Virgin Media News (formerly TV3 News and then 3News Ireland) is the news division of Virgin Media Television in Ireland, owned by

Liberty Global Liberty Global plc is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Plc, Liberty Global B.V. and Liberty Global, Inc., with ...

. The news division produces news and current affairs programming for free-to-air channels

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 201 ...

Virgin Media Two Virgin Media Two, also called Virgin Two, is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by Virgin Media Television (a subsidiary of Virgin Media Ireland). History 2006–2009 Channel 6 was launched on 30 March 2006, then operated by Kis ...

, and

Virgin Media Three Virgin Media Three, also called Virgin Three, is an Republic of Ireland, Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland, Virgin Media Television. The channel was first launched by Northern Irish broadcaster UTV Media on 1 ...

; online (virginmediatelevision.ie), on-demand (

Virgin Media Player Virgin Media Player (formerly 3Player) is a live streaming and on demand video service available in Ireland, provided by Virgin Media Television (formerly TV3 Group), a subsidiary of Virgin Media Ireland, for programmes broadcast on the compa ...

), and on mobile. Its flagship programme is the daily evening news from 5.30 pm with Colette Fitzpatrick; other programmes include news bulletins on

Ireland AM ''Ireland AM'' is an Irish morning television show on Virgin Media One. It airs live every weekday from 07:00 to 10:00, and weekends from 9:00 to 12:00. The program features news, current affairs, weather updates, showbiz, fashion, beauty, fo ...

, News at 12:30 and News at 7.

History

Early years

The service was first launched on September 20, 1998, then branded as TV3 News and later as 3News hosted by Grainne Seoige and Alan Cantwell. Virgin Media News launched its first news bulletin on September 20, 1998 under the '' TV3 News @ 6'' branding airing Monday – Friday for an hour at 18:00, with half an hour bulletins on Saturdays and Sundays. A year later following a failed attempt to compete with '' RTÉ News: Six One'' this bulletin was moved to 17:30 and 19:00. Following the TV3 Group's acquisition of content from ITV and a schedule change the 19:00 bulletin was moved to ''News @ 6.30'' eventually being dropped in April 2007. For a time, the 17:30 programme was called ''First Edition''. TV3 News ''Tonight'', ''Late Edition'' or ''Nightly News'' was first broadcast on Monday 21 September 1998 at 23:00. It aired at 23:00 each weeknight for 30 minutes. It was hosted by either of its two main anchors each taking alternative nights. In 2008, TV3 News axed the late news in preference for ''TV3 Nightly News with Vincent Browne'' which also aired for 30 minutes until 2009 when the show was rebranded as ''

Tonight with Vincent Browne ''Tonight with Vincent Browne'', (formerly ''Nightly News with Vincent Browne''), was a news analysis, current affairs and politics programme which was broadcast on Ireland's TV3 from 2007 to July 2017. Its time on air coincided with the prem ...

''. ''TV3 Nightly News'' continued to air on Friday nights until 2009 when it was replaced with '' The Political Party''.

Later years

Following with tradition of other European broadcasters, the broadcaster began a news service from Monday 30 March 2015. 'TV3 News at 8' has the same format as ''The 5:30'' and ''The 12:30''. Many European broadcasters have a news programme among its primetime schedule. In 2017, €3 million was invested in news output by the broadcaster featuring a "state of the art" studio which launched on 4 September 2017.

Sponsorship controversy

From September 2009, the programme was renamed ''Tonight with Vincent Browne'', after a deal was signed with

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Scotland, which later became part of Lloyds Banking Group. It offered commercial and corporate banking services under the Bank of Scotland brand and retail banking se ...

to sponsor the programme. Due to legislation from the

Broadcasting Commission of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

and similar

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

rules preventing a news programme from being sponsored, it was no longer to be branded as "TV3 News" and officially considered to be an "entertainment/lifestyle" programme rather than news or current affairs. The CEO of TV3 David McRedmond is also a Director of Bank of Scotland (Ireland). The sponsorship was short lived.

Programming

Current Virgin Media News programmes

*''

'' bulletins hosted by Siobhan Bastible, Geraldine Lynagh or Anne O'Donnell (Virgin Media One) *''Virgin Media News at 12.30'' with Colette Fitzpatrick (Virgin Media One) *'' Virgin Media News at 5.30'' with Colette Fitzpatrick, Geraldine Lynagh and Caroline Twohig (Virgin Media One) *'' Virgin Media News at 7.00'' with Caroline Twohig and Claire Brock (Virgin Media One) *''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' with Claire Brock and Ciara Doherty (Virgin Media One) *''Virgin Media News 60 Second Update'' (Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Three)

Former Virgin Media News programmes

* Pat Kenny's Big Debate * TV3 News at 6 * ''Agenda'' (returned after 10 years in Autumn 2016) * ''

