May
2021

RTÉ PROGRAMME SALES SELLS ROOM TO IMPROVE TO CHANNEL 5

UK broadcaster acquires five seasons of Coco Content-produced architectural home-design series RTÉ Programme Sales has announced that Channel 5 in the UK has licensed five seasons of hit home-design series Room To Improve. Under the deal, Channel 5 has acquired 32 hours of Room To Improve, representing seasons eight to 12, which will be stripped daily in a lunchtime slot from May 17. The show follows one of Ireland's most respected architects, Dermot Bannon, as he sets out to create a range of beautifully designed and cleverly built homes. The latest season gained an average 44.8% share for RTÉ One, where it airs in a primetime Sunday slot. Season 13 has already been greenlit by the Irish public broadcaster and is currently in production. Other recent deals for Room To Improve include The Home Channel in South Africa, AMC Networks for Spektrum Home in Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Kontent for Russia and CEE. The show is also available on VOD via Amazon, Tubi and Shelter. Edel Edwards, head of programme sales at RTÉ Programme Sales, said: “Dermot Bannon is Ireland's top TV architect and is fast becoming a global talent. We've had great success with Dermot's previous series, Incredible Homes, in which he visits fabulous and unusual living spaces in the world's coolest capitals. Now, this returning evergreen of a series will be available for the first time to audiences in the UK — and we couldn't be more delighted.” Shifting between architect, designer and mediator, Bannon is passionate about design and will go to any lengths to persuade homeowners to embrace his ambitious ideas. He pushes his creativity and perfectionism to the limit — with stunning results. In further Bannon news, the architect is also set to return to RTÉ One next month with a new two-part show. In Dermot Bannon's Sweet Spots (2 x 60 mins), Bannon explores compact homes and spaces, travelling around Ireland to look at innovative design, architecture and engineering on a bijou scale. Linda Cullen, CEO of COCO Content said: ‘we are thrilled to know that our very precious series Room To Improve will be aired on Channel 5 – our UK neighbours are sure to fall in love with Dermot as much as we all have ourselves.' Room To Improve will broadcast on Channel 5 from Monday 17th May at 12:20. About RTÉ Programme Sales RTÉ Programme Sales exploits Irish content across all genres, including drama, documentary and formats, offering distinctive, high-quality content for broadcast on content platforms of all types worldwide. RTÉ Programme Sales represents a network of top Irish producers, both in-house and independent, whose quality content attracts global audiences. For further information please contact: Cheryl Clarke at Mushroom Media on: Tel: +44 (0)7939554109 E: cheryl@mushroom-media.co.uk