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MAYO DIGITAL TV start-up Irish TV will launch its full content schedule next Tuesday, targeting the Irish diaspora with original and syndicated content.
However, it could have worked out differently for husband and wife team Pierce and Mairead O’Reilly, who founded the company in 2011, were it not for a meeting in a London pub with London multi-millionaire John Griffin.
The O’Reillys had managed to raises some venture capital, and had backing from Enterprise Ireland, but the cupboard was bare when Pierce went to London around a year ago to drum up funds for the company.
Rock bottom
“We were at rock bottom with a great project”, Mairead O’Reilly told TheJournal.ie. ”We sent Pierce over with only a few bob in his pocket and he met (Griffin) in a bar through a mutual friend.”
The next day he had a cheque for €50,000…we all cried that night.
Griffin, who has roots in Mayo and previously appeared on the British TV show The Secret Millionaire, sold his minicab company Addison Lee for £300 million last year to private equity player Carlyle Capital.
He’s since made good on the initial investment, providing the lion’s share of a €15 million investment into the company in preparation for a fully fledged assault on the Irish diaspora market.
Irish TV will officially launch on Sky TV next week, although it has been broadcasting since May. The company employs 30 people based in Westport, and has used a further 96 freelancers to make content for the channel.
The channel’s flagship programme will be 32 weekly half hour slots, one for news and features from each county in Ireland. On top of this, Irish TV is in talks with national broadcasters about syndicating content.
It is also understood to be in negotiations with UPC, which could open up more European markets for the channel. Next year the O’Reillys hope to expand into America and has opened up talks with the major networks there.
It was announced today that the company has secured a licence – essentially a broadcasting permit – from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, enabling it to continue broadcasting from its base here.
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John Griffin seems to be more useful than the big egos on Dragons Den!
With Euro15 million they’ve obviously got a much better chance of really making a go of it….. assuming they don’t blow it on hiring overpaid RTE presenters!
Pat Kenny expresses delight at new Mayo Digital TV slot…
Well done them, but why broadcast on sky
Broadcasting on sky to reach the Irish abroad obviously
Hmm. With news available instantly for free online, I can’t imagine many people will be tuning in once a week to watch news from their county. Can’t see how this will make any money. Have never heard of any irish friends here in London watch anything from Ireland when here, bar sport. The only thing that will make money IS Irish sport and don’t Sky have the rights to all that?
Well at least they have an idea and with the investment someone obviously sees a big opportunity. You are not living abroad so who are you to comment on the future of this venture?
I am living abroad. I wouldn’t want to watch any of the rubbish RTE make. And I don’t know a single Irish person here who would either. almost everyone on here complains about RTE output, so I am not sure why anyone would think there’s a market for it abroad. There is no irish programming worthy of syndication. Sport – that’s what Irish people abroad want. Not Ryan Tubridy talking to twink on the late late show.
It’s not a news channel. I imagine that they will be doing less “entertainment” type programs than RTÉ, and more in-depth looks at cultural events etc… that would only get minor coverage elsewhere. Another aspect they could cover would be local ex-pat communities in the various Irish destinations.
But this is not RTE is it? It’s an Irish channel, im sure there are many people like no abroad who would welcome this no? And with sky and UPC showing it then obviously their marketing team obviously thinking the same? It’s something different to come out of Ireland, they worked there arses off and now looks like they have a damn good chance of a decent enough start. I’m surprised people aren’t happy about this and automatically compare it to a national propaganda channel. The same channel who think this year it’s a good idea to spend our taxpayers money to send some gombeen to America to see how Amish people live
Best of luck to them. And I do think it is a good idea – just not in 2014. In the years I’ve lived in London I’ve never once had any desire to watch anything from RTE or TV three – and it does say they’d want to syndicate Irish TV. I think the whole idea portrays an image of Irish people abroad that doesn’t exist anymore. We don’t spend our time in Irish pubs nursing a pint of Guinness, dying for news from the home county. Don’t mean to be negative but just can’t see how it’s going to work. There used to be Tara TV in the UK. That didn’t survive.
What about people who decided to venture further than London and who actually can really say they live abroad?
I imagine they also have no interest. Come on. Beach in Australia? Or shite Irish TV. And it would seem their first target market is the UK, so if they can’t get through to these us who ‘don’t really live abroad’ they have no hope
For a possible US market, people here are giving up on cable tv in the truck loads. If I was asked to invest $20 in a tv channel here I wouldnt do it.
Online streaming is a market they should be aiming for. Base the company in a country with no international streaming ban. Immediately your broadcasting to every member of the Irish diaspora.
@ L Connors, I couldnt agree more. Im living abroad since 2008, and apart from trying every which way to watch gaa/rugby back home, I have zero interest in irish programming.
They have been online streaming since it started up in 2011.
I think its a great venture, over a period of time they will be able to fine tune their content, but image the local teams now getting to display their skills to family who have left the area, not all parts of Ireland have broadband that’s good enough for Skype. Add to that scouting events, village fairs… etc
I’ve watched a couple of shows on irish tv recently all really poor to be honest
I was excited few yrs back when rte was going be available here in England but then recession hit and rte pulled the plug on that idea.
And they say drinkings bad for you
Will not work, if anybody was that sad and desperate to watch Irish programmes they could just buy a sling box, simples.
P
Who’s Ryan Tubridy? Gwan Twink ye fine thing!
Yeah that type of investment helps us all to grow. Cavan Television have provided 6 live Web TV programmes every week for the past 3 years with very little support. Brian Daly Executive Producer Cavan Television
Good TV station country music from Ireland the us Europe go for it
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