'' * '' Tonight: The People's Debate'' * ''Week in Politics'' * ''The Political Party'' * ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' (1998–2000) – an Irish edition of the popular U.S. series. * ''The Week in Review'' * ''Business Matters'' * ''Midweek'' * ''The Late Review'' (July 2015- September 2015) * The Thread * FYI * 3e News * Pat Kenny Tonight * 3News Update – afternoon news bulletin on 3e * 3News at 7 on be3 with Claire Brock * 3News at 10 on be3 with Claire Brock * ''

News on Two News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. ...

at 22:00'' with hosted by Claire Brock

Additional programming

In house news documentaries include ''Ireland's Crime Capitals'', a sensationalist show that observes crime in Ireland; ''Gift of Life'', a three part special focusing on donor donations; ''Surviving the Recession'', a one-off special looking at life in Ireland and the recession.

CNN on Virgin Media News

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, the American cable news channel, often airs on TV3 News when major breaking news stories are taking place, particularly major events in the United States. CNN made its first appearance on TV3 News on

11 September 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. CNN services have also been availed of during the 2008 election of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and the 2009

Death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His physician, Conrad Murray, said that ...

. As part of the

2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-el ...

, Virgin Media News confirmed that both CNN US and TV3 became media partners in the coverage in Ireland. CNN US reporters will regularly contribute to Virgin Media News programming.

Former programmes

Agenda Agenda may refer to: Information management * Agenda (meeting), points to be discussed and acted upon, displayed as a list * Political agenda, the set of goals of an ideological group * Lotus Agenda, a DOS-based personal information manager * Pers ...

'' was a political magazine show hosted by David McWilliams; it ran from 1998 to 2001 on Sunday mornings and repeated in the afternoon. The series returned as part of TV3's Autumn 2016 schedule however it only lasted a further season. '' The Political Party'' was a politically themed chat show, hosted by TV3's political editor

Ursula Halligan Ursula Halligan was the political editor of Ireland's main independent television station, TV3. Biography Halligan grew up in Templeogue, Dublin. She is a Catholic. Her late brother, Professor Aidan Halligan (1957–2015), who held a number of ...

, which originally aired Sundays at 17:00 before being moved to Fridays at 23:00 in late 2008. However the show was axed in March 2009 due to falling advertising revenues at the station. Both shows were produced independently of TV3. In 2009, TV3 announced a new business show that would effectively replace the original slot held by both ''Agenda'' and ''The Political Party'' airing every Sunday at midday. The programme was called ''Business Matters''. The series was hosted by

Ivan Yates Ivan Yates (born 23 October 1959) is an Irish broadcaster, businessman and former politician. He was elected as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency at the 1981 general election and at each election until his retirement fr ...

. ''Business Matters'' began on 13 September 2009, but just lasted 19 episodes. The series was produced in house by TV3. In 2009, TV3 also started to broadcast the current affairs show ''Midweek'', which airs weekly each Wednesday night and focuses on the latest political and topical issues affecting Ireland. ''

Midweek ''MidWeek'' is a weekly United States tabloid shopper and advertisement periodical published in Honolulu, Hawaii and distributed throughout the Islands of Oahu and Kauai. It is owned by Black Press and is a sister publication of the ''Honolulu ...

'' was hosted by TV3 News presenter Colette Fitzpatrick. The show began on 16 September 2009. It was a much more tabloid version of other current affairs shows on Irish television dealing with issues such as

mail-order bride A mail-order bride is a woman who lists herself in catalogs and is selected by a man for marriage. In the twentieth century, the trend was primarily towards women living in developing countries seeking men in more developed nations. The majority ...

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

, gangland crime, etc. ''Midweek'' aired on Wednesdays at 22:00. In July 2014 it was announced that ''Midweek'' would not be returning instead it is to be replaced by a special documentaries unit at TV3. From the station's launch, a 30-minute news bulletin was broadcast at weekends. However, in December 2008, these weekend bulletins were reduced to five minutes, this cut blamed on a downturn in advertising revenues. According to ''

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'', TV3 had to cut 15 jobs and 15 freelance jobs in the company to save money. TV3 News aired at the beginning of ''

Midday Noon (or midday) is 12 12-hour clock, o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for 12-hour clock, meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for 12-hour clock, post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24 ...

''. As of 2 June 2014 TV3 News no longer airs at the beginning of ''Midday'' as the show begins at 11:30. ''Friday Late with Vincent Browne'' appeared in 2011 and was a more relaxed version of the heavy political debate of ''Tonight with Vincent Browne''. After successful ratings of the more easy-going Friday night election specials in the run-up to the

2011 Irish general election The 2011 Irish general election took place on Friday 25 February to elect 166 Teachtaí Dála across 43 constituencies to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of Ireland's parliament, the Oireachtas. The Dáil was dissolved and the general electi ...

