2013 in Irish television

The following is a list of events relating to

Events

January

• 6 January – It is reported that
  Frontline Presidential Debate in which a tweet was wrongly attributed to the official Twitter account of the Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness.^[1]
• 7 January – Debut of
  TV3's first self-produced drama, Deception, set on a post-Celtic Tiger housing estate in Galway.^[2][3]
• 30 January – Former
  TV3 to become their new Director of Content, a position he will take up in February.^[4]
• 31 January – Figures published by TAM Ireland/Nielsen indicate viewers in Ireland watched an average of 3.35 hours of television per day (25 hours a week) in 2012.[5]

February

• 1 February –
  The Late Late Show after the death earlier in the week of regular host Ryan Tubridy's father.^[6][7]
• 5 February – Launch of Irish Horse TV, Ireland's first TV channel dedicated to horse racing and other equine sports.[8]
• 7 February – The
  Conamara that will air on TG4 in 2014.^[9]
• 25 February – Telecommunications giant BT, which bought the rights to some Premier League matches in 2012 expands its investment in sports broadcasting with the purchase of ESPN's channels in Britain and Ireland.^[10]

March

• 4 March – Online retailer Viking Direct says it cannot fulfil orders placed for a 51-inch 3D television that was incorrectly priced at €6.49 instead of €649. Thousands of orders were placed during the two days the offer was available, but customers will not receive their purchase, nor will they get an automatic refund.^[11]
• 7 March –
  Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte officially opens TV3's new €5m Sony HD production centre at Ballymount.^[12]
• 14 March – The Lowry Tapes, containing a telephone conversation between corrupt politician Michael Lowry and land agent Kevin Phelan, are broadcast in full on Tonight with Vincent Browne.^[13][14]

April

• 11 April – TV3 criticises new regulations that ban radio and television journalists from expressing an on-air opinion on news and current affairs issues as "a draconian extension of the State's control over media".^[15]
• 28 April –
  second series of The Voice of Ireland.^[16]

• 21 May – Justice Minister
  independent deputy Mick Wallace in the Dáil Éireann after he divulged that Wallace had been excused from receiving penalty points for using a mobile phone while driving during a debate about people escaping penalty points on an edition of RTÉ's Prime Time. Shatter had previously admitted receiving his information from Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan but claimed he was not "in the business of collecting secret files on politicians".^[17][18]
• 30 May – Three international deals are announced by Dublin-based Network Ireland Television that will see 50 Irish-made short films aired on television channels in the Americas, Europe and Middle East.[19]

June

• 3 June – AerTV, an Irish-owned online television service launched 18 months previously reports a 130% year-on-year increase in viewership for the first quarter of 2013.^[20]
• 5 June – Food manufacturers criticise Broadcasting Authority of Ireland plans to introduce new regulations banning television and radio advertising of foods with high fat, salt, and sugar content during children's programmes.^[21]
• 25 June – Setanta Sports signs a deal to make their BT Sport channels and ESPN available in the Irish Republic from 1 August.^[22]

July

• 11 July – Fine Gael Teachta Dála Tom Barry, who had been drinking in the Dáil bar, provokes international headlines after pulling party colleague Áine Collins onto his lap on live television during a late-night Dáil debate. Fine Gael later describe the incident was "silly" and "horseplay". However, the event sparks a national discussion about the treatment of women by men in Irish politics.^[23][24]

August

• 5 August – In a
  TV3, saying, "To say it was embarrassing doesn't begin to describe it. I squirmed and I railed against it. The Travellers stuff is appalling, absolutely appalling." He also says that when he complained to TV3 executive Ben Frow, the latter was "just amused at my indignation, which meant I couldn't get anywhere with it".^[25][26]
• 22 August – TV3 announces plans to commission its first soap opera, and invites companies from Ireland and the UK to put forward ideas. Submissions will be invited from September.[27]
• 25 August – Research by Broadcasting Authority of Ireland shows most viewers are still watching television on traditional sets; only 4.6% view content online.^[28]
• 26 August – The latest figures from
  UTV Media show its half yearly profits fell by 10%, with its radio advertising revenue in both Britain and Ireland continuing to decline.^[29]
• 27 August – The Government of the 31st Dáil publishes plans to replace the television licence with a Public Service Broadcasting Charge on all primary residences, and certain businesses.^[30] Holiday and second-home owners are likely to be exempted from the charge, with the onus to pay it on the occupier.^[31]

• 6 November –
  UTV Ireland, a television channel targeting audiences within the Republic of Ireland. If given the go-ahead by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, the channel will be on air from 2015, and will show some ITV content currently broadcast by TV3.^[37]
• 7 November – A total of 16 production companies have submitted ideas to TV3 for a twice-weekly soap, including
  Irish Times reports.^[38]
• 7 November – Stephen Chisholm wins the
  first series of TV3's The Great Irish Bake Off.^[39]
• 14 November – Saorview relaunches its website in order to encourage viewers who have not done so yet to switch to digital television.^[40]

December

• 8 December – The
  BSkyB's exclusive rights to the franchise.^[41]
• 9 December – Joe Mulholland, a former managing director of RTÉ expresses concerns about the effect of cutbacks on the quality of programming produced by the broadcaster, warning they are in "dangerous times".[42]
• 16 December – Launch of
  RTÉ One HD.^[43]
• 18 December – Chief executive of the
  Irish Film Board, James Hickey reports that Ireland's film, television and animation industry generated €168 million worth of activity in 2013, an 18 per cent increase on 2012 and its best year to date.^[44]
• 22 December – Jockey Tony McCoy is named the 2013 RTÉ Sports Person of the Year.^[45]
• 28 December – Ratings for 25 December indicate that comedian Brendan O'Carroll's show Mrs. Brown's Boys achieved the highest Christmas Day viewing figures in both Ireland and the UK. With a viewership of 832,000, it topped the Irish ratings for the third year in a row, while in the UK the episode, titled Buckin' Mammy achieved an audience of 9.4 million.^[46]