BT IRELAND is to roll out its television-over-broadband service before the end of the year. Called BT Vision, the pay-as-you-go service will show movies, news, dramas, documentaries and sports events.

It will launch in Britain in September and then in Northern Ireland just before Christmas. The company plans to launch the service in the republic in early 2007, according to its chief executive Danny McLaughlin.

Customers of BT’s broadband service will need to buy a set-top box, expected to cost about €150, which will hook up the television via the broadband connection. A wide range of programmes will be available, with content picked from up to 100 channels.

The company recently signed content deals in Britain with Endemol, makers of Big Brother; the FA Premier league for 242 “near-live” games (which go out shortly after the game has finished); and a movie content deal with DreamWorks, creator of box-office hits such as the War of the Worlds and Shrek.

BT, which has about 35,000 broadband subscribers in Ireland, hopes to hook up about 20,000 Vision customers here by the end of its first year, said McLaughlin. “The local loop unbundling talks with ComReg and Eircom kicked off again recently and, if all goes well there, the 20,000 figure for BT Vision [is] attainable,” he said.

Sky’s the limit for 3

Vodafone may soon be followed into the television-over-mobile market by 3 Ireland, which is believed to be negotiating with a number of stations, including RTE and Sky, to introduce its own 3G television-streaming service within a year.

Vodafone and Sky announced the launch of Ireland’s first mobile television streaming package last week, giving the mobile operator’s 237,000 3G customers access to 18 channels, including Sky One, National Geographic, Discovery and the Biography channel, via their mobile handsets.

The service, which comprises four packages, kicks off on Thursday and is free until September, when it will be available for €1.99 per month. 3 is thought to have conducted trials for a similar service in Ireland. The company already offers the service in a number of other European markets, and 3 Italia went as far as to shell out €200m to buy its own television station for 3G TV, regional broadcaster Canale 7.

Eagle swoops in on SSIAs

Eagle Star Life is joining the scrum of financial services groups clambering to convince holders of special savings incentive accounts (SSIAs) not to blow their windfalls on cosmetic surgery or a trip around the world.

Next Monday the company launches its biggest advertising campaign to date, which will be visible across all media. It will aim at encouraging savers to entrust their cash to Eagle Star’s investment team, which currently manages funds of about €6 billion.

The ads will play on the dilemma facing many SSIA holders as their accounts mature, featuring a flippant young boxer dog who wants to blow the lot and a sensible older pussycat extolling the merits of reinvestment.

Grey Helme handled the creative element of the Eagle Star campaign, while MediaCom looked after the media-buying aspect.

Daily Mail figures slump

The novelty factor surrounding the Daily Mail Ireland seems to be wearing off, with latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations showing a significant fall in its circulation.

The paper, which had been shifting an average of 82,700 daily in March and 70,600 in April, dropped to 60,385 last month after a series of incremental price rises.

The red tops all suffered circulation declines in May. The Sun, which is owned by News International, the Sunday Times’ parent company, slipped 13.2% on the same month last year to 106,400, although it is still well ahead of The Mirror, which dropped 10.8% to 71,500 and the Irish Daily Star, which was down 4% to 97,592.

The Sunday Times achieved a circulation of 106,256 in the republic in May.

Agency battle for Bord Bia

Four agencies will pitch for the €750,00-a-year, three-year contract to handle Bord Bia’s creative advertising and media-buying accounts.

The main thrust of the business will be to convince consumers to buy Irish pork, beef and lamb. Presentations will conclude this week, and an announcement will be made shortly afterwards. Owens DDB currently holds the account.

Murray Consultants, meanwhile, has been appointed to handle all consumer, corporate, and trade PR for Cafédirect, one of the world’s largest Fairtrade hot drinks companies, in Ireland. The group’s brands include Roast & Ground, Cafédirect 5065, Teadirect and Cocodirect. Murray won a four-way pitch for the account.