Fast Forward - Ireland

Box office takings exceed £1 billion for first time

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:19:00 --0100

According to figures released by the UK Film Council (UKFC) yesterday, cinema admissions rose to 173.5 million last year, and for the first time, combined box office takings in the UK and Ireland exceeded £1 billion. Harry Potter, Slumdog Millionaire and Avatar all helped make 2009 the best year for cinemas since 2002.

Game over for Setanta

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:31:00 --0100

Following an unsuccessful six-month struggle to raise cash, sports broadcaster Setanta went off air at 6pm yesterday after its British business finally collapsed; the group's small Irish and international units are likely to be sold. Administrator Deloitte will wind up the UK division at the cost of 200 jobs and £450 million of investors' money. Debt-holders, who are owed £300 million, may get some cash back.

ESPN snaps up Premier League rights

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:03:00 --0100

American sports broadcaster ESPN has acquired the rights to show Premier League football in a deal worth £260 million. It will take control of all the games that had been scheduled to be aired by Setanta until 2013. ESPN will not sell subscriptions directly to consumers, as Setanta did; instead, its channels will be sold through BSkyB and other pay-TV platforms. Setanta also failed to make a £3 million payment to the Scottish Premier League, which decided yesterday to end its £125 million contract with the Irish broadcaster.

Setanta fails to meet Premier League deadline

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:19:00 --0100

Irish sports broadcaster Setanta is expected to fall into the hands of administrators after the Premier League terminated its contract with the group. Setanta failed to secure a deal with investors last week that would have enabled it to pay a £10 million instalment it owed for screening rights next season. The Premier League matches are the main draw for most of Setanta's subscribers and, without them, it could face an exodus of customers. The Premier League has since issued an invitation to tender for the rights to the games. ESPN and BSkyB are expected to bid, although BSkyB would be restricted to 23 of Setanta's 46 matches under European competition rules.

IN&M seeks more time for debt payment

Tue, 12 May 2009 11:24:00 --0100

Independent News & Media, the Irish-based publisher of the Independent newspaper, has formally requested a so-called 'standstill agreement', which would give it a chance to negotiate a debt restructuring. The company is due to repay �200m in bonds next Monday, but has no realistic prospect of doing so. Bondholders will be asked to extend the maturity date of their debt claims in exchange for part-payment on time.

Ray of light for Ireland's regional newspapers

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:58:00 --0100

During an economic downturn, freesheets are usually the first newspapers to close. In recent weeks, however, Alpha Newspaper Group, Northern Ireland's largest regional newspaper publisher, has launched four new titles. They are targeted at local advertisers who want to woo shoppers from the Irish Republic; differences in tax and the recent sterling weakness have encouraged southern families to shop in northern towns such as Armagh and Newry. Otherwise, the outlook for Ireland's regional newspapers is gloomy. This week, Johnston Press became the latest UK publisher to announce plans to sell its Irish titles.

IN&M may sell Independent titles

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:16:00 --0100

Independent News & Media, the owner of the Independent and the Independent on Sunday, is considering selling the titles to raise cash. It has a �1.4 billion debt mountain it wants to address by "eliminating [its] loss-making businesses". Crucially, it is due to make repayment of a �200 million bond in May 2009, so time is of the essence. In a series of measures aimed at getting itself out of a hole, the publisher has also cancelled its dividend, effected a 10% pay cut for directors, introduced a ban on bonuses and stopped a new �200 million bond issue. The Independent titles are currently thought to be making losses of at least £10m a year.

IN&M reports rise in profits

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:26:00 --0100

Independent News & Media (IN&M) yesterday announced interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2007. The group reported a 9.7% increase in net profit, driven by strong advertising growth (+6.3%) and rising circulation revenue (+2.5%). Total revenues were up 2.4% year-on-year to �815.5 million. IN&M publishes The Independent in the UK, as well as over 180 titles in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Commenting on the results, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chief executive of IN&M, said:

This strong performance reflects the clear benefits of our low cost ethos and our multi-market and multi-media strategy... The positive trends we have experienced in the first half across our markets have continued into the second half.

Yahoo and Bebo strike deal

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:39:00 --0100

Yahoo and social networking site Bebo have struck an agreement over advertising in the UK and Ireland, in which the media giant has agreed to sell the majority of Bebo's display and video ads. The deal will be beneficial to Yahoo, which is looking for ways to target younger users. Bebo, which is primarily aimed at teenagers and young adults, is the most popular networking site in the UK; it has 10.6 million unique users in the UK and Ireland.

Emap announces sale of Irish radio stations

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:18:00 --0100

Emap announced today that it has agreed to sell its Repubic of Ireland radio stations to media group Communicorp for �200 million (£135 million). The Irish radio arm, which comprises Today FM, FM104 and Highland Radio, generated revenues of £21 million in the year to 31 March 2007, and an operating profit of £7 million.

Digital technology marches on in Ireland and Africa

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:31:00 --0100

The Irish public broadcaster RTE has started trial broadcasts of six new digital radio stations. They join the 11 stations currently broadcasting digitally in the test area of Dublin and the North East of Ireland. The new stations are the first digital-only stations in the country; the other 11 are simulcasts of existing analogue channels. The trial will last until November. Meanwhile, the first digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmission in Africa took place at a trade show in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

IN&M rejects criticism from O'Brien

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:22:00 --0100

Irish telecoms billionaire, Denis O'Brien, was described as a 'dissident shareholder' yesterday, as IN&M defended itself against allegations of cronyism at its annual meeting. Brian Mulhroney, the former Canadian prime minister, led the charge against Mr O'Brien, who has increased his stake in the company to 8.3% recently; Mr O'Brien is also rumoured to be preparing a takeover bid for the media company. Although he did not mention Mr O'Brien by name, Mr Mulroney said that IN&M had received seven letters in recent weeks that were 'mildly suggestive of improper conduct by the officers of this company', but that all the questions in the letters were 'dismissed because there was not one scintilla of evidence'. Mr O'Brien, who did not attend the meeting, said 'Independent News and Media failed abysmally to respond to the matters raised in the letters', and that he would return to the issue.