The State's newest television channel, TV3, received a major viewing bonanza last night when it showed the Ireland versus Yugoslavia match live.
TV3 was able to show the match because of an exclusive deal it struck allowing it to show all Ireland's away games in the European Championship competition. TV3 bought the rights to Ireland's five away matches, plus other games in Ireland's group.
TV3 is believed to have paid around £500,000 for the rights to the games. It beat RTE which had also bid. For the new station, however, the purchase was part of its marketing strategy to ensure a high number of people actually tuned the channel in.
The first away match, against Yugoslavia, was to be played in October, within weeks of TV3's September 20th launch. The match was postponed because of the threat of NATO action against Yugoslavia due to the ongoing crisis in Kosovo.
The purchase of the rights was clinched just prior to the launch of the station and was hailed as a major asset in the station's schedule. Soon afterwards RTE announced it had secured the rights to British Premiership football. Most saw the RTE move as a reaction to TV3's deal.
TV3 has attracted a 6 per cent share of the television audience, a figure it announced it wanted to achieve at the end of its first year. Approximately 900,000 people tune in every day.
In its target audience of 15 to 44-year-olds, it claims it rises to 9 per cent and even 15 per cent for the audience up to 24 years. The most popular programmes are films, with its US sitcom, Sex and the City, starting to attract a cult following.
There are some, however, who were not able to see yesterday's big match. TV3 is not yet available to viewers in north Donegal, especially the Inishowen peninsula, the coastal areas of Mayo, Achill, Castlebar, Westport, Connemara, parts of Kerry, including Tralee, and parts of west Cork and mountainous areas of Cork.
Meanwhile, the man who negotiated RTE's Premiership soccer deal, the station's head of sport, Mr Tim O'Connor, is in discussions about a new role within the organisation. It is believed he was offered a part-time post with a sports agency, but RTE has asked him to reconsider. The managing director for television, Mr Joe Mulholland, is in talks with Mr O'Connor about what role he wants to play within RTE. If Mr O'Connor decided to resign he would be a major loss to RTE as he is very highly regarded in sports television.
RTE has lost its head of television production, Mr David Blake-Knox, who is going to the BBC where he will be in charge of a light entertainment unit developing special themed programmes.