AS YOU MAY remember, Elf did not air on free-to-air television in Ireland last year as Sky acquired exclusive broadcasting rights for the film.
It was a difficult time for us all.
Yesterday Buzzfeed reported that the deal was back in place for the UK this year.
People were understandably gutted.
But is it the case in Ireland?
A Sky Ireland spokesperson confirms to DailyEdge.ie that it is.
The Sky Movies rights for Elf are exclusive in the UK and Ireland.
Here’s the deal: Sky Movies Christmas launches this Friday and will broadcast films such as Home Alone, Elf, Miracle On 34th Street, Love Actually, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, Gremlins and Bad Santa.
When asked if the exclusivity deal applies to all the films mentioned in the press release, Sky Ireland told DailyEdge.ie:
Currently all of the titles mentioned in the press release are exclusive to Sky in the UK and Ireland.
What?!
No Elf, Love Actually or Home Alone on free-to-air television this Christmas?
Surely can’t be.
Sky’s statement seems pretty definite, but we’ve asked around and…
TV3 have confirmed to DailyEdge.ie that they will not be broadcasting any of those films this year, while we are currently awaiting a response from RTÉ.
We will update this story as soon as we hear anything more.
In the meantime, stay strong.
UPDATE 1: RTÉ have told DailyEdge.ie that they are not confirming their Christmas schedule at present.
We will not be confirming our Christmas schedule until December but as is always the case we’ll have a really strong selection of movie premiers and movie classics on screen on RTE One and RTE Two to entertain viewers this Christmas.
RTÉ will have a bumper basket of movies this Christmas, both premieres and classic favourites such as Santa Clause 2, Deck the Halls, The Holiday, Fred Claus and Four Christmases to name but a few. The full list of movies will be revealed in a month’s time when we announce our Christmas schedule for RTÉ One and RTÉ2.
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