Bubble Hits
Encyclopedia
Bubble Hits was an Irish
-owned digital television
music channel owned by Creative Sounds. It broadcast two channels; one for Ireland
and a Pan-Europe
an feed which covered the United Kingdom
, Hungary
, Poland
and Germany
. On 13 February 2009, Bubble Hits went off air and was removed from most of the TV EPGs. The websites, including the official one and social networking versions on MySpace
and Bebo
were also removed. The closure of the channel was due to the current downturn in advertising revenue..
, Ireland at the Creative Sounds studios . The channel was broadcast free-to-air
, therefore viewers did not need to have a Sky subscription to view it. Despite being Irish-owned, it was not licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) but instead by the UK's Ofcom
to "Creative Sounds UK", who are based in Northchapel
. This is not unusual amongst Irish channels, as well as those from other countries with restrictive broadcasting legislation, such as Sweden
. The decision may also have been due to BCI's requirements that a significant percentage of programming must be Irish-produced.
) launched on Sky Digital
, UPC Ireland
, Smart
, Magnet Networks
, SCTV
on Monday 19 May 2008. With specific programming and advertising, the schedule featured more localised content including music videos, music shows, chart shows and entertainment news specific to the Republic of Ireland & it was also localised by Irish advertisements.
bubble hits Ireland closed on the same day as the uk version
on Eurobird 1
in Ireland, Germany, Poland, Hungary and other parts of Europe. The channel was localised with UK advertisements.
on 19 May 2008. On 13 February 2009 the channel ceased transmission.
The pair were listed as 27th richest under 30 year olds in Ireland in a TV show entitled, "Young, Irish and Wealthy" broadcast on 28 December 2008 on national Irish television station RTE One
. However, there has been some discussion and debate as to the accuracy of the list.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
-owned digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
music channel owned by Creative Sounds. It broadcast two channels; one for Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and a Pan-Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an feed which covered the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. On 13 February 2009, Bubble Hits went off air and was removed from most of the TV EPGs. The websites, including the official one and social networking versions on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
were also removed. The closure of the channel was due to the current downturn in advertising revenue..
Location
Bubble Hits studios were located in Ashbourne, County MeathAshbourne, County Meath
Ashbourne, historically called Killeglan or Kildeglan , is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 20 km north of Dublin city centre and is bypassed by the M2 motorway.-History:...
, Ireland at the Creative Sounds studios . The channel was broadcast free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
, therefore viewers did not need to have a Sky subscription to view it. Despite being Irish-owned, it was not licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) but instead by the UK's Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
to "Creative Sounds UK", who are based in Northchapel
Northchapel
Northchapel is a village and civil parish in Chichester District in West Sussex, England.It stands on the A283 road just south of the Surrey border, around 9 km north of Petworth....
. This is not unusual amongst Irish channels, as well as those from other countries with restrictive broadcasting legislation, such as Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The decision may also have been due to BCI's requirements that a significant percentage of programming must be Irish-produced.
Advertising
Originally Bubble Hits claimed to be Europe’s only music channel without adverts. By February 2007, the channel started carrying adverts. Adverts usually lasted 60 seconds and appeared after 3 song intervals. The station promised to be no more than 60 seconds away from the next song. Commercial breaks appeared to consist of only two advertisements. This was a unique approach to advertising amongst channels within Europe.Bubble Hits (Ireland)
A specific Bubble Hits channel for the Irish market (Bubble Hits IrelandBubble Hits Ireland
Bubble Hits Ireland was an Irish owned digital television music channel operated by Creative Sounds. Bubble Hits Ireland aim to be a much-needed platform for Irish bands and artists to showcase their music alongside the current programming and music structure of Bubble Hits. It was the first ever...
) launched on Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
, UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
, Smart
Smart Telecom
Smart Telecom is an Irish telecom operator that started as a phone card seller. It is also the third largest provider of cost-sensitive telecom services sector in Ireland, behind the incumbent operator Eircom and BT Ireland. It currently has an estimated 50,000 land-line customers and 18,000...
, Magnet Networks
Magnet Networks
Magnet Networks is an Irish company providing telephone, television and internet services via subscription over optical fibre.Magnet Networks was launched in Dublin on 1 December 2004, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based international investment company Columbia Ventures Corporation...
