UTV Live

UTV Live
UTV Live opening sequence
Also known as	UTV Live Tonight
Format	Regional/National News
Country of origin	Northern Ireland, UK
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Julie O'Connor
Editor(s)	Chris Hagan
Location(s)	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes (6pm/10.30pm shows)
Production company(s)	UTV Live Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	UTV
Picture format	576i (SDTV 16:9)
Original run	4 January 1993 (1993-01-04) – present
Chronology
Preceded by	Roundabout UTV Reports Good Evening Ulster Six Tonight
Related shows	BBC Newsline
External links
Website

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.

On Air

UTV Live airs seven days a week:

Weekday bulletins

• 06:07, 07:07, 08:07 (during Daybreak; 2 mins)
• 13:55 (after ITV News at 1:30; 4 mins)
• 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)

Between 1995 and January 2013, UTV Live bulletins were not transmitted during GMTV and Daybreak (ITV Breakfast);^[1] The breakfast service was previously produced by Reuters, ITN, and subsequently Macmillan Media, following a dispute in 1994 when UTV opted out of GMTV to provide extra coverage of the Combined Loyalist ceasefire.

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 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^[2] with short bulletins broadcast from the continuity studio in the station's Central Technical Area. UTV also has studio facilities at Parliament Buildings, Stormont^[3] and news bureaux in Londonderry (Derry)^[3] and Dublin^[3] with an intention to open a further bureau in Omagh.^[4] The station also makes use of video journalists based in Coleraine, Enniskillen and Newry.^[5]

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,^[6] and Ulster Newstime for shorter bulletins.^[7]

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,^[8][9] with other bulletins receiving subtitles such as Morning News.^[10] and Early Evening News^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13][14] Although UTV claimed the change in slot for the features section of UTV Live would run until April 2004,^[14] viewer complaints saw UTV Live returned to the 17:30 slot one week later.^[15]

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.^[16] 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.^[17]

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^[15] and presenting/reporting team.

UTV Life originally began on 8 March 1999^[12] 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.^[18] The features element of the programme again became a separate programme 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.^[18]

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.^[19][20] A weekly replacement for UTV Life, The Seven Thirty Show, was introduced in June 2009.^[21]

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.

The team

UTV Live at Six anchors

UTV Live Tonight anchors

Newsreaders: Gillian Porter (Monday-Wednesday); various (Thursday)

Other bulletin presenters

Hill, Kennedy, McAlinden, Moore and Smith are also UTV Live reporters. Ballantine, Browne and Porter are continuity announcers at the station; UTV's other continuity announcer, Julian Simmons, generally does not read news bulletins.

Reporters

• Political Editor: Ken Reid^[25]; Political Correspondent: Tracey Magee
• Business Editor: Jamie Delargy,^[26]; Reporter: Naomi McMullan^[27]
• North West Correspondents: Mark McFadden,^[28]; Gareth Wilkinson

UTV Sport

UTV Weather

Only the weekday 18.25 and late weather bulletins are presented in-vision.

Former presenters

In October 2008, UTV announced its intention to cut 13 jobs in the news department due to corporate restructuring.^[34] The station declared it was offering staff a voluntary redundancy package.^[35] Staff who were reported to have accepted the redundancy package were:

References

External links