To The Televisions! RTÉ And TV3 Launch Their Morning TV Battle

Another television ratings battle is to begin, this time on our own shores...

'Ireland AM', TV3’s flagship breakfast television show, launched its revamped “newsier” programme this morning in preparation for a ratings way with RTÉ.

There is mounting speculation, although it’s a well-kept secret, that RTÉ will launch its own breakfast TV show this year, going into direct competition with the TV3 show.

Yes, always a good thing for the viewer!

However, round one in the ring brought serious words as 'Ireland AM' presenter Sinead Desmond has warned RTÉ they will have their work cut out for them if they attempt to take on the TV3 show.

She told The Sun: “I say bring it on. Competition is healthy. We’re doing 'Ireland AM' for 13 years and it’s not because we don’t have competition.”

The new look show this morning saw Sinead and co-presenter Mark Cagney introduce the main news items of the day, before going to the main news bulletin. We loved the news element to the show.

In another change to the show’s schedule, the more ‘light’ human interest features are no longer introduced at the beginning of the show. This is all in an attempt to bring a more serious edge to the programme. The first hour of the show will now be focused on breaking news, with social media complimenting the bulletins.

Desmond says the changes are to keep the format fresh: “We have a very strong loyal audience, many of whom have been watching since the beginning, and our viewers just continue to grow.

“They watch the show because they like what we do, not because there’s nothing else on”, she continued.

Although RTÉ are keeping the morning show a secret, there has been some suggestion in yesterday's Sunday Independent that a new show to be filmed in Cork may in fact be broadcast in an early morning slot.

Maura Derrane will partner up with Daithí O'Sé in the new afternoon magazine show. The provisional name for the show is ‘Today’.

Daithí has been wandering around in the wilderness, with a bit of the Rose of Tralee festival thrown in, since ‘The Daily Show’, which he hosted with Claire Byrne, was dropped.

Derrane’s daytime show ‘Four Live’ was dropped a few months ago too. It could be a match made in tele heaven…

If RTÉ launched ‘Today’ as a morning show to compete with TV3's 'Ireland AM', who would you cast your loyalty towards?