29 March 2024 The Irish Film & Television Network
     
Michael Wilson UTV
2015-01-16 :
With a January 1st launch that proved to be a baptism of fire, UTV Ireland has a mountain to climb. “We have a channel and audience to build,” UTV and UTV Ireland’s Managing Director Michael Wilson tells IFTN’s Paul Byrne.

PAUL BYRNE: Launching a new station takes time, effort and a truckload of money - the competition is fierce, and the choice for viewers grows by the day, much of it now through the interweb. Which means UTV Ireland always had a mountain to climb - can you see the top yet?

MICHAEL WILSON: The launch of any new business provides many challenges. The first two weeks of UTV Ireland have surpassed our expectations. With a little over a year to bring the project to air, our operational teams have done a first class job to launch without any technical hitches, our news has been praised by the critics (no mean feat), and the audience for our channel is growing. We have been the second most watched channel in Ireland, in peak time, on a number of nights to date. We know that we have a channel and audience to build, but we are delighted with how things have started.

For some, TV is going through a golden age, with the rise and rise of the HBO-style widescreen series - such as Game Of Thrones and Breaking Bad - sitting neatly alongside traditional panto favourites (such as Mrs Brown’s Boys and Miranda) and the new staple, reality TV. Does it feel like a golden age to you?

I think this is a hugely important period for UTV as a channel and a business. Its the largest investment by UTV in television since we launched in 1959. UTV in Northern Ireland has exceptionally successful programming – both network and locally made and commissioned. Our aim is to emulate that success with UTV Ireland. It is certainly a golden age for UTV and for our teams across our bases – launching a new channel is something they will remember for the rest of their careers.

UTV Ireland is aiming to be the second-biggest channel in the country, after RTE - so, sell me on how that might happen?

We have popular programming, high profile positions on all platforms and a very credible and high quality news service. As I said, we have a channel and audience to build and once audiences become familiar with our schedule, we believe they will stay. We are seeing early signs of this already.

TV3’s director of content, Jeff Ford, has said they’re aiming to overtake RTE as the most popular station in the country, and if they continue to try their hands at making more quality shows such as Red Rock - a major hit with audiences and critics since debuting at the beginning of the month - they might just achieve that goal. Do you feel the key to UTV Ireland’s success will be homegrown productions? 37% for TV3 last year; they’re aiming for 50% this year...

UTV Ireland's stated aim is to bring more choice to the Irish market. In turn, that benefits the viewer and that’s what making television is all about. Our programming will be acquired, commissioned and made in house. We expect success to come from all of these programme strands. Of course Irish content is important and series like Rare Breed have already appeared in daily top ten most watched lists. We are working with a number of production companies to bring more domestic content to air.

From a distance, your launch night on New Year’s Day seems pretty close to a baptism of fire - disappointing viewing figures, angry Batman fans, etc - how was it for you?

UTV Ireland always planned to launch with Emmerdale and Pat's programme and that appeared in listings from more than two weeks out. I think it is also important to note that this is the first time a national broadcaster has launched in the age of social media. Yes, it is a great asset as it gives us a direct link to some of our viewers, but it has also been used as way of gauging the overall national reaction. We have received a huge amount of messages of support via email and phone and we are grateful to those who have taken the time to do so. I think we have now begun to get the message out there that UTV and UTV Ireland are different channels with some different programming. I've been involved in three start-ups so far, and this has been the most successful when compared against the operational plan.

The launch party, Out With The Old - In With The U, had an average audience of 73,000, or 3.9% of all television viewers. What sort of figures had you been hoping for?

I never speculate on figures. Our launch night was in the middle of a holiday period where people and television schedules are out of routine. We were not at all disappointed with the figures for Pat's programme, and indeed it was a totally new venture for him as a broadcaster. It worked well for us as a statement of intent.

We always considered Monday 5th January as our first proper day of broadcasting. That is, of course, when Ireland Live news launched. That day we were the second most watched channel in peak time in Ireland. Not bad in my view for a channel only 5 days old at that point.

What’s more important to you - programme quality or viewing figure quantity?

You can have both – and I strongly believe that. UTV Live in Northern Ireland is both high quality and attracts a high audience. In time we aim to have the same success with Ireland Live, but viewers habits take time to change and it is up to us to help them along the way. Our new programme Rare Breed is a high quality ob-doc and it delivered an impressive critical reaction and volume of viewers.

Finally, what are your TV fixes right now, the shows you simply can’t miss?

Mr Selfridge series 3, the brand new series, kicks off on UTV Ireland, on Sunday 25th January. I can’t wait. It is a first class original drama. I also have Elementary and The Blacklist in the Sky+ and when I find time, I think they are both fabulous. I'm also a news fan and along with UTV Live and Ireland Live, I normally watch a cross section of two or three other national/international programmes across an evening.





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