It's now understood that TV3 have renewed their contract, meaning that it won't be moving to RTÉ.
Quote:
TV3 has secured the rights to air Big Brother 2016 in the Republic of Ireland, bbspy understands.
The broadcaster became the Irish home of BBUK last May ahead of the ‘Timebomb’ series, but its initial one-year deal expired after January’s Celebrity run.
Soon afterwards a report claimed that, while TV3 was set to hang on to the show this summer, rival network RTE wanted to poach it after it proved a ratings success in the country.
Both sides have been quiet since then, but a Big Brother source informs bbspy that TV3 chiefs have indeed now signed a deal to air the seventeenth regular series, which Channel 5 today revealed is set to begin in the week commencing Saturday 4th June.
TV3 has yet to officially confirm the news, but with the launch now a matter of weeks away, an announcement is thought to be imminent.
Timebomb was the first series of Big Brother to air in the Emerald Isle in five years, after Irish fans lost access to the show when it moved to C5 in 2011. TV3 had repeatedly attempted to acquire the rights, but was unsuccessful until last year, when it lost several key programmes to UTV Ireland.
http://www.bbspy.co.uk/bb17/news/052...#ixzz49EHl6KJo
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