‘Connected’ and ‘Drunk’: RTÉ Two looks to become ‘Irish voice’ aimed at under-35s

Bill Malone, channel controller at RTÉ Two today unveils not just the autumn schedule for the channel, but a new identity for the station, which he says “will reflect a fundamental shift in what the channel is”.

He’s been in the job since March 2013 and this is the first season launch that will truly have his name on it, laid out to reflect his vision.

Today will, says Malone, “mark a significant moment in RTÉ Two”.

He admits that there has been a “lack of clarity of identity” for the station, which started out as RTÉ One’s younger, trendier sibling, but has in recent years been more like a random assortment of international dramas with some homemade programmes thrown in.

Big sporting events have been the main audience driver – it got a viewer boost during the World Cup in June and July – but otherwise the station’s identity crises, coupled with competition from all those other stations and online offering chasing younger audiences, has led to a haemorrhaging of viewers.

Provocative space

Malone says new programmes to be announced today signal “a move into a brave, provocative space” with an emphasis on home-made content and “an Irish voice” aimed at viewers under 35. Although as Malone, who is 43, says the station is for anyone “who thinks younger than 35”.

Of the new programmes, Connected, looks particularly innovative and interesting. The 20-episode, unscripted reality soap (with additional web-only content) sees six Irish women from different age groups and backgrounds filming their own day-to-day lives.

“We’re turning the production process on its head for that one,” says Malone of the very observational series. “The women film themselves so the programme-making will be all in the editing.”

Connected kicks off the new autumn schedule on September 22nd and will be screened that week on four consecutive nights.

Presented by Eoin McDermott, Drunk, a two-part series – Malone calls it a "social experiment" – will take a group of young people, over 18 obviously, and get them drunk.

Then in a setting monitored by medics they will be tested to see how they perform various tasks while under the influence of alcohol. It’s one that could prove controversial.

The line-up includes the return of comedy Damo and Ivor – recommissioned for a second series – and several US dramas including Grey's Anatomy, Homeland and Revenge.

The corporate identify has also had a makeover – UK-based Red Bee Media, which also designed the logos for BBC Three and ITV, was commissioned to come up with a new look for the RTÉ Two branding that will also be unveiled today.