30 January – FormerChannel 5 Director of Programmes Jeff Ford has been hired byTV3 to become their new Director of Content, a position he will take up in February.[4]
31 January – Figures published by TAM Ireland/Nielsen indicate viewers in Ireland watched an average of 3.35 hours of television per day (25 hours a week) in 2012.[5]
5 February – Launch of Irish Horse TV, Ireland's first TV channel dedicated to horse racing and other equine sports.[8]
7 February – TheIrish Film and Television Network website reports that pre-production has begun onAn Bronntanas, a five-part Irish language thriller set inConamara that will air onTG4 in 2014.[9]
25 February – Telecommunications giantBT, which bought the rights to somePremier League matches in 2012 expands its investment in sports broadcasting with the purchase ofESPN's channels in Britain and Ireland.[10]
4 March – Online retailerViking Direct says it cannot fulfil orders placed for a 51-inch 3D television that was incorrectly priced at €6.49 instead of €649. Thousands of orders were placed during the two days the offer was available, but customers will not receive their purchase, nor will they get an automatic refund.[11]
11 April – TV3 criticises new regulations that ban radio and television journalists from expressing an on-air opinion on news and current affairs issues as "a draconian extension of the State's control over media".[15]
21 May – Justice MinisterAlan Shatter apologises toindependent deputyMick Wallace in theDáil Éireann after he divulged that Wallace had been excused from receivingpenalty points for using amobile phone while driving during a debate about people escaping penalty points on an edition of RTÉ'sPrime Time. Shatter had previously admitted receiving his information fromGarda CommissionerMartin Callinan but claimed he was not "in the business of collecting secret files on politicians".[17][18]
30 May – Three international deals are announced by Dublin-based Network Ireland Television that will see 50 Irish-made short films aired on television channels in the Americas, Europe and Middle East.[19]
3 June –AerTV, an Irish-owned online television service launched 18 months previously reports a 130% year-on-year increase in viewership for the first quarter of 2013.[20]
5 June – Food manufacturers criticiseBroadcasting Authority of Ireland plans to introduce new regulations banning television and radio advertising of foods with high fat, salt, and sugar content during children's programmes.[21]
25 June –Setanta Sports signs a deal to make their BT Sport channels and ESPN available in the Irish Republic from 1 August.[22]
11 July –Fine Gael Teachta DálaTom Barry, who had been drinking in the Dáil bar, provokes international headlines after pulling party colleagueÁine Collins onto his lap on live television during a late-night Dáil debate. Fine Gael later describe the incident was "silly" and "horseplay". However, the event sparks a national discussion about the treatment of women by men in Irish politics.[23][24]
5 August – In aSunday Times interview, journalist and businessmanVincent Browne criticises programmes aboutTravellers broadcast by his employerTV3, saying, "To say it was embarrassing doesn't begin to describe it. I squirmed and I railed against it. The Travellers stuff is appalling, absolutely appalling." He also says that when he complained to TV3 executive Ben Frow, the latter was "just amused at my indignation, which meant I couldn't get anywhere with it".[25][26]
22 August – TV3 announces plans to commission its first soap opera, and invites companies from Ireland and the UK to put forward ideas. Submissions will be invited from September.[27]
25 August – Research byBroadcasting Authority of Ireland shows most viewers are still watching television on traditional sets; only 4.6% view content online.[28]
26 August – The latest figures fromUTV Media show its half yearly profits fell by 10%, with its radio advertising revenue in both Britain and Ireland continuing to decline.[29]
27 August – TheGovernment of the 31st Dáil publishes plans to replace thetelevision licence with a Public Service Broadcasting Charge on all primary residences, and certain businesses.[30] Holiday and second-home owners are likely to be exempted from the charge, with the onus to pay it on the occupier.[31]
18 October – RTÉ Gaelic football punditJoe Brolly says that it is "nobody else's business" ifGAA clubs or tournaments are named after dead republican paramilitaries, after someUnionist politicians criticised the practice as glorifying terrorism. The comments come in the wake ofFirst Minister of Northern IrelandPeter Robinson's attendance at aCo-Operation Ireland dinner held the previous evening to acknowledge the efforts of the GAA in building better community relations.[34][35]
6 November –UTV Media announces plans to launchUTV Ireland, a television channel targeting audiences within the Republic of Ireland. If given the go-ahead by theBroadcasting Authority of Ireland, the channel will be on air from 2015, and will show some ITV content currently broadcast by TV3.[37]
7 November – A total of 16 production companies have submitted ideas to TV3 for a twice-weekly soap, includingLime Productions, which producesChannel 4's teen soapHollyoaks, theIrish Times reports.[38]
8 December – TheSunday Independent reports thatJames Bond will return to terrestrial television at Christmas after RTÉ signed a deal withMGM andSony to air thefilms, and the expiry ofBSkyB's exclusive rights to the franchise.[41]
9 December – Joe Mulholland, a former managing director of RTÉ expresses concerns about the effect of cutbacks on the quality of programming produced by the broadcaster, warning they are in "dangerous times".[42]
18 December – Chief executive of theIrish Film Board, James Hickey reports that Ireland's film, television and animation industry generated €168 million worth of activity in 2013, an 18 per cent increase on 2012 and its best year to date.[44]
28 December – Ratings for 25 December indicate that comedianBrendan O'Carroll's showMrs. Brown's Boys achieved the highest Christmas Day viewing figures in both Ireland and the UK. With a viewership of 832,000, it topped the Irish ratings for the third year in a row, while in the UK the episode, titledBuckin' Mammy achieved an audience of 9.4 million.[46]
