’s Broadcasting Act 2009.

John McCann, group chief executive of UTV Media, said the decision represented a “major milestone in UTV Ireland’s short history.”

“This designation was important for the purposes of ensuring appropriate prominence for UTV Ireland on the various platforms, allowing us to offer Irish viewers an increased choice of high-quality content,” he said.

Meanwhile, carriage agreements have been reached with leading platform providers Saorview, Sky, UPC and eVision.

Northern Irish broadcaster UTV will launch its new station across the border in January, with offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick.

The fledgling net already has an agreement with UK commercial broadcaster ITV for exclusive rights to soaps such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale in Ireland, depriving TV3 of its flagship shows, and is also ramping up its content before its launch.