Channel 6 ?

falteringstar

Whats happening with Channel 6 the supposed new Irish channel? I havent heard anything in a while?

Elmo

Should start up sometime in the New Year.

Licence given by the BCI. (Kind of?! )

Charles Slane

The last I read about it was that the funding was happening more slowly than expected....

Take from that what you will.

Hopefully they make it to air, if only to make the eventual possibility of an Irish terrestrial digital service a possiblity (RTE1, RTE2, TV3, TG4, Setanta Sports, Sky News Ireland, City Channel and Channel 6 - all for free? It might just work).

Antenna

Charles Slane wrote:

Setanta Sports, Sky News Ireland,

Setanta Sports, as it is, is a paid for channel (by either the viewer as an ad on, or in NTL's case by the provider to make it part of the basic package) so surely it won't be on any Freeview DTT type service here?

And apart from RTE, the BCI would not allow services not regulated by them to be on DTT? - which would include Sky News Ireland?

Mossy Monk

if non regulated BCI channels were banned from going on DTT in Ireland, it would fail, simple as. any service not carrying the 4 terrestrials from the UK would find it extremely hard imo, especially when it has limited channels. Sky got away with it as it already has a strong brand name

Elmo

if non regulated BCI channels were banned from going on DTT in Ireland, it would fail, simple as. any service not carrying the 4 terrestrials from the UK would find it extremely hard imo

Ireland will have to go digital regardless, so that failure won't be a factor.

With 80% of the Home in Ireland with Cable/Sat I am sure that Sky and NTL:Chrous would not be happy to see BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4 or even five go FTA in Ireland.

The british channels have a major competitive advantage as they a possible 50,000,000 viewers to reach.

RTE, TV3 and TG4 are all finding it difficult to compete with these weathy stations.

I don't see why Setanta would not want to go FTA since they prob would like to get coverage of certain sporting events that must be FTA. I can imagine that Setanta will be available on Chorus basic when the Take Over of NTL is concluded.

Each DTT channel will be available on Cable.

father_ted9t9

Channel 6 will begin early in the new year. Premises and staff are curently being sorted out and it is defo going ahead! If i get any more info i will post here.

Charles Slane

Looks like good news for the future of Channel 6. From today's Sunday Times -

"GOWAN GROUP, one of the country’s biggest motor distributors, and Barry’s Tea in Cork have emerged as backers of Channel Six, a new entertainment channel that will launch early next year.

Michael Murphy and Pat Donnelly, the station’s founders, are understood to have closed a €12m fundraising and are now pressing ahead with recruitment and programme buying.

The lead backer in the fundraising is ACT Venture Capital, an Irish group headed by Niall Carroll, which provided close to half the equity. Delta Partners, another Irish venture capital firm, is also a substantial backer. Gowan Group, Barry’s Tea, Murphy, who is a former TV3 executive, and Donnelly, former head of Aegis Media, have all taken smaller shareholdings. The funding was organised by IBI Corporate Finance.

Gowan Group is owned by members of the Maughan family and holds the Peugeot and Citroën franchises. It is also involved in the wholesale distribution of domestic appliances and kitchen fittings. Barry’s Tea was established in 1901 and is chaired by Peter Barry, a former Fine Gael government minister.

Channel Six, which will operate under a licence from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, is planning a mix of music, comedy, movies and general entertainment programmes."

bungeecork

Why channel 6?
Where is Irish channel 5?

Round Cable

Some claim that Setanta Sports hold the title of Irelands' fifth channel.

JohnC.

Is this channel still going to be broadcast from the UK? If it is, maybe there was a problem there with them already having a "Five."

I can't believe Setanta has anything to do with it.

Round Cable

They got a BCI Irish licence, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Elmo

But then TnaG was Irelands 3rd Channel.

The don't actually have a licence from the BCI, they have one if they can get backers. I am trying to think of the work the BCI used but cann't.

Perhaps some one has already set up a company taking the name TV5, Channel 5, 5 in Ireland already. Perhaps Setanta registered it before them.