, SCTV
South Coast Television
South Coast TV was a television deflector and MMDS service operating in County Cork, Ireland. Its headquarters were in Carrigaline.-History:South Coast TV was founded in 1985 as the Carrigaline Community Television Project, to provide a multi-channel TV service to the people of Carrigaline...
on Monday 19 May 2008. With specific programming and advertising, the schedule featured more localised content including music videos, music shows, chart shows and entertainment news specific to the Republic of Ireland & it was also localised by Irish advertisements.
bubble hits Ireland closed on the same day as the uk version
Bubble Hits (Pan-Europe)
It was available on satellite, mainly Sky Digital, in the UK. The channel was available free-to-airFree-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
on Eurobird 1
Eurobird 1
Eurobird 1 is a Eutelsat operated Eurobird satellite, used primarily for digital television. It is located at 28.5° east in the Clarke Belt, just within the range of most satellite dishes pointed at SES Astra's Astra 2A, 2B and 2D at 28.2° east...
in Ireland, Germany, Poland, Hungary and other parts of Europe. The channel was localised with UK advertisements.
Bubble Hits
Launched on 16 August 2006 this channel served the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Hungary. This channel also served the Republic of Ireland until the launch of Bubble Hits IrelandBubble Hits Ireland
Bubble Hits Ireland was an Irish owned digital television music channel operated by Creative Sounds. Bubble Hits Ireland aim to be a much-needed platform for Irish bands and artists to showcase their music alongside the current programming and music structure of Bubble Hits. It was the first ever...
on 19 May 2008. On 13 February 2009 the channel ceased transmission.
Former Programmes
- Bubble Euro Top 30 - The official European Top 30 chart, videos selected from 11 European countries.
- Poptastic Hits - The latest pop hits
- iBubble - interactive request show
- Bubble Fresh - brand new video show sponsored by VeetVeetVeet, formerly called Neet and Immac, is a current trademark of chemical depilatory internationally-sold products manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser Hair removal creams, mousses and gels, and waxes are produced under this brand...
- Pop Pop Pop - non-stop pop video show sponsored by RyanairRyanairRyanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
.com - Most WantedMost Wanted*Lists used by law enforcement agencies to alert the public, such as:**FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives**FBI Most Wanted Terrorists**United States Secret Service Most Wanted Fugitives**U.S...
- daily chart show of the highest requested songs of the day sponsored by Jamster - Glenda's Showbiz GossipGlenda GilsonGlenda Gilson is an Irish model and television presenter.-Career:In August 2006, Gilson embarked on a presenting career, appearing as the face of Irish music channel Bubble Hits hosting the news and entertainment show Glenda's Showbiz Gossip...
- nightly entertainment news updates every night from 16:00.
Ownership
The station was operated by James Hyland and Lee Walsh.The pair were listed as 27th richest under 30 year olds in Ireland in a TV show entitled, "Young, Irish and Wealthy" broadcast on 28 December 2008 on national Irish television station RTE One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
. However, there has been some discussion and debate as to the accuracy of the list.
Competition
- Bubble Hits was the only independent music channel broadcasting into Ireland or the UK without being owned by CSCChart Show ChannelsCSC Media Group are a UK-based satellite television channel provider, named after the defunct The Chart Show. CSC evolved from the original Chart Show production company Video Visuals. They own 16 channels all of which are advertising funded and FTA...
, MTV Networks EuropeMTV Networks EuropeMTV Networks Europe is a division of Viacom International Media Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom.MTV Networks Europe includes the multimedia entertainment brands: MTV, VH1, TMF, VIVA, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Nick Jr...
or EMAPEMAPEmap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
. - Bubble Hits was watched by more than MTV One in the UK and Ireland. In February 2007 Bubble Hits took 6% of MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's audience (16 to 34 year olds) by May 2007 it has risen to 9%. [Source: Irish ExaminerIrish ExaminerThe Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country...
(04.08.2007)] - Bubble Hits claimed to have more than 2.5 million viewers from the Republic of Ireland and the UK. [Source: Irish ExaminerIrish ExaminerThe Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country...
(04.08.2007)]
External links
- Bubble Hits promises new music channel for IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
: archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2007/06/03/story24085.asp - Official site Currently unavailable
- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=89777273Bubble Hits' MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page] Now inactive and been removed - http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=MEDIA+AND+MARKETING-qqqs=mediaandmarketing-qqqid=24085-qqqx=1.asp