After officially launching on January 1st, UTV Ireland are set to roll out their news and current affairs programming, as ‘Ireland Live’ and ‘Ireland Live at 10’ broadcast for the first time on UTV Ireland tonight.
‘Ireland Live’, UTV Ireland’s early-evening news programme anchored by Alison Comyn, will broadcast every weekday from 6.30pm to 7pm – delivering breaking news from across the country.
‘Ireland Live at 10’, co-anchored by Alison Comyn and Chris Donoghue, will deliver the most relevant breaking news updates, in-depth analysis and debate on the topics and events shaping the nation. Both programmes will broadcast live from UTV Ireland’s state-of-the-art HD studios in Dublin’s Docklands.
Alison Comyn said: ‘Since joining UTV Ireland in August, we have been building a strong and competitive news service for the channel. We have a fantastic team who have been working hard to create a fresh approach to news programming and we are all excited and ready for our first broadcast tomorrow evening.’
Chris Donoghue said: ‘Ireland Live News will be an alternative to existing television news services in Ireland and it is great to be part of something new and unique. We are all itching to get on air and I look forward to making my television news broadcasting debut tomorrow night.’
Alison Comyn joined UTV Ireland having presented numerous current affairs and entertainment programmes in the UK and Ireland, across RTÉ, BBC, Sky News and Channel 4. Chris Donoghue, who joined UTV Ireland in October, began his broadcasting career as a reporter with INN, where he moved to Newstalk in 2004. In August 2010, he became the youngest prime-time presenter on Irish radio, when he began presenting the station’s breakfast show.
Mary Curtis, Head of Channel at UTV Ireland, said: ‘We have invested significantly in our news and current affairs service and tomorrow evening, Ireland Live News will aim to offer viewers contemporary news and current affairs programming, from a highly experienced team. Over the past number of months, we have recruited some of the best journalists and news production staff in the Irish broadcasting industry and we have established news teams and bureaux across the country, to ensure a nationwide service. The news team have been working behind the scenes to create Ireland Live and we believe it will offer an excellent alternative for Irish audiences.’
Marcus Lehnen, UTV Ireland’s Head of News, said: ‘We will be broadcasting breaking news and developments from across the country, as well as international coverage, when Ireland Live launches tomorrow. In addition to Alison and Chris, we have an exceptional team of reporters, video journalists, online journalists, editors and production staff – all of whom bring a vast range of experience to their roles.’
UTV Ireland is available on Sky channel 116, Saorview channel 6, UPC channel 110 and eVision channel 108. UTV Ireland also offers a catch-up service on www.utv.ie and on the UTV Ireland Player, available to download on all smart devices.
