IRN News finishes

iain.elseyiain.elsey Posts: 42
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I have heard the hourly IRN news bulletins finish at 13:00on Tuesday 3rd March.

The service on Eurostat Hotbird 7A will go silent and will be replaced by Sky News on the Astra satellite 2B.

Bulletins will be two minutes in duration and with different intro's and outro's.

Letters and e-mails are being sent out to subscriber stations. Should anyone have a copy they hopefully can confirm this.
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Comments

  • TelevisionUserTelevisionUser Posts: 41,405
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    Indeed, iain.elsey. Sky News seems to have been aggressively going after radio news contracts these past few years so it does not surprise me that IRN, who seemed to do an OK job, are suffering now. Just like the way Sky got the news contract from ITN for Five.
  • Harris TweedHarris Tweed Posts: 1,613
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    Of course, *IRN* haven't lost out here.. the new Sky service is contracted by IRN, in place of its existing service from ITN.

    Indeed, I suspect IRN are laughing all the way to the bank.. as I guess the aggression you mention above will mean that Sky bid mini-$ to get the deal.

    But the guys at ITN.. they've certainly lost out.
  • the wellserthe wellser Posts: 4,973
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    As someone who presents on a station that takes IRN, does anyone know if the service will generic as it is now or be Sky News branded?
  • occyoccy Posts: 64,630
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    Smooth Radio London takes Sky News Radio, and have done for a while.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 647
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    But the guys at ITN.. they've certainly lost out.

    And they certainly deserve to have lost out - the quality and professionalism of IRN over the past 5 years or so has been questionable.

    Rarely there is a bulletin that goes out without a flaw, and some of the stories included in their bulletins is laughable.

    Sky however run a much tighter ship, with far more competant news readers.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 646
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    As someone who presents on a station that takes IRN, does anyone know if the service will generic as it is now or be Sky News branded?

    They end with "That's the latest from the Sky News centre, i'm xxx", and as far as i'm aware the IRN feeds will be the standard Sky 2 min bulletin so will likely be the same.
  • Martin PhillpMartin Phillp Posts: 34,687
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    Sky will take on some of the ex IRN journalists, although I have no idea if the current Sky News Radio and IRN service will merge, so that all stations take the same bulletin?
  • James30James30 Posts: 5,196
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    The Sky News Radio service is more of a polished package.

    Sky News Radio have good readers like Bill Bingham....he reminds me of the old style news readers ILR stations used to have, but he does it with an upbeat image.
  • iain.elseyiain.elsey Posts: 42
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    The Hotbird satellite service used to distribute IRN's top of the hour news bulletins to non-Newslink stations will be terminated immediately after the 1300 bulletin on Tuesday March 3rd when IRN moves its news service from IRN to Sky.

    It will be replaced by Sky's service on Astra 2B- see details below.

    Anyone currently using the Hotbird service for live IRN bulletins should make arrangements to migrate to the Astra service as soon as possible- and in any event before March 3rd when the Hotbird service will be discontinued.

    The Astra channel is un encrypted and so can continue to be accessed through the free-to-air digital receiver. the channel details are as follows;

    Satellite Astra 2B 28.2 Degrees East
    Transponder 25
    Frequency 12.188Ghz
    Polarisation Horizontal
    Symbol rate 27.500
    Forward Error correction 2/3
    Service ID: snr3

    Please note that the Sky bulletin is 2 minutes long and does not have advertisements attached.

    From 14:00hrs on March 3rd the IRN bulletin will also reduce to 2 minutes from its current 3 minutes. from this date it will not include any Newslink ads so the duration will always be 120seconds.
  • RobinCarmodyRobinCarmody Posts: 3,103
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    James30 wrote: »
    The Sky News Radio service is more of a polished package.

    Sky News Radio have good readers like Bill Bingham....he reminds me of the old style news readers ILR stations used to have, but he does it with an upbeat image.

    Bill Bingham is ex-IRN, isn't he?
  • Martin PhillpMartin Phillp Posts: 34,687
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    Bill Bingham is ex-IRN, isn't he?

    http://www.bill-bingham.freeuk.com/Radio.htm
  • James30James30 Posts: 5,196
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    Highly experienced and it's heard in his bulletins.
  • EnnerjeeEnnerjee Posts: 5,131
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    James30 wrote: »
    Sky News Radio have good readers like Bill Bingham....he reminds me of the old style news readers ILR stations used to have, but he does it with an upbeat image.

