NEW STATION GOES ON AIR IN SOUTH
New station goes on air in south
By Michael O'Toole
Dublin Correspondent
THE Republic's first independent television station came on the air last night - nine years after it was first given the go-ahead.
TV3 based near Tallaght in west Dublin will offer a range of light entertainment, sitcoms and films and is targeted at a youthful audience.
The station which was officially launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at 5.30pm will only have a limited reach in Northern Ireland.
Although it uses the same transmitters as RTE it is on a higher channel frequency which many of the broadcasting body's aerials in Northern Ireland will not be able to receive.
The first night's programming included an exclusive interview with President Mary McAleese.
She told the station's 20/20 programme that she felt "numb" after last month's Omagh bomb atrocity.
She said the bombers in no way represented Northern Ireland and they were not wanted north or south.
Canadian TV giant CanWest owns 45 per cent of the station while other investors in TV3 include U2 manager Paul McGuinness.
It is hoping to take six per cent of the audience share in its first year of broadcasting.
It was originally given a licence in 1989 but delays meant the plan was only finalised at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, the president yesterday received a huge boost after an opinion poll revealed overwhelming support for her presidency.
The survey, in yesterday's Dublin edition of the Sunday World newspaper, said-some 71 per cent of voters thought the president was doing a good job, just under 12 months into her seven year term of office.
Only 10 per cent of people thought she was doing a bad job in the office.
The poll showed she had overcome controversies which blew up during her first year in office - including taking communion at Dublin's Church of Ireland cathedral and being the first president to stay away from the annual Dublin Horse Show in the RDS this summer as well as inviting Orangemen to Aras an Uachtarain on July 11.
Seventy per cent of respondents also said they felt she was getting a raw deal from the media.
The 10 per cent of detractors said the Belfast-born president was preoccupied with religion and Northern Ireland.
Fifty seven per cent of respondents said the president was less popular, however, than her predecessor Mary Robinson.
The Sunday World poll also showed increased support for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats coalition government.
Some 53 per cent of voters said they would vote for Fianna Fail if a general election were held tomorrow - up 13 per cent on last year's real election results.
The poll shows a slump in support for John Bruton's Fine Gael from 28 per cent to 21 per cent.
By Michael O'Toole
Dublin Correspondent
THE Republic's first independent television station came on the air last night - nine years after it was first given the go-ahead.
TV3 based near Tallaght in west Dublin will offer a range of light entertainment, sitcoms and films and is targeted at a youthful audience.
The station which was officially launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at 5.30pm will only have a limited reach in Northern Ireland.
Although it uses the same transmitters as RTE it is on a higher channel frequency which many of the broadcasting body's aerials in Northern Ireland will not be able to receive.
The first night's programming included an exclusive interview with President Mary McAleese.
She told the station's 20/20 programme that she felt "numb" after last month's Omagh bomb atrocity.
She said the bombers in no way represented Northern Ireland and they were not wanted north or south.
Canadian TV giant CanWest owns 45 per cent of the station while other investors in TV3 include U2 manager Paul McGuinness.
It is hoping to take six per cent of the audience share in its first year of broadcasting.
It was originally given a licence in 1989 but delays meant the plan was only finalised at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, the president yesterday received a huge boost after an opinion poll revealed overwhelming support for her presidency.
The survey, in yesterday's Dublin edition of the Sunday World newspaper, said-some 71 per cent of voters thought the president was doing a good job, just under 12 months into her seven year term of office.
Only 10 per cent of people thought she was doing a bad job in the office.
The poll showed she had overcome controversies which blew up during her first year in office - including taking communion at Dublin's Church of Ireland cathedral and being the first president to stay away from the annual Dublin Horse Show in the RDS this summer as well as inviting Orangemen to Aras an Uachtarain on July 11.
Seventy per cent of respondents also said they felt she was getting a raw deal from the media.
The 10 per cent of detractors said the Belfast-born president was preoccupied with religion and Northern Ireland.
Fifty seven per cent of respondents said the president was less popular, however, than her predecessor Mary Robinson.
The Sunday World poll also showed increased support for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats coalition government.
Some 53 per cent of voters said they would vote for Fianna Fail if a general election were held tomorrow - up 13 per cent on last year's real election results.
The poll shows a slump in support for John Bruton's Fine Gael from 28 per cent to 21 per cent.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0395
Published Date: 21-Sep-98
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