TV3 Launches 2011 Autumn Schedule: The No.1 Channel for Entertainment

For further information:
Maureen Catterson
TV3 PRESS OFFICE
+353 1 419 3430 / 087 7800737
maureen.catterson@tv3.ie
publicity@tv3.ie

TV3 PRESS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE: Thursday 18th August 2011

The biggest entertainment programmes nightly throughout the Autumn

230 hours of new home-produced peak-time programming led by Ireland’s most talented presenters

TV3 the only channel in Ireland to experience share growth for the past 3 years in a row

TV3 today announced its 2011 Autumn Line Up at a launch in the Royal College of Physicians, Kildare Street. Programming Director, Ben Frow, revealed details of TV3’s autumn schedule which is dominated by entertainment. Four nights a week have juggernaut entertainment shows including Alan Hughes’ Family Fortunes; Mastermind Ireland; Come Dine With Me Ireland; Celebrity Come Dine With Me Ireland and Deception with Keith Barry.

Simon Cowell’s new blockbuster Red or Black will be presented live by Ant and Dec across seven nights, and we will see the return of Take Me Out, hosted by Ray Foley. Also, there’s not much longer to wait until the return of The Apprentice and The X Factor, and the launch of The X Factor US.

New Irish reality entertainment is led by four home productions Tallafornia, Tearaway Teen to Beauty Queen, Celebrity Salon 3 and Southside Housewives. New drama this autumn includes four part series Titanic (which was co-produced by TV3), Prime Suspect, and new series of Downton Abbey, Glee and Spartacus.

The schedule sees TV3 extend its commitment to Irish programming with 230 hours of new home-produced peak-time programming, and 80 hours of brand new and original primetime entertainment. TV3’s production unit has undertaken some hard-hitting home-produced documentaries and factual programming which includes The Irish of 9/11, The Hospice, Paul Connelly Investigates, Anatomy of a Car Crash, Challenging God, 24 Hours to Kill and The Day the Germans Bombed Dublin.

The documentary line up is led by the three-part explosive story of The Rise and Fall of Fianna Fáil narrated by Ursula Halligan, and Sex Lives, a series of films that look at sex and the illegal sex industry in Ireland today. On a lighter note, there’s a fresh line-up of features in the schedule like Hen Parties, Paddies in Paradise, Give Adele a Bell, Strictly Irish Dancing, Ireland’s Disco Kids, Dejunk Your Life and Ireland’s Top Teens.

The autumn schedule is led by TV3’s most diverse and skilled range of presenters. Established broadcasters like Vincent Browne, Colette Fitzpatrick, Alan Hughes, Ursula Halligan, Karen Koster, Graham Norton, Alan Cantwell, Matt Cooper, Louis Walsh, Adele King and Bill Cullen are joined by up and coming presenters and investigative journalists including Dyane Connor, Paul Connelly, Ciara Doherty, Nora Owen, Anton Savage, Lisa Fitzpatrick, Stuart O’Keefe, Ray Foley, Glenda Gilson and Andrea Hayes.

The autumn schedule is building on TV3’s unparalleled share growth of recent years – TV3 is the only channel in Ireland to grow its audience share in each of the past 3 years. TV3 is watched by more people in the State than the main UK channels combined (BBC1, 2 and UTV), and has a 45% higher share than RTÉ2. TV3 is now the most-watched channel in daytime for Adults under 45 (ahead of RTÉ1), while 3e has become the most watched digital channel in Ireland, ahead of the 200+ available digital channels.

Commenting on the launch today, David McRedmond CEO of TV3 said: “TV3 can now claim to be the number one channel for entertainment. We are the only channel in Ireland to have grown each year for the past three years, outstripping all our UK and Irish rivals and catching up with RTÉ 1 in younger demographics. We are building a new studio facility to accelerate our growth in home production, and investing in our brand and people for the long-term. When systemic issues in the ad market are finally addressed by regulators we will see the true potential of TV3 to become a great Irish success story. “

TV3’s Director of Programming, Ben Frow said: “TV3 is no longer the underdog, it is now right up there with its competitors as a real and credible alternative for Irish viewers. TV3’s focus remains firmly fixed on entertainment. This autumn, TV3 will again be the place to escape to for fun and feel good distraction. Old favourites and familiar faces are back along with a raft of new and exciting programmes – programmes that will challenge, surprise, inspire and bring a new dimension to the traditional.”