    That's probably because Bill Bingham is one of the old style news readers from the IRN of the 1970s onwards.

    . . . http://www.bill-bingham.freeuk.com/Radio.htm . . . this page: omits his time at Radio City and Radio Trent from 1974 to 1980.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 498
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    Yeah we got told that they will be Sky News branded, wonder if IRN/ITN will say anything on the last update at 13.00?

    I like the sound of Sky News Radio, sounds more pro then the stuff we have had from IRN over the last few months.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 329
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    DJDave wrote: »
    Yeah we got told that they will be Sky News branded, wonder if IRN/ITN will say anything on the last update at 13.00?

    I like the sound of Sky News Radio, sounds more pro then the stuff we have had from IRN over the last few months.

    Doubt they'll say anything - to the dear listener it means nothing, to the anorak it means everything!

    IRN's readers are appauling of late - clock finish? What clock finish! Many times I've taken the service they finish at 2 or 3 seconds past the hour - knowing full well their script is too long they'll go in to great detail, for example, of who scored what goal instead of subbing it and saying ABC lost 1-nil to XYZ.

    And the stumbles all over the start of their bulletins!

    By the way, 5 IRN journos are at Sky - the rest aren't heading over. You may have heard the 'lucky' ones on Sky as they get use to the new set up.
  • robot123robot123 Posts: 166
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    BULLETINS

    " IRN 180 will be replaced by a 2 minute bulletin with closing contacts
    " IRN 90 bulletin will be discontinued
    " Newslink ads will NOT be included in bulletins
    (NB Stations who take IRN live bulletins will need to contact IMD or Adstream to arrange for ads to be sent to them. The ads will need to be inserted locally at the scheduled times).

    Bulletin Intro: "From the Sky News Centre at (time)"
    Bulletin Outro: "That's the latest. I'm (newsreader's name)"

    SCRIPTS AND AUDIO

    Scripts and audio clips for use the following day will be sent before midnight and refreshed from 04:00.

    On average stations will receive 3-4 audio clips and 3-4 scripts per hour between 04:00 and 24:00 on weekdays and 05:00 to 14:00 at weekends and on Bank Holidays.

    The average duration of scripts will be 20 seconds and the duration of audio clips will generally be a maximum of 15 seconds.

    HEADLINES

    The top four stories written to be read to air as a 60 second bulletin sent hourly from 05:15 to 00:15 (weekdays) and 05:15 to 14:15 at weekends and on Bank Holidays.

    PROSPECTS

    " Daily prospects will be sent at 08:30, 12:00 and 17:00.
    " Weekly prospects sent Thursday (12:00) and repeated Friday (13:00).

    OFF AIR CLIPS

    " Stations are now able to download clips direct from Sky News and Sky Sports News in their newsrooms.

    " Sky News clips must not exceed 3 minutes each and the total duration of clips must not exceed 60 minutes per day.

    " Sky News clips do not have to be accompanied by a credit unless the item is exclusive to Sky News

    " Sky Sports News clips must not exceed 45 seconds. There is a maximum limit of 10 clips per day and 200 clips per month.

    " One in every three clips used must carry a Sky Sports News credit.

    NB. Sky has reserved the right to audit the usage of these clips and stations should therefore keep a log of items used.


    SHOWBIZ NEWS

    The Morning Prep service will continue to include the latest showbiz stories, a round up of the morning papers and material from Murf Media. There will be two further written updates of showbiz news each day at 11:30 and 15:30 plus a rolling service of breaking news and audio.

    MONEY NEWS

    Three summaries a day of approximately 60 seconds duration (scripts and voiced version) at 05:30, 11:30 and 17:00 plus breaking financial and consumer news and audio clips.

    PROGRAMME PACKAGES

    An early morning feed at 04:00 containing up to six packages and audio bank material of between 45" and 1:30 minutes duration with additional feeds for lunchtime and early evening drive.

    SPORTS NEWS

    Three written summaries a day at 05:30, 11:30 and 15:30 (weekdays) and 06:30 and 17:30 (weekends) plus updated scripts and audio throughout the day.

    All Premier League games will be covered as now and there will be a classified feed at 17:05 on Saturdays.

    On Friday afternoons there will be a feed of sport programme packages.

    PARLIAMENT

    There will be a facility at the Sky studios at Millbank for journalists to do live Q and As with their stations or for MPs to do interviews down the line with their local station. A booking system will operate and the number to ring is 020 7585 4415.


