Who will take the TV3 share now up for grabs, and will they be able to wean it off its diet of reality shows and soaps, asks Shane Hegarty
In the beginning, there was the marketing-speak. TV3 promised that its viewers would have the "psychographical make-up of affluent acquirers, liberal sophisticates, young aspirers and comfy full-nesters". If TV3's programmes were half as imaginative as its press releases, it would change the face of Irish broadcasting.
When it hit the air in September 1998, there was a sense that TV3 would represent the new Ireland; that it would reflect the youth and dynamism of a country that suddenly had "affluent acquirers, liberal sophisticates, young aspirers and comfy full-nesters" where previously it had only had "viewers". Most of all, it would finally challenge the RTÉ monopoly, shaking up a dusty institution and offering the public a choice long denied them.
Seven years on, though, and what does TV3 stand for? Choice? So much of its programmes are simulcasts with ITV that it could just have easily been called ITV3.
Irish-made programmes? It has hardly made its reputation with them. Its top 20 programmes are regularly dominated by a handful of imports.
Modern Ireland? During TV3's time on air, RTÉ has been a giant awakening from its slumber, delivering some first-rate drama, comedy and documentaries that reflect the country that funds it. TG4 not only spearheaded a resurgence in the Irish language, but fashioned cheap but effective programmes from youthful presenters and film-makers. All the while, TV3 - with a steady diet of Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Heartbeat - seems to have had more to say about the daily lives of ordinary north of England folk than it does that of a viewer in Donegal or Waterford.
On one level it has undoubtedly been successful. It is more popular than RTÉ2 and last year posted its first pre-tax profit. TV3 started out with the aim of winning 6 per cent of the market, but now has more than 11 per cent. It gives us news quite different from the RTÉ approach and a weatherman who always out-winks Gerald Fleming. It has award-winning presenters. And, in introducing Gráinne Seoige to the wider world, it helped a generation of young men to suddenly develop an interest in current affairs.
All of this came back into focus this week with the decision by Canadian television company CanWest Global to sell its 45 per cent share in the Irish station. It insists that is doing so purely in an effort to reduce its debts and sell off non-strategic assets, and the recent profitability of TV3 would seem to scotch any notion of it bailing out of an ailing business. There has been much speculation as to who might want a stake estimated to be worth about €90 million, with UTV and Setanta both mentioned. Granada Media, a subsidiary of ITV, which also owns 45 per cent, will have first refusal. The remaining 10 per cent is owned by the members of the original TV3 consortium which bid for the licence: accountant Ossie Kilkenny; U2's manager Paul McGuinness; and the man credited with dragging TV3 to the screens, chairman of Windmill Lane Pictures James Morris. Just as in its early days, the future of TV3 is once again of importance to the future of Irish television.
The station was born only after a protracted, tortuous labour. The TV3 consortium was awarded that licence in 1989, but lost it again in 1991, by which time Morris claimed £6 million had already been sunk into the project. Only a lengthy court case won it back.
It was all systems go, it seemed; and yet it was several years before it appeared on the screen, during which time UTV emerged and then withdrew as a potential investor and CanWest bought in.
Meanwhile, Morris promised that the new station would have "as much home-produced programming as is possible". It was that home-produced programming, he insisted, which would make it stand out from its competitors.
TV3 was finally launched at 5.30pm on September 20th 1998. Its first programme was This Is TV3, a half-hour-long trailer for the station.
Then there was the much-anticipated six o'clock news, touted as a sexy alternative to the stuffy RTÉ news. A comedy/travel programme, Messrs Tylak and Rooney, followed. Then its current affairs show 20/20 interviewed President Mary McAleese while its late-night sports show featured an interview with another dear leader, Roy Keane. It was an impressive line-up, heavily biased towards home-made programming. That emphasis on Irishness has rarely been repeated since.
THE STATION QUICKLY developed a reputation for its reliance on imports. It never pretended otherwise but, with a heavy rotation of US dramas and daytime talk shows, it was more like a local version of Sky One. Meanwhile, RTÉ was suddenly finding its feet. Compelled by law to commission independent companies, it discovered vibrant new voices, and it would later receive a timely licence-fee hike, but the arrival of a competitor forced the national broadcaster to justify itself. Network 2 was revamped, and later became RTÉ2 once again.
