UTV IRELAND SIGNED a contract to secure a property for their new TV station today.

The entire ground floor of Macken House, Dublin 1, will be transformed into the new channel’s broadcast centre.

UTV Media plc is no stranger to the building – with FM104 on the first floor and Q102, UTV Radio Solutions and UTV Sales based on the second floor.

Group Chief Executive of UTV Media plc, John McCann, said: “Macken House has been a great success for UTV since we first moved into the building five years ago.

I am delighted that we have secured the ground floor for UTV Ireland, which enables us to keep all of UTV’s Dublin-based broadcasting teams under one roof.

Source: MARK MAXWELL via Maxwell Photography

“We have seen how beneficial this location is, in terms of surrounding amenities and transport links.

The building will now be our Group Irish headquarters with more than 200 staff located at the premises.

McCann also added that while the UTV headquarters will be in Dublin – the group is looking at regional news bureaux in Cork, Galway and Limerick, to facilitate their national news team.

UTV Ireland’s broadcast centre will consist of two studios, edit suites, corporate offices and news, administration, finance and sales areas.

More than 80 people will be based at the new ground-floor facility.

They will be working across programming, news, sales, operations and corporate functions.

Read: UTV Ireland’s schedule is starting to take shape…>