Athena Media has become the first Irish production company to open an office in MediaCityUK, the Manchester hub where broadcasters BBC and ITV and firms from the wider creative sector have established bases.
Its owner, former RTÉ radio boss Helen Shaw, has registered the company in the UK and intends to use its new office in The Greenhouse building in MediaCityUK to pursue audiobook and other digital projects as well as develop its relationship with the BBC.
MediaCityUK is described as "a waterfront destination for Manchester, with digital creativity, learning and leisure at its heart". Since last year, the Coronation Street set is also located in the area, while the University of Salford is also based there.
Other Irish media companies are thought to be interested in renting office space in the Salford Quays and Trafford Wharf development, and MediaCityUK will be part of the focus of a Dublin-Manchester trade mission taking place next week.
“In the beginning it will be small, and at the moment we’re going back and forth,” says Shaw, who has also just moved her Dublin office back to the Digital Hub. “Dublin will always be a base, but eventually it will be 50:50 between here and Manchester.”
The 10-year-old Athena Media, which employs 10 people, is increasing its focus on cross-media projects, with recent commissions including content for UCD's James Joyce iPad app and a children's rights microsite and app for the Ombudsman for Children's Office. Its first audiobook, of The Summit by mountaineer Pat Falvey, will be released next week.
Having a base in the UK “creates a different conversation” with broadcasters and digital sector clients, says Shaw. “We work with BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, but the aim of the move to Salford is to increase our work with all outlets of the BBC across all radio, including 5 Live, and all centres including CBBC.”
