UTV Live
Encyclopedia
UTV Live is the name of the regional news service broadcast on UTV
, the ITV
region in Northern Ireland
. The first edition of the programme was transmitted on Monday 4 January 1993.
UTV Live bulletins are not transmitted during Daybreak
(ITV Breakfast
); the Daybreak Northern Ireland news service is provided by Macmillan Media
.
The main evening edition of UTV Live airs from 18.00 to 18.30 every weeknight, covering the day's news, current affairs and sport from across Northern Ireland, with UTV Live Tonight airing from 22.30 to 23.00 on Monday to Thursday nights.
The 18:00 and 22:30 programmes are broadcast from Studio One at UTV's headquarters in Havelock House, Belfast with short bulletins broadcast from the continuity studio in the station's Central Technical Area. UTV also has studio facilities at Parliament Buildings, Stormont
and news bureaux in Derry
and Dublin with an intention to open a further bureau in Omagh
. The station also makes use of video journalists based in Coleraine
, Enniskillen
and Newry
.
From 1993 until March 1999, the weekday evening programme ran for one hour at 18.00, and was usually referred to as UTV Live at Six, with other bulletins receiving subtitles such as Morning News. and Early Evening News
Following the introduction of the ITV Evening News (now known as ITV News at 6:30) on Monday 8 March 1999, the programme was brought forward by half an hour to start at 17.30. The first half-hour saw feature reports, light-hearted stories and the weather forecast branded as part of a separate programme, UTV Life, which ran before the evening news bulletin, which started at 18:00 and kept the UTV Live name. UTV Live and UTV Life were merged into one hour-long programme, running from 17:30, in 2002 and were split into separate programmes again on 3 September 2007, with the original titles in use from 1999 to 2001.
For one week in February 2004, UTV moved the first half-hour part of UTV Live in the schedules from 17:30 to 13:00, to accommodate the networked 24 Hour Quiz. Although UTV claimed the change in slot for the features section of UTV Live would run until April 2004, viewer complaints saw UTV Live returned to the 17:30 slot one week later.
Mid-morning weekday and lunchtime weekend UTV Live bulletins were axed in February 2009 when the station was permitted to reduce their weekly news bulletin output from five hours, twenty minutes to four hours. A separate sports bulletin, Sport on Sunday, was broadcast following the Sunday evening bulletin from September 1999 to early 2007. This bulletin was separate from the Sunday evening news as it was sponsored by the Daily Mirror.
Between February 2007 and April 2009, only the main weekday evening programme was branded as UTV Live, while all other bulletins were branded as UTV News.
UTV Life originally began on 8 March 1999 as a stand-alone programme with features reports, light-hearted stories and an extended weather forecast. The programme ran from 17:30, proceeding UTV Live at Six until the two programmes were integrated into an hour-long UTV Live programme on April 2002.
The UTV Life branding for the features section of UTV Live returned to on-air use on Monday 3 September 2007. The features element of the programme again became a separate programme in order to accommodate a programme sponsorship deal. The relaunch of UTV Life saw the programme gain a different theme tune, opening title sequence and graphic design, with a similar presenting, reporting and editorial team as the former features segment of UTV Live.
As part of cost-cutting measures and a reduction in regional programming at the station, UTV Life was axed shortly after the broadcasting regulator OFCOM gave UTV the go ahead to reduce its non-news output, with the final programme airing on 6 February 2009. A weekly replacement for UTV Life, The Seven Thirty Show, was introduced in June 2009.
On Monday 27 April 2009, UTV launched a 30-minute late evening news & current affairs programme, UTV Live Tonight, which airs at 10:30pm on Monday - Thursday nights and incorporates the station's late news bulletin alongside extended political and business coverage. A shorter late night bulletin airs each Friday at 10:30pm and during the programme's summer break.
Newsreaders: Gillian Porter
(Monday-Wednesday); Pamela Ballantine
, Sarah Clarke, Aideen Kennedy, Rose Neill
(Thursday/relief)
Hill, Kennedy, McAlinden, Moore and Smith are also UTV Live reporters.
Ballantine, Browne, Neill and Porter are continuity announcers at the station; UTV's other continuity announcer, Julian Simmons
, generally does not read news bulletins.
Only the weekday 18.25 and late weather bulletins are presented in-vision.
In October 2008, UTV announced its intention to cut 13 jobs in the news department due to corporate restructuring. The station declared it was offering staff a voluntary redundancy package. Staff who were reported to have accepted the redundancy package were:
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
, the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
region in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The first edition of the programme was transmitted on Monday 4 January 1993.
