Bubble Hits was an Irish-owned

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advanc ...

music channel owned by Creative Sounds. It broadcast two channels, one for Ireland, and a Pan-European feed which covered the United Kingdom, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Germany. On 13 February 2009, Bubble Hits went off air and was removed from most of TV EPGs. The websites, including the official one and social networking versions on MySpace and

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l, were also removed. The closure of the channel was due to the current downturn in advertising revenue.

Location

Bubble Hits studios were located in

Ashbourne, County Meath Ashbourne, historically called ''Killeglan'' or ''Kildeglan'' (), is a town in County Meath, Ireland. Located about 20 km north of Dublin and close to the M2 motorway, Ashbourne is a commuter town within Greater Dublin. In the 20 ye ...

, Ireland at the Creative Sounds studios. The channel was broadcast

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, therefore viewers did not need to have a Sky

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to view it. Despite being Irish-owned, it was not licensed by the

Broadcasting Commission of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

(BCI) but instead by the UK's

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

to "

Creative Sounds UK Creative may refer to: *Creativity, phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created * "Creative" (song), a 2008 song by Leon Jackson * Creative class, a proposed socioeconomic class * Creative destruction, an economic term * Creative ...

", who are based in Northchapel. This is not unusual amongst Irish channels, as well as those from other countries with restrictive broadcasting legislation, such as Sweden. The decision may also have been due to BCI's requirements that a significant percentage of programming must be Irish-produced.

Advertising

Originally Bubble Hits claimed to be Europe's only music channel without adverts. By February 2007, the channel started carrying adverts. Adverts usually lasted 60 seconds and appeared after 3 song intervals. The station promised to be no more than 60 seconds away from the next song. Commercial breaks appeared to consist of only two advertisements. This was a unique approach to advertising amongst channels within Europe.

Bubble Hits (Ireland)

A specific Bubble Hits channel for the Irish market ( Bubble Hits Ireland) launched on Sky Digital,

UPC Ireland Virgin Media Ireland is Liberty Global's telecommunications operation in Ireland. It is the largest digital cable television provider within the country. As of 31 December 2014, the company offers broadband internet, digital television and d ...

Smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * '' SMart'', a children's television se ...

Magnet Networks Magnet Networks is an Irish company providing telephone, television and broadband internet via subscription over an optical fiber-HFC cable network. Magnet Networks was launched in Dublin in 2004, and is wholly owned by the US-based international ...

, SCTV on Monday 19 May 2008. With specific programming and advertising, the schedule featured more localised content including music videos, music shows, chart shows and entertainment news specific to Ireland & it was also localised by Irish advertisements. http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=MEDIA+AND+MARKETING-qqqs=mediaandmarketing-qqqid=24085-qqqx=1.asp bubble hits Ireland closed on the same day as the uk version

Bubble Hits (Pan-Europe)

It was available on satellite, mainly Sky Digital, in the UK. The channel was available

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in Ireland, Germany, Poland, Hungary and other parts of Europe. The channel was localised with UK advertisements. Launched on 16 August 2006 this channel served the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Hungary. This channel also served Ireland until the launch of Bubble Hits Ireland on 19 May 2008. On 13 February 2009 the channel ceased transmission.

Former Programmes

*'' Bubble Euro Top 30'' – The official European Top 30 chart, videos selected from 11 European countries. *'' Poptastic Hits'' – The latest pop hits *'' iBubble'' –

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request show *'' Bubble Fresh'' – brand new video show sponsored by

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*'' Pop Pop Pop'' – non-stop pop video show sponsored by

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

.com *'' Most Wanted'' – daily chart show of the highest requested songs of the day sponsored by Jamster *'' Glenda's Showbiz Gossip'' – nightly entertainment news updates every night from 16:00.

Former Presenters

*'' Glenda Gilson'' *'' Liam McKenna'' *''

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...

Ownership

The station was operated by James Hyland and Lee Walsh. The pair were listed as 27th richest under-30-year-olds in Ireland in a TV show entitled, "Young, Irish and Wealthy" broadcast on 28 December 2008 on national Irish television station

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

. However, there has been some discussion and debate as to the accuracy of the list.

Competition

*Bubble Hits was the only independent music channel broadcasting into Ireland or the UK without being owned by CSC,

MTV Networks Europe Paramount Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia (EMEAA) is a division of Paramount International Networks which is fully owned by Paramount Global. The unit's headquarters are in Berlin, with additional offices in Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, A ...

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. *Bubble Hits was watched by more than

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in the UK and Ireland. In February 2007 Bubble Hits took 6% of

's audience (16- to 34-year-olds) by May 2007 it has risen to 9%. ource: Irish Examiner (04.08.2007)">Irish_Examiner.html" ;"title="ource: Irish Examiner">ource: Irish Examiner (04.08.2007)*Bubble Hits claimed to have more than 2.5 million viewers from both Ireland and the UK. ource: Irish Examiner (04.08.2007)">Irish_Examiner.html" ;"title="ource: Irish Examiner">ource: Irish Examiner (04.08.2007)

References

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country ...

Weekend edition (04.08.2007) '

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' (article)

External links

*Bubble Hits promises new music channel for Ireland: archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2007/06/03/story24085.asp
Official site
Currently unavailable
Bubble Hits' MySpace page
Now inactive and been removed

{{Irish Television Channels Television networks in Ireland Television stations in Ireland Music television channels 2006 establishments in Ireland Television channels and stations established in 2006 Defunct British television channels Music organisations based in Ireland