Virgin Media Television (Ireland)

By 1998, Canwest was already a major owner of television and radio stations across a number of territories including Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The consortium Tullamore Beta and Canwest launched TV3 on 20 September 1998. However, in 2001 Canwest confirmed it would sell a stake to ITV plc.

In September 2000, Granada Media plc (a predecessor company of ITV plc which then owned six ITV franchises) agreed to acquire 45% of the company from the original TV3 consortium. This was part of a deal which gave TV3 the right to simulcast with ITV certain Granada programming. The Granada plc shareholding was taken over by ITV plc upon the merger of Granada with Carlton on 2 February 2004. In early 2001, the station officially launched threetext, the teletext service, much of the content from Thomas Crosbie Media. Test transmissions of this service commenced in late 2000, but as early as 1999 limited programming content was provided. However, in 2004, the news and sports were dropped as part of a rebranding to an 'entertainment portal'.

On 16 January 2006, Canwest announced to TV3 staff, that it was selling its stake in the channel,[6] in an effort to reduce its debt. Following this announcement on 19 May 2006 it was confirmed that Doughty Hanson & Co, a venture capital firm based in Luxembourg had purchased the stakes of Canwest (for €103 million) and ITV Plc's stake (for €103 million),[7] and the remaining 10% (for €59 million).

In 2006, the company's new owner Doughty Hanson & Co. arranged a loan through Anglo Irish Bank to take control of the company through Tullamore Beta Ltd. Under this ownership Doughty Hanson tried to move beyond television broadcasting and showed interest in acquiring a radio broadcasting license under the branding More FM,[8] however the licence was granted to Classic Hits 4FM. By 2008, the company expanded its channel portfolio with the acquisition of Kish Media then owners of Channel Channel 6.[9] Channel 6 was later refocused under the TV3 Group branding and renamed 3e<.[9] By January 2008, the TV3 Group composed of TV3, 3e, tv3.ie and 3Player.

Doughty Hanson & Co came together with Eircom to produce a consortium to establish Ireland's commercial digital terrestrial television subscription service then titled Onevision. Following a tender process the BAI deemed the consortium unsuccessful despite Onevision planning to launch additional TV3 branded channels (3Today and 3XPOSÉ).[10]

By 2011, the broadcaster planned its commitment to high definition broadcasting technologies and the company laid down plans to establish a HD studio, which was eventually launched in Spring 2013 at cost of €5 million.[11] The studio was developed to produce key programming in HD and offering independent companies and public broadcasters the opportunity to make use of the new studios.[12]

By 2015, Doughty Hanson & Co confirmed it planned on selling the TV3 Group; as the holding company decided to abandon television broadcasting.

Despite speculation from different companies seeking interest in the TV3 Group, by mid-2015 it was confirmed Liberty Global would purchase the company through its Irish subsidiary Virgin Media Ireland. Doughty Hanson & Co sold the company for €80 million and an additional €7 million should the "group" meet certain targets. The acquisition of TV3 was approved by the CPCC in November 2015 and it was passed to then Minister for Communications, Alex White, for approval which he gave in December 2015. CEO David McRedmond announced that he was to leave the company by the end of 2015.[13]

Expanding its channel portfolio, Liberty Global went onto purchase UTV Ireland from ITV plc for €10 million.[14] On 17 November 2016 UTV Ireland was taken over by the TV3 Group. The channel was rebranded in January 2017.

By late 2017; Virgin Media Ireland confirmed it would rebrand its channel portfolio, however, this was delayed[15] until summer 2018. On August 30, 2018 Virgin Media Television completed its rebranding strategy.

