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Saoirse Ronan fronts ISPCC Christmas radio appeal

Four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan has lent her voice to this year's ISPCC Christmas appeal radio campaign, created by Dublin agency Javelin Agency .

'Once I was that child' urges the public to support Childline this Christmas with stories of childhood abuse during what should be a celebratory time voiced by Ronan. The one-minute clip will air on national and regional radio from Monday (25 November).

“At Childline, there is always someone there to listen, support and be there for them - while their world is crumbling around them," said Ronan.?

"Childline has long been a cause close to my heart and I know that their vital work makes a real and lasting difference.

"I am so proud to support this appeal and urge everyone to donate whatever they can to help ensure that Childline can remain a lifeline to children this Christmas.”??

des kavanagh , creative director at Javelin, said: "It is a privilege to work with the?ISPCC.

"Every day of the year they make a difference to countless children’s lives.

"When we wrote this piece, we knew that it was bleak but felt that the truth at the heart of it was worth telling.

"But the writing is only the beginning. It is really Saoirse who brings the piece to full, terrible, haunting life.?

"She found the textures and the nuances and humanity in the words. Her voice made the awful truth mean more. I would also like to thank Kevin [Breathnach] at Avondale Studios for the wonderful production and Sofia Kavanagh who provided such a tender yet forceful appeal for support at the end of the ad."

TV advertising revenues up 7.6%

Television advertising revenues for the first nine months of the year increased 7.6% compared to the same period in 2023.

Figures from TAM Ireland show that revenues for January to September totalled €198.3m, coming in ahead of expectations and representing the highest total for six years.

There was an 8% increase year-on-year in the average number of minutes per day that ABC1 households watch television (71 minutes), with 80% attributed to live TV.

People aged 15-35 watched TV for 35 minutes per day, an increase of 6%, and 77% was live TV.

TAM Ireland credited sporting events such as Euro 2024, the Olympics, the UEFA Nations League and the URC for the figures and said “this viewing momentum demonstrates the strength and resilience of broadcaster content despite competition from other streamers.

"They have also been driven by the new autumn programming schedule from broadcasters with top performing programmes such as Real Life with Lucy and Gogglebox Ireland on Virgin Media One, The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 , the return of The Late Late Show to RTé One and The Overlap on Tour on Sky Max," the company added.

"The forthcoming programming and news updates around the general election will ensure the Irish population will continue to be glued to their TV screens in the weeks to come.”

Ailsing O'Sullivan becomes Starcom deputy MD

Starcom has appointed Aisling O'Sullivan as its new deputy managing director after eight years with the Core-owned agency.

In her 14 years in media and marketing, O'Sullivan worked in London and Australia for OMD before joining Starcom in 2016, and she has been credited for the ongoing success of many of Starcom’s long-standing clients.

"I’m thrilled to step into this position during such an exciting time of growth for Starcom," O'Sullivan said of her new role.

“I’m eager to work closely with our talented team and clients to keep delivering great results and push our agency to new heights."

O'Sullivan started with Starcom as a client director before being promoted to business director and then board director, a role in which she held to drive business growth. The agency was named Media Agency of the Year in 2023.

O'Sullivan was also recently included in?DMG Media's 40 Under 40 , identifying the brilliant young minds in the Irish advertising industry.

Sue Murphy joins RTé

Sue Murphy has joined RTé as a producer after nearly 14 years at Newstalk.

Most recently Murphy produced The Pat Kenny Show for the Bauer Media Audio Ireland-owned radio station, but she has also produced Moncrieff and acted as commercial manager of Off the Ball.

"On Friday, I finished up with Newstalk after many (no one can really decipher how many) happy, brilliant, fun, creative years," Murphy wrote on LinkedIn.

"I'll miss the teams in Marconi so much. Next week, on to a new adventure in RTE."

During her career, Murphy has also worked as a producer for Spin 1038, communications coordinator for the ISPCC, TV and film editor for Joe.ie , and a researcher for television channel 3e.

Murphy is a graduate of the University of Galway, and has also studied Sound Engineering and Music Technology at Pulse College and Film Theory and History at Trinity College Dublin .

60m households watch Paul-Tyson fight on Netflix

netflix has said that 60m households watched the exhibition boxing match between YouTuber Jake Paul and Mike Tyson , the streaming giant's first live sports broadcast.

At peak viewing, viewers globally watched the fight, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Texas on 65m concurrent streams while nearly 50m watched Katie Taylor's rematch with Amanda Serrano.

The event aired in a further 6,000 US bars and restaurants due to a deal with Joe Hand Promotions .

Although the fight was a top trending topic on social media, there were a significant number of complaints about buffering and technical issues on site as Netflix continues to grapple with live streaming.

The streaming giant also experienced issues with its live Love Is Blind reunion special last year, and the company has further dipped its toes into live broadcasting with a Katt Williams stand-up comedy special, comedian John Mulaney's Everybody's in LA talk show, and the three-hour Roast of Tom Brady earlier this year.

Take the BusinessPlus.ie Cybersecurity Survey

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Does your company have a plan in place for a potential cyberattack? Who do you think should be responsible for?cybersecurity?within an organisation? Has your company ever been a target of cybercrime?

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Photo: Saoirse Ronan arrives at 2024 ELLE's Women in Hollywood at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on November 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Pic: Kevin Winter/WireImage)

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