ENDS

Photographs taken at the launch are available from Brian McEvoy Photography 086 2509393 or brian@picturesinpublicity.com.

For more information on all the above programming and more please contact Maureen Catterson on +353 1 419 3430 / 087 780 0737 or email publicity@tv3.ie.

Notes to Editor

Ratings source: Nielsen
Data is based on Adults 15+ Jan-July 2011 Live Share of Viewing unless otherwise stated.
Daytime defined as Monday to Sunday 0600-1759

Entertainment

• TV3 and 3e have all of the X Factor bases are covered with a fresh new judging panel on The X Factor and the arrival of the eagerly awaited X Factor US. Caroline Flack and Olly Murs present The Xtra Factor this year, while The X Factor Uncut brings us the American shows in all their glory.

• If Ray Foley thought finding dates for thirty flirty females was going to be easy, he knows better this time around in Take Me Out Ireland.

• One of the longest running game shows on television, Family Fortunes, has finally made it to Ireland and Alan Hughes takes the reigns.

• Simon Cowell’s latest venture is an epic one: to give away £7 million to 7 people over 7 nights of live TV in Red or Black?

• Celebrities perform on the world’s slippiest stage when Dancing on Ice returns to TV3.

• Expect lewdness, rudeness and crudeness in the style only Graham can get away with in The Graham Norton Show.

• Ant & Dec introduce us to amateur singers, dancers, comedians, magicians, ventriloquists and novelty acts before they face the judges who will decide their fate in Britain’s Got Talent.

• Reading people, implanting thoughts, predicting behaviour and hacking into the subconscious – that’s Deception with Keith Barry.

• TV3’s very own Nora Owen takes on the mantle made famous by Magnus Magnusson as one of the world’s most iconic quiz shows, Mastermind, comes to Irish TV.

Reality

• Get ready for the best season of The Apprentice yet because this year, Bill means business. TV3 brings you The Apprentice, The Apprentice: You’re Fired with Anton Savage and The Apprentice: Behind the Scenes to guarantee you won’t miss a second of the action from the boardroom to the bedrooms!

• The award-winning series is back with a whole new bunch of celebrities about to be dumped in the middle of the Australian jungle in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

• Four hot West Dublin boys and four fabulous West Dublin girls spend four weeks living, eating, sleeping, working and partying together – and TV3 cameras will be there to catch all of the action in Tallafornia.

• Celebrity Salon is back for a third series and beauty veteran Elaine Butler-Doolin is armed with more weird and wonderful beauty treatments for the celebrities to get to grips with.

• Or panel will have an hour to interview three job applicants for a real job in the real world. See who can hold their nerve in Interview Live!

• Tearaway Teen to Beauty Queen sees a group of Irish teenage terrors and tomboys transform into polite and proper beauty queens.

• Our Southside Housewives are more Yummy Mummy than Irish Mammy, and we get a glimpse into their fabulous recession-free lives.

Sport

• For the first time, TV3 will be live at Croke Park on both All Ireland Final days, for exclusive live broadcasts of the GAA All-Ireland Minor Hurling and Football Finals.

• The UEFA Champions League kicks off again this autumn with live coverage of the pick of Tuesday nights’ matches on TV3.

• The Road to Bucharest 2012 kicks off on 3e this September in The UEFA Europa League.

Drama

• We’re promised fist-clenching duets, heart wrenching solos and feel-good group numbers in all new Glee.

• Prime Suspect is the re-imagining of the British television hit, starring Maria Bello as the tough-as nails detective who doesn’t know when to quit.

• Wild at Heart picks up where it left off, while The Royal takes its final bow.

• Coronation Street and Emmerdale remain staples in TV3’s evening entertainment for soap lovers.

• The eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed Downton Abbey returns to TV3 and there’s an extra treat for aristocratic fans with Downton Abbey: Behind the Scenes.

• Get ready for vengeance and vendettas in all new Spartacus, while Iain Glen is also an unlikely hero in the return of Jack Taylor.