    MAJOR STORY ALERT

    The story will be snapped on the IRN wire service and text alerts will be sent to Mobile Phones. Audible and visible alarms will be triggered and you should also watch for the BREAKING NEWS strap on Sky News and on IRN Net Newsroom.

    Stations can opt into the live Sky News feed at this point if they wish either on site or from the IRN 1 and IRN 2 channels which will carry a live feed of Sky News output.

    There may also be extended bulletins on the hour and 2 min bulletins on the half hour.

    IRN NET NEWSROOM

    This will continue to operate as normal and retain the same content and appearance. There may be occasional changes as we update information.

    TEXT ALERTS

    This will continue to operate as it does now except that subscribers will be asked by text every few months whether they wish to continue to subscribe or not. This is to cut down on the number of wasted texts that go out to people who have changed their phone numbers or left their radio station without telling us.


    LIVE FEEDS AND AUDIO BANK will continue to be available as now.

    DIGITAL CONTENT

    The current core service will remain but there will be additional added content including financial stories, football league tables and video bulletins.

    Core Service

    o 10 latest national and international news stories - 5 with video
    o 5 latest sports stories - 3 with video
    o 5 latest entertainment stories - 3 with video
    o 5 latest business and money stories
    o 2 'quirky news' - both as video
    o Football league tables & match results - AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

    Video Bulletins

    o News headlines - 5-6 times a day
    o Weather forecast - 4 times a day
    o Showbiz headlines - 2 times a day
    o Sports headlines - 4 times a day
    o Spotlight - a weekly showbiz round-up
    o 7 days - a weekly 'lighter side of the news'
    .....
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    Bill Bingham is ex-IRN, isn't he?

    Top newsreader....Funnily enough, I think his voice suits perfectly overnight newsreader when all is quiet.

    When I heard him doing Sky News on Century I always remembered that instead of extending the out cue at the end he would take 10+ seconds to say, "Thats the latest from the sky news centre,Im xxx"
  • philenglandphilengland Posts: 8,176
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    a 2min bulletin, not much can fit in to that!

    thank goodness I've added news in to my morning show on Radio Tircoed, the items on the IRN net newsroom are really useful!

    Have a listen to one of todays bulletins I read out (one top story with IRN cuts, and a few SW Wales news items) www.radiotircoed.com/NEWS_1030_RT_16FEB.mp3
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    a 2min bulletin, not much can fit in to that!

    thank goodness I've added news in to my morning show on Radio Tircoed, the items on the IRN net newsroom are really useful!

    Have a listen to one of todays bulletins I read out (one top story with IRN cuts, and a few SW Wales news items) www.radiotircoed.com/NEWS_1030_RT_16FEB.mp3

    Depending on how fast you read, you could normally get six stories and two short - ish cuts in a 2 min bulletin
  • boywonderboywonder Posts: 1,397
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    fawcett94 wrote: »
    Depending on how fast you read, you could normally get six stories and two short - ish cuts in a 2 min bulletin

    We do 5 stories in 2 minutes. Each story will have a max of 6 lines and is not supported by audio.
  • deepfroatdeepfroat Posts: 1,727
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    How much does it cost a community station to use IRN material, whether as live bulletins or cuts?
  • CapitalLifeCapitalLife Posts: 650
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    That's a bit of a pain for those people who run automated stations - having no newslinks transmitted. That was what made taking IRN painless on Life, none of this finding 'copy', especially at short notice or having to be in the office on a weekend to deal with ads that relied upon the results of sporting events and would be sent via IMD or Adstream early that AM.

    A real step backwards!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 804
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    In the interests of clarity - and the misleading title of this thread - IRN is not finishing. The contract to service IRN, which is currently held by ITN, is coming to an end and has been won, going forward, by Sky. IRN is still the company that will deliver the service, even though bulletins will be branded as "Sky" and most of the same journalists will, to start with at least, work for the 'new' service.
  • philenglandphilengland Posts: 8,176
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    deepfroat wrote: »
    How much does it cost a community station to use IRN material, whether as live bulletins or cuts?
    It was £117.50 for the year, but that is now £115.00 a year (i think) which includes access to the IRN Net Newsroom (providing you have a fixed IP address)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2
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    It was £117.50 for the year, but that is now £115.00 a year (i think) which includes access to the IRN Net Newsroom (providing you have a fixed IP address)

    Correct. It's £100 before VAT, so until December you're saving a whole £2.50. Wow! Pint of beer there I think...

    Oh, and the fixed IP is also correct - and a pain...:)
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