United International Holdings Programming has teamed up with Ireland’s
national broadcaster, RTE, to launch Tara Television, a new UK general
entertainment cable and satellite television station.
Tara Television will go on air in March 1996, transmitting from midday
to midnight throughout the UK, excluding Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland, with a mix of documentaries, children’s, lifestyle,
sports, drama, music, soaps and live news programming.
A large part of the station’s output will be sourced from the archive of
RTE-originated programming, the bulk of which has not been seen outside
Ireland before.
Tara aims to appeal to family audiences beyond the eight million Irish
people and their families living in England, Wales and Scotland.
It will be delivered via the Orion satellite, both encrypted and
digitally compressed, and deals are currently being negotiated with UK
cable operators for the channel to be carried as part of their
subscription packages.
The channel will not carry advertising initially and plans are already
in motion to roll out Tara Television in Australia, New Zealand and
Canada within the next six months..
Tony Currie, a former controller of programmes at the now defunct Cable
Authority who has been consultant project manager at UIH Programming,
takes up the post of director of programmes with the new channel
The Entertainment Partnership has picked up the PR account for the new
channel without a pitch.
UIH Programming is a subsidiary of US firm United International Holdings
Inc. It was set up in 1989 to develop, acquire and manage multi-channel
television, programming and telephony operations and now has interests
in 22 countries.