• In 2012, TV3, ITV and other international broadcasters will join forces to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s ill-fated maiden voyage in the epic drama, Titanic.

• Law & Order: SVU delves into the dark side of the New York underworld as the detectives of an elite force investigate various sexually oriented crimes.

Documentary

• It’s not just about looking pretty for The Last of the Beauty Queens -these rural Irish ladies are not your stereotypical pageant girls.

• Nobody knows exactly how many Irish people were lost on 9/11, but we hear just a few of their stories in The Irish of 9/11.

• Ursula Halligan charts The Rise and Fall of Fianna Fail, and we remember another tough political time for the country in The Day the Germans Bombed Dublin.

• TV3 goes on a journey with some of Ireland’s families as some say goodbye in the heart breaking Hospice, some welcome new arrivals in 11 kids under 12, some set off on an adventure in Paddies in Paradise, while others are in living hell in The Estate.

• Paul Connelly takes TV3 on an eye opening journey under the radar in Sex Season which features exposes on Irelands Sex Tourists, Ireland’s Secret Sexual Habits and Irish Vice Girls.

Specials

• Award season kicks off on TV3 with The Irish TV Now Awards 2012 and the British Soap Awards 2012, and Karen Koster awards some of Irelands Top Teens in Dublin’s Helix.

• Ireland’s Rich List 2011– Who’s Lost Most and TV Moments of the Year take a look back on the events of a tough, but memorable 2011.

• Michael Buble, Beyonce and Dolly Parton will all appear in your living room in TV3 specials this autumn/winter.

• The Corrie Years takes a nostalgic look at some of the best loved storylines from the 50 year history of Coronation Street.

Factual

• Criminal Court Report, Paul Connolly Investigates, 24 Hours to Kill, Ireland’s Most Shocking True Crime, and Inside the Mind of a Murderer set the tone for TV3’s investigative content this autumn.

• Challenging God, presented by Vincent Browne, challenges the assumptions of religions and the power of religious beliefs and myths.

• Too Much Too Young, presented by TV3’s Ciara Doherty, examines the exploitation of young children in Ireland today.

• Hosted by Gay Byrne, Anatomy of a Car Crash is an alarming documentary that reveals the reality of road traffic collisions.

• The Animal A&E Investigates team reveal some disturbing never-before-seen images and stories as they examine animal cruelty in Ireland.

• The Customer is Always Right looks at a broad range of consumer issues in Ireland, investigates what we are doing right and where we are going wrong in our search for the best value.

• Banged Up Abroad tells the true stories of unsuspecting travellers who embarked on what they thought would be fun-filled holidays, only to barely make it home alive.

• On a lighter factual note, there’s plenty to be learned by members of both sexes in Sex Tips for Girls. And Hen Nights follows Irish brides and a group of their best friends as they let loose and say goodbye to singledom in true tradition.

Features

• Following the huge success of the first series in Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Dublin and Galway, Come Dine With Me Ireland continues to take the country by storm – even some familiar faces get in on the action in Celebrity Come Dine With Me.

• Temple Street Children’s Hospital is back to inspire us to count our blessings this autumn, and we witness a very special visit to the hospital in a Temple Street Christmas Special.

• Self-help is a theme this autumn; Twink is the ultimate agony aunt in Give Adele a Bell, while Lisa Fitzpatrick is a retail guru in Shopping S.O.S. De-Junk Your Life also sets out to change the lives of compulsive hoarders.

• TV3 follow young Irish dancers as they chase their ultimate dream in Strictly Irish Dancing and follows the fortunes and failures of three dance schools across Ireland in Ireland’s Disco Kids.

• Layers of orange make-up and charcoal eyeliner are removed to reveal the naturally pretty girls hiding beneath in Slapped On? Stripped Off!

• Ireland’s Dream Debs presents a fresh and honest insight to the rush, excitement and drama that comes with an Irish teen’s debs.

• Become a fly on the wall, backstage at the world’s greatest chat show in Oprah: Behind the Scenes.

• Stuart invites TV3 into his kitchen to see how he serves up what has become his speciality - simple and traditional Irish food, with a little taste of Hollywood in Stuart’s Kitchen.

• Join Andrea Hayes and the team as they travel across the country in Animal A&E on the Road.