• Virgin Media One (formerly known as "TV3"): 20 September 1998
  • Virgin Media One HD: 11 August 2015
    • Virgin Media One +1: 2 December 2014
• Virgin Media Two (formerly known as "3e"): 6 January 2009 (previously "Channel 6" from March 2006 to January 2009)
  • Virgin Media Two HD (only available on Sky and Virgin Media)
• Virgin Media Three (formerly known as "Be3"): January 2017 (previously UTV Ireland from January 2015 to January 2017)
  • Virgin Media Three HD (only available on Virgin Media)
• Virgin Media Sport: August 30, 2018
• Virgin Media Kids (formerly known as "3Kids"): 27 June 2016 as 3 hour block on Virgin Media Three

TV3's Video on Demand (VOD) relaunched on Saturday 8 October 2011.[16] 3Player[17] replaces the original TV3 Catch-Up service previously available at tv3.ie and through its iPhone/iPad app. The new service was revealed at a press call on Friday 7 October 2011. It is estimated by the TV3 Group that the service will be worth about €7.5 million by 2015. 3Player is in HTML5 format which makes it available on the majority of operating systems. In May 2013, TV3 confirmed [18] that it now seeks its users to register with the company. Registered 3player users will be able to create playlists of their favourite shows and use their logins to pick up where they left off across all devices.

3 Player relaunched as "Virgin Media Player" in August 2018, to coincide with the rebranding of TV3 to Virgin Media Television.

TV3 launched a basic and standardized website in 2000 at tv3.ie,[19] this website only provided basic information such as a programme guide, TV listings and corporate information. This website was revamped in 2006[20] and again in 2008.[21]

In 2009, tv3.ie started investing in its online brand. The website relaunched featuring an on-demand service 3Player, TV listings, programme information, news, showbiz, sport, weather, dating, fashion, competitions and other features. On 13 May 2013 the channel overhauled its entire tv3.ie website which now includes a new hourly online video news service that will run alongside its on-air output. The revamped website provides viewers with up-to-date current affairs, entertainment news, sport, fashion, dating, specialized content and more.

With the rebranding of the entire TV3 Group in August 2018, the website address changed to "virginmediatelevision.ie", with a whole new look.

On Friday 24 September 2010 TV3 launched its iPhone application.[22] The service is free to download and offers TV3 viewers the opportunity to watch TV3 content including news, showbiz and sport. It also supplies audiences with an on-demand catch-up service which allows its viewers to watch streamed content.[23]

Virgin Media Television published Xposé Magazine every month, based on their daily entertainment show of the same name.

In 2012, TV3 Group's owners Doughty Hanson indicated their wishes to sell off the company in due course. Speculation as to who would purchase the group continued into 2013 with UTV Media considered a major contender.[36] However, in 2013 UTV confirmed plans it would launch its own Republic of Ireland service in early 2014 – branded as UTV Ireland.

In early April 2015, a number of media groups were reporting TV3's owners Doughty Hanson were definitely interested in selling the TV3 Group.[37][38][39][40] These reports were strengthened when Doughty Hanson confirmed it has scrapped plans for a sixth investment fund.[41] A number of international broadcasters were reportedly interested in purchasing the Irish-based broadcaster including Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) and Liberty Global.[42] It was later reported VIMN has shown disinterest in purchasing the network but on 16 April 2015 both the Irish Independent and Sky News claimed Carlyle have shown interest in the broadcaster and negotiations were due to begin. Carlyle have begun investing in the Irish market. TV3 Group has declined requests from media organisations to comment on the rumours.[43]

It was further reported on 3 May 2015 by The Sunday Business Post that Liberty Global are in negotiations to take over the broadcaster.[37] They report that Liberty Global are to take over the Irish broadcaster after completing due diligence.

In June 2015, INM confirmed they would consider purchasing the TV3 Group.[44] However, following criticism from individuals within media and political circles, INM claimed it was "highly unlikely" they would purchase the broadcaster,[44] as there would be concern over how much control INM has over print and broadcasting media in Ireland.

On 12 June 2015 Irish media began reporting on the possible buyout by Liberty Global.[45][46][47] Both companies refused to comment on the reports. Approval from the BAI will have to granted if the deal is to go through and may also involve approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. It will take a number of months before the acquisition is finalized. It is reported the TV3 Group will be sold to Liberty Global for €100 million.

On 3 July 2015 it was announced that Doughty Hanson had sold TV3 to a Liberty Global company who operate UPC Ireland for €80 million. The deal may also deliver a further €7 million should TV3 meet certain performance targets. The deal will need regulatory approval by Competition and Consumer Protection Commission as well as a media plurality test by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.[48] On 5 July 2015 The Sunday Business Post confirmed following an interview with TV3's CEO McRedmon that Liberty Global had shown interest in purchasing the TV3 Group since last year.[49]