THE FINAL SEASON of Downton is currently hurtling its way towards a last ultimate Christmas special, but Irish fans of the Crawleys and co have been left a bit hanging and confused.
You see, TV3 owns the Irish rights to the show, but has opted not to show it on a Sunday due to a “scheduling decision”.
It airs on UTV in Northern Ireland and ITV in the UK on a Sunday night, but TV3 is showing it on a Wednesday, its “regular slot”.
Indeed TV3 has shown Downton on a Wednesday for the last couple of years, but that was when Irish audiences still had access to UTV, and so if they were really desperate for their fix, they didn’t have to wait. Now they really have to wait, and they’re not happy about it.
Even Downton star Allen Leech was giving out:
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(To be clear, the rights to show Downton in Ireland have always belonged to TV3, but you could watch it on UTV until UTV Ireland launched in January. UTV Ireland never had the rights to the show)
To add to the confusion, the first episode of the last season of Downton was actually shown last Tuesday instead of last Wednesday. A spokesperson told DailyEdge.ie that it was due to frustrating clashes with Celebrity Big Brother and a Rugby World Cup match.
The spokesperson continued:
TV3 has exclusive Irish rights to the programme for the life of the series in the Republic of Ireland and airing it on Wednesdays is a scheduling decision. There are no plans to show it on a Sunday. Wednesday works well and rates well for the TV3 schedule and our viewers are familiar with that.
Those of you with Sky boxes will know that you can track down UTV in the ‘other channels’ section of your menu. Otherwise, you’re avoiding spoilers until hump day.