Weekday bulletins
- 13:55 (after ITV News at 1:30; 5mins)
- 18:00 (before ITV News at 6:30; 30 mins)
- 22:30 (after ITV News at Ten; branded as UTV Live Tonight, 30 mins, Monday-Thursday)
UTV Live bulletins are not transmitted during Daybreak
Daybreak (ITV)
Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays...
(ITV Breakfast
ITV Breakfast
ITV Breakfast Limited is the national ITV breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
); the Daybreak Northern Ireland news service is provided by Macmillan Media
Macmillan Media
Macmillan Media is a multimedia company covering the UK and Ireland working in Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Manchester and London, and is owned by British journalist Michael Macmillan.-Daybreak Regional News:...
.
Weekend bulletins
Two bulletins of 10 minutes length are broadcast during the weekend: one on Saturdays, in the late afternoon, and one on Sundays, in the early evening.Programme format
The 18:00 and 22:30 programmes are broadcast from Studio One at UTV's headquarters in Havelock House, Belfast with short bulletins broadcast from the continuity studio in the station's Central Technical Area. UTV also has studio facilities at Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
and news bureaux in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
and Dublin with an intention to open a further bureau in Omagh
Omagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
. The station also makes use of video journalists based in Coleraine
Coleraine
Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
, Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
and Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
.
Programme history
UTV Live was introduced in January 1993 as a new name for Ulster Television's existing news programmes; Six Tonight, the station's half-hour evening news magazine, and Ulster Newstime for shorter bulletins.From 1993 until March 1999, the weekday evening programme ran for one hour at 18.00, and was usually referred to as UTV Live at Six, with other bulletins receiving subtitles such as Morning News. and Early Evening News
Following the introduction of the ITV Evening News (now known as ITV News at 6:30) on Monday 8 March 1999, the programme was brought forward by half an hour to start at 17.30. The first half-hour saw feature reports, light-hearted stories and the weather forecast branded as part of a separate programme, UTV Life, which ran before the evening news bulletin, which started at 18:00 and kept the UTV Live name. UTV Live and UTV Life were merged into one hour-long programme, running from 17:30, in 2002 and were split into separate programmes again on 3 September 2007, with the original titles in use from 1999 to 2001.
For one week in February 2004, UTV moved the first half-hour part of UTV Live in the schedules from 17:30 to 13:00, to accommodate the networked 24 Hour Quiz. Although UTV claimed the change in slot for the features section of UTV Live would run until April 2004, viewer complaints saw UTV Live returned to the 17:30 slot one week later.
Mid-morning weekday and lunchtime weekend UTV Live bulletins were axed in February 2009 when the station was permitted to reduce their weekly news bulletin output from five hours, twenty minutes to four hours. A separate sports bulletin, Sport on Sunday, was broadcast following the Sunday evening bulletin from September 1999 to early 2007. This bulletin was separate from the Sunday evening news as it was sponsored by the Daily Mirror.
Between February 2007 and April 2009, only the main weekday evening programme was branded as UTV Live, while all other bulletins were branded as UTV News.
UTV Life
UTV Life, a separate live magazine programme concentrating on features and light-hearted stories, was broadcast at 17:30 on weekdays. This programme had its own editor and presenting/reporting team.UTV Life originally began on 8 March 1999 as a stand-alone programme with features reports, light-hearted stories and an extended weather forecast. The programme ran from 17:30, proceeding UTV Live at Six until the two programmes were integrated into an hour-long UTV Live programme on April 2002.
The UTV Life branding for the features section of UTV Live returned to on-air use on Monday 3 September 2007. The features element of the programme again became a separate programme in order to accommodate a programme sponsorship deal. The relaunch of UTV Life saw the programme gain a different theme tune, opening title sequence and graphic design, with a similar presenting, reporting and editorial team as the former features segment of UTV Live.
As part of cost-cutting measures and a reduction in regional programming at the station, UTV Life was axed shortly after the broadcasting regulator OFCOM gave UTV the go ahead to reduce its non-news output, with the final programme airing on 6 February 2009. A weekly replacement for UTV Life, The Seven Thirty Show, was introduced in June 2009.
On Monday 27 April 2009, UTV launched a 30-minute late evening news & current affairs programme, UTV Live Tonight, which airs at 10:30pm on Monday - Thursday nights and incorporates the station's late news bulletin alongside extended political and business coverage. A shorter late night bulletin airs each Friday at 10:30pm and during the programme's summer break.