, which often featured

Marie-Louise O'Donnell Marie-Louise O'Donnell (born 5 September 1952) is an Irish academic, and later broadcaster and politician, who served as a Senator from 2011 to 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. She played a key role in the arts at Dublin City Unive ...

as guest, TV3 chose to continue in the same vein with a new spin-off show entitled ''Friday Late with Vincent Browne'', presented from the ''

'' studio by Vincent Browne, and taking on '' The Late Late Show'', presented by

Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973), nicknamed 'Tubs ' is an Irish broadcaster. He presents ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' and '' The Late Late Show''. Tubridy previously presented RTÉ 2fm breakfast radio show ''The Full Irish'', which at its end was ...

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

. ''Friday Late with Vincent Browne'' featured guests such as

Ray D'Arcy Raymond Michael D'Arcy (born 1 September 1964) is an Irish television and radio presenter currently on his second stint at state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He once presented a self-titled weekday morning radio programme on th ...

Linda Martin Linda Martin (born 27 March 1952) is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known as the winner of the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest during which she represented Ireland with the song " Why Me?". She is also known within Irelan ...

and

Jedward John and Edward Grimes (born 16 October 1991), collectively known as Jedward (a portmanteau of their first names), are an Irish singing and television presenting duo. They are identical twins who first appeared as John & Edward in the sixth s ...

in its first episode. Subsequent episodes featured guests such as

David McSavage David Andrews (born 5 February 1966), known professionally as David McSavage, is an Irish stand-up comedian, comedy writer and street performer, known for his television show "The Savage Eye".Paddy Cole. Browne introduced entrepreneur Norah Casey as "Norah Carey". It was soon discontinued. '' 3e News'' broadcast on TV3's sister channel 3e. It was aimed at the 15- to 36-year-old age group. It is presented by Caroline Twohig (News), Paul Walsh (Sport) and

Cassie Stokes Cassie Stokes (born 5 April 1987) is a television presenter with TV3. Career She initially joined TV3 as a Promotions Assistant. She appeared on-screen as the Twitter correspondent on ''Tonight with Vincent Browne'', helping the experienced journ ...

(Technology). Reports are sourced from the TV3 newsroom, however TV3 state that the news content is entirely different from that of '' TV3 News at 5:30''. ''3e News'' broadcast daily from the TV3 newsroom at 18:00 Monday to Friday. 3e also broadcast regular one-minute news updates. The programme first started broadcasting shortly after TV3 renamed Channel 6 as 3e. The updates last for one minute, and start at 19:00 and broadcast thereafter, every hour, at 20:00, and 21:00. The programme gives viewers a one-minute news summary, with all of the days main news headlines. ''3e News'' was renamed ''

FYI "FYI" is a common abbreviation of "for your information" (or "for your interest"). "FYI" is commonly used in email, instant messaging and other messages to indicate an informational message, with an intent to communicate to the receiver that they ...

'' (For Your Information) from 10 March 2010. The show's presenters remain on in their current roles and the format of an interactive news aimed at the 15- to 35-year-old age group remains. It also featured the 'Top 5 Downloads' which are five internet clips at the end of every 18:00 show.

News team

Some Virgin Media News team members include the below. Note, the main and relief news presenters are all female. * Colette Fitzpatrick – Main news anchor for Virgin Media News at 12:30 and 5.30 * Claire Brock – Main news anchor for Virgin Media News at 7 * Caroline Twohig — Relief presenter * Micheal Ryan — Relief presenter * Geraldine Lynagh — Relief presenter * Anne O’Donnell - Relief presenter * Richard Chambers - News correspondent * Gavan Reilly - Political correspondent * Paul Colgan - Economics correspondent * Sarah O’Connor - Crime and courts correspondent * Sinéad Kissane - Rugby correspondent * Bernard O'Toole - Sports anchor and correspondent * Paul Walsh - Sports correspondent * Deric Ó hArtagáin - Weather Correspondent

Former news presenters and reporters

Claire Byrne Claire Byrne (born 11 August 1975) is an Irish journalist and television presenter. Byrne presented ''The Daily Show'' from September 2010 to March 2012. In 2013, she became an anchor on RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme ''Prime Time''. ...

(moved to RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1) *

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a le ...

(moved to Sky News Ireland, then to RTÉ News) * Grainne Seoighe (moved to Sky News Ireland, then to RTÉ News) *

Vincent Browne Vincent Browne (born 17 July 1944) is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Sunday Business Post'' and a non-practising barrister. From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show ...

References

External links

* {{VMTV ROI presenters 1998 establishments in Ireland Irish television news shows Virgin Media Television (Ireland) original programming Virgin Media Television (Ireland)