In 2000, British media giant Granada bought 45 per cent of TV3, and its influence was quickly obvious when Coronation Street and Emmerdale were pinched from RTÉ. The station was deluged with ITV programmes including I'm A Celebrity . . ., X-Factor, Hell's Kitchen and, more recently, Soapstar Superstar. The imported American dramas and sitcoms are still there, but for several years TV3 has had a broad Lancashire accent.
It has always insisted that, contrary to some reports, it pays a premium for these programmes regardless of its link with Granada.
When TV3 first broadcast, Ireland seemed to be on the cusp of a digital revolution and there was a sense that TV3 would need to be strong to survive in an increasingly fragmented market. The revolution was never televised, and TV3 benefited from the quirks of the digital age as ITV remained unavailable to many Irish viewers who were still receiving four channels through their aerial, or whose Sky dish couldn't receive ITV until recently.
Its Irish programming seemed to consist largely of news bulletins, Champions League football and three hours a day of Ireland AM. With TV3 finally turning a profit there is the hope it will begin to have more success with home programming.
And yet, looking back at TV3's efforts since 1998, there is a weak pattern of ambition that might not be immediately obvious on scanning the weekly TV listings. It has tried a sports quiz, comedy, reality television and movie shows. It aired League of Ireland soccer and gave David McWilliams his TV break with Agenda. There have been occasional documentaries, and TV3 has also invested in some feature films, most obviously an acclaimed Bloody Sunday drama. It brought Hector Ó hEochagáin and Risteard Cooper's Lions tour adventure to the screen at Christmas, and Brendan Courtney is currently hosting a weekly chat show.
It twice tried to make a television host of Dunphy, first with The Weakest Link (dubbed "The Meekest Link" for Dunphy's refusal to play pantomime villain) and then with his ultimately doomed attempt to take on the ultimate RTÉ institution, The Late Late Show.
ITS GREATEST PROBLEM, however, is how to sustain success. The news bulletins - in which showbiz features as prominently as the newscasters' hairdos - may contrast with RTÉ's, but it has seldom broken stories. That Ireland AM manages to fill three hours of live television every day is a minor miracle, but it is tucked away at breakfast time. Its football coverage has none of the punch of RTÉ's team. And, as was the case with The Dunphy Show, its biggest splashes have usually been accompanied by the crashing of the programme.
For its part, TV3 has vociferously complained about the inequalities inherent in the Irish market. The Competition Authority has investigated and rejected TV3's complaints that RTÉ uses licence fee revenue to keep down advertising rates. It has also argued that rules dictating how much current affairs it must show impose unnecessary costs. TV3 is also sore about losing the rights to 2006/07 UEFA Champions League matches to RTÉ and digital sports channel Setanta.
"Instead of using this funding for Irish programming, it is using taxpayers' money to buy programming that would otherwise be provided for free by TV3 and others. This sheer waste of public money is breathtaking," said a company statement.
What's more, it will soon have greater competition with the imminent arrival of Channel Six. Headed by former TV3 executive Michael Murphy, it will also rely heavily on imported programmes meaning that it will either give TV3 a run for its money or suddenly make TV3 look like BBC2.
TV3 appears strong enough to survive, but will it prosper? Its new owners will have something to say about that, but ultimately the public cares far less for what it reads in the business pages. It's what's on the box that really matters.
The TV3 File
What is it? Ireland's first independent national television station, launched in 1998.
Why is it in the news? CanWest is selling its 45 per cent stake in the station, leading to much speculation over the station's future direction.
Most appealing characteristic: Its relentless chirpiness, even when advertising the most tepid of American imports.
Least appealing characteristic: Because of all the simulcasts, if you already have ITV, then TV3 often seems somewhat unnecessary.
Most likely to show: I'm A Celebrity X-Factor Contestant In Hell's Kitchen, Get Me Out of Here!
Least likely to show: The farming news. As Gaeilge.