UPC have bought TV3 for €80m. A massive drop from the price paid by Dogherty Hanson in 2006. Equity Portfoilio company Doherty Hanson bought the channel for €265m from then owners Canwest and ITV. This marks a 70% drop in the vaulation of the company in the last 9 years. We mark the sale of TV3 with a review of Irish TV in 2015.
When it won the rights to air the Rugby World Cup TV3 announced that it would launch TV3HD. As expect TV3HD will not launch on Saorview. TV3HD will be available only on pay TV platforms Sky and UPC. TV3HD will launch in August 2015 with the arrival of the RWC from England on the 18th of September 2015. This will mark the first time that TV3 have hosted a full interational event, previous it co-hosted the 2007 RWC with Setanta Sports.
TV3 has signed a contract with the BAI to extend its licence for its time shift channel, TV3 +1. TV3 original signed an extension to its Public Service Contract with the BAI in December to allow it to broadcast TV3 +1 on cable services. On December 2nd, 2014, TV3+1 began broadcasting on the UPC cable network, the BAI and TV3 signed an extension to the TV3 contract on December 22nd, 2014. On February 24th, 2015 the BAI and TV3 signed an extension to the contract to included satellite and digital terrestrial television.