Silva signs for Manchester City

It has already been described as one of the most 'audacious land grabs' in recent broadcast history, so could the soon-to-be-launched Sky Atlantic be the carrot to lure UPC customers?

By Emmet Purcell

One of the biggest ironies of our time is that while everyone describes the recent upsurge of quality TV drama as the 'golden age of television', reality TV and Katherine Lynch's career has never been bigger. Entire channels' (E!, MTV) listings have become bloated with shows that fawn over material excess, Z-listers doing their daily shopping or cringe-worthy talent shows that become crueller in their treatment of the delusional every year. We haven't even mentioned the taxpayer waste that is RTE's own reality TV, celebrity sleepovers with Lucy Kennedy or our dire talent show variations either. So where does this 'golden age' claim stem from?

The answer is quite simply, US premium television. Not to be confused with the cuthroat network television channels which birth endless procedural shows (CBS' CSI, ABC's Grey's Anatomy) that vary little from the over-subscribed police/doctor/lawyer genres, premium networks such as HBO, Showtime and AMC are reliant on channel subscriptions, not individual show ratings.

These channels operate on very different scales, with their method of operation ensuring that their relatively niche or more controversial/violent subject matter is under less scrutiny when it comes to ratings or advertisement revenue. And it's not just subscriptions that cause these channels to flourish - plenty of people own The Sopranos/Band of Brothers/Mad Men boxsets, while a lot less own CSI collections. If premium US telly is the best in the medium, there could soon be just one channel for Irish customers that caters for its brighest shows - the forthcoming Sky Atlantic.

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According to Stuart Murphy, director of programmes for Sky Atlantic, the new channel is the "final piece in the jigsaw" for the ambitious broadcaster. Not only have Sky purchased an exclusive deal that includes the entire HBO back catalogue, they have also poached Emmy Award-gobbling Mad Men of AMC and the rights to the forthcoming Showtime-produced The Borgias. For its director of programmes, Atlantic is seen as the biggest coup to ensure Freeview and Virgin Media customers or UPC customers in Ireland finally leave their service providers and sign up to Sky. "If this doesn't do it, we don't know what will." he adds.

Launching February 1, Sky Atlantic and Sky Atlantic HD are expected to be an exclusive treat for Sky's 600,000+ customers in Ireland, while it is thought that the 375,000 digital television subscribers to UPC Ireland may be left in the dark. When The Irish Times contacted UPC this week, the service provider's product team replied: “It is under review with the channel provider. Until discussions conclude, we’re not in a position to comment any further.” Hardly a vote of confidence. So what can Sky customers look forward to?

Extensive lineup

For starters, the crown jewel in the Sky Atlantic lineup is, without doubt, Martin Scorsese's first foray into cable TV, the Prohibition-era set Boardwalk Empire, of which the legendary director took the reins for the drama's pilot episode, the most expensive in TV history. The multi-series back catalogue of HBO stalwarts such as The Sopranos, The Wire, The Pacific, Band of Brothers, Flight of the Conchords, Six Feet Under and Entourage will be available, in addition to the latter's next series. The Wire creator David Simon's New Orleans-based Treme is also set to debut at the channel's launch.

As Atlantic's clever title suggests, the channel will not solely be dedicated to US shows. Sky are already promising Paul Abbott’s (Reckless, State of Play) latest drama, Hit and Miss, and a Sir David Attenborough documentary, Flying Monsters. Outside of HBO or British content, Atlantic will have the UK and Ireland debuts of series five of AMC's Mad Men (previously hidden in the dead of night on BBC2) and Showtime's aforementioned The Borgias, a historical drama based on the Spanish Borgia dynasty (of which Assassin's Creed fans should be well versed) and created by our very own Neil Jordan.

Sky won't hide these series in the twilight hours – we feel incredibly proud of this content and feel privileged to air it in peak time...

Sky Atlantic's Stuart Murphy enthusiasm for the channel is infectious, and clearly he understands the key facet of the channel's appeal for its somewhat upmarket core audience: "Unlike other broadcasters, Sky won't hide these series in the twilight hours – we feel incredibly proud of this content and feel privileged to air it in peak time and in high definition, exclusively for all Sky customers." Of course, for UPC customers, these series could be hidden entirely, unless they pick up a Sky subscription. Atlantic will initially be open to all Sky customers for six months and afterwards will become part of the Variety package (Sky One, Living), though to be fair, that is likely a package that most if not all Sky customers are already signed to.

Many Irish reports are already postulating that the arrival of Sky Atlantic may herald a mass exodus of UPC customers or become a dealbreaker for that don't want to miss out on some of their favourite and departing shows. One things for sure, come 1 February no amount of Craig Doyle adverts may be able to ingratiate UPC customers already looking to flee the coop.