Startup station Irish TV is set to be beamed into nearly half of Irish homes

A NEW DEAL between Irish TV and Soarview will see the Mayo-based broadcasting company added to the free-to-air national digital television service.

The move will see Irish TV, which was launched in 2014 by Pierce O’Reilly and Mairéad Ni Mhaoilchiaráin, grow its reach to nearly half of all homes in the Republic.

At the moment, 676,000 households around the country use a Saorview box for television services.

Speaking about the announcement, Irish TV chief executive Pierce O’Reilly said that the deal means the channel now features on the two biggest television platforms in the country.

He added that the rollout of Irish TV on Saorview will be finalised in the coming months as the station is still in the process of doing tests with the free-to-air service.

At the moment the channel, which is targeted at the Irish diaspora, is available in Ireland on the Sky, Eir and free satellite platforms, and is also available in the US.

The announcement was made at the launch of the station’s autumn schedule.

The company also revealed that from October, Irish TV will provide on-the-go access to its broadcast feed to viewers worldwide using tech developed by Indian conglomerate Tata.

The deal with Tata means Irish TV will be available on smart TVs and devices running Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android system.

Mairead Ni Mhaoilchiarain and Pierce O'Reilly

What it takes

The multimillionaire behind Irish TV, John Griffin, previously told Fora that he will pump as much cash as it takes into the station to ensure it is a success. To date, he has already dedicated €15 million to the company.

“I’ll put in what it takes, I’m in now and that’s it. What it takes is what it takes,” Griffin told Fora.

“The thing that struck me was Irish TV. The history of television in Ireland is the reduced aspirations of the people that get involved in it, they call themselves small names that don’t talk big. Irish TV is big.”

John Griffin

Original programming

At the autumn launch, Irish TV announced that the station will be producing 480 hours of original programming. 

One show set to air on the station is Are We There Yet, a challenge-based road trip production starring Coronation Street’s Charlie Dawson and former former Emmerdale actor Daniel Coll, who will try and travel around Ireland with no cash.

Another production lined up is a five-part series that follows young Irish entrepreneurs that have made it big in the US, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary on the Rose of Tralee.