18.00 bulletin anchors
|
Sarah Dobson Sarah Clarke is a broadcast journalist from Northern Ireland, currently working at UTV and U105.-Broadcasting career:She is presently a newsreader and reporter for U105 News and UTV Live... |
Alison Fleming Alison Fleming is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist. She is currently a presenter and reporter for UTV Live.-Broadcasting career:Fleming studied journalism at Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education... |
Marc Mallett Marc Mallett is a Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist. He is presently a newsreader and reporter at UTV. .-Broadcasting career:Mallett began his broadcasting career on the hospital radio station at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast... |
Rose Neill -Early life:She boarded at a quaker school in York England The Mount School, York and went on to study Dispensing Optics at the City of East London College.-Broadcasting career:... (relief) |
UTV Live Tonight anchors
|
Alison Fleming Alison Fleming is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist. She is currently a presenter and reporter for UTV Live.-Broadcasting career:Fleming studied journalism at Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education... , Marc Mallett Marc Mallett Marc Mallett is a Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist. He is presently a newsreader and reporter at UTV. .-Broadcasting career:Mallett began his broadcasting career on the hospital radio station at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast... |
Newsreaders: Gillian Porter
Gillian Porter
Gillian Porter is a Northern Irish television presenter. She is best known as a continuity announcer and newsreader at UTV, where she has appeared since 1993.-Broadcasting career:...
(Monday-Wednesday); Pamela Ballantine
Pamela Ballantine
Pamela Ballantine is a freelance Northern Irish television presenter, best known for her 27 year career at UTV.-Broadcasting career:...
, Sarah Clarke, Aideen Kennedy, Rose Neill
Rose Neill
-Early life:She boarded at a quaker school in York England The Mount School, York and went on to study Dispensing Optics at the City of East London College.-Broadcasting career:...
(Thursday/relief)
Other bulletin presenters
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Hill, Kennedy, McAlinden, Moore and Smith are also UTV Live reporters.
Ballantine, Browne, Neill and Porter are continuity announcers at the station; UTV's other continuity announcer, Julian Simmons
Julian Simmons
Julian Lynus Simmons is a Northern Irish television presenter, best known as a continuity announcer on UTV, mainly covering weekend evenings.-Present role:...
, generally does not read news bulletins.
Reporters
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Jamie Delargy Jamie Delargy is a Northern Irish journalist. He is currently Business Editor at UTV.-Journalism career:Delargy has worked for Ulster Television since 1980. He was one of two journalists at the station believed to have not been considered for a voluntary redundancy package at the station in late... |
Mark McFadden Winner of a world journalism award, Mark McFadden is an Irish television news broadcaster.He is currently the North West correspondent for UTV Live, the flagship early evening news programme on the ITV regional company UTV.-Early life:... |
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UTV Sport
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UTV Weather
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Pamela Ballantine Pamela Ballantine is a freelance Northern Irish television presenter, best known for her 27 year career at UTV.-Broadcasting career:... , David McGeagh |
Only the weekday 18.25 and late weather bulletins are presented in-vision.
Former presenters and reporters
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Kate Smith (presenter) Kate Smith is a former Northern Irish television presenter and journalist.-Broadcasting career:Smith began her broadcasting career at Downtown Radio as a newsreader and reporter. She later worked as a presenter and reporter for RTÉ in 1980 and moved to UTV in 1983.Smith hosted her last edition of... (Presenter, 1983–2006) (now a member of the Northern Ireland Screen Northern Ireland Screen Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency for Northern Ireland. The agency's purpose is to promote the development of a sustainable film, animation and television production industry.- History :... board) The News Letter The News Letter is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published Monday to Saturday. It is the oldest English language general daily newspaper still in publication in the world, having first been printed in 1737.... ) |
In October 2008, UTV announced its intention to cut 13 jobs in the news department due to corporate restructuring. The station declared it was offering staff a voluntary redundancy package. Staff who were reported to have accepted the redundancy package were:
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Fearghal McKinney Fearghal McKinney is a journalist and political activist.-Broadcasting career:McKinney was a reporter and relief presenter on UTV Live, joining the station in 1994... (Presenter/Reporter, 1994–2009) Adrian Logan Adrian Logan is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist.-Broadcasting career:Logan joined Ulster Television in 1985 as a sports reporter and presenter, later becoming the station's Sports Editor.... (Sports Editor; Sports Presenter/Reporter, 1985–2009) |