UTV to provide Daybreak local news in Northern Ireland

Following a competitive tender process, UTV has won a multi-year contract to provide regional news bulletins to the ITV network breakfast programme, Daybreak. It is the first time since January 1995 that UTV has provided early morning news during the breakfast programming.

This was due to a dispute between UTV and then morning station GMTV when the broadcaster for Northern Ireland opted out of the national breakfast show, without permission, in order to provide live coverage of the Combined Loyalist ceasefire.

Daybreak replaced GMTV in September 2010 offering a news, lifestyle and entertainment magazine programme broadcast live each weekday morning from 6am to 8.30am. UTV’s news service has proved to be one of the most popular in the ITV regions, and also regularly more popular than many BBC offerings.

UTV reporters, Rita FitzGerald and Sara Moore are the new faces of Daybreak’s news bulletins in Northern Ireland. Rita will present the local news to viewers from Monday to Thursday, hourly between 6am and 8.30am, with Sara fronting Daybreak news on Friday mornings.

Darwin Templeton, Head of News at UTV said: “UTV is by far the first choice for news in Northern Ireland and with our strong technical infrastructure and experienced team on and off camera – we are delighted to win this contract to provide quality news and information to the Daybreak show.

“UTV is now delivering a comprehensive news service for viewers right across the day on Channel 3: from Daybreak in the morning through to our lunchtime bulletin, UTV Live in the evening and the late news and current affairs programme, UTV Live Tonight.”

Since 1995 GMTV Northern Ireland News had been produced by Reuters, ITN, and finally Macmillan Media who also produced the Daybreak news for the region until the end of 2012.

From December 2007 through to December 2012 the GMTV Scotland and Daybreak Scotland local news was also produced by MacMillan Media, again this service has now returned to STV Productions – the ITV Scotland contractor.

[Reported by Mike Waktins. Pictured: Rita FitzGerald, Daybreak Presenter and Darwin Templeton, Head of News at UTV]