“The three pillars of the company – content, funding and talent – came together naturally for me. Nobody else in the market was really active in all three spaces under the same brand”
Pat Kiely was part of the executive team that launched TV3 in 1998 and stayed with the television channel for 22 years – first as commercial director and then as managing director. Having worked under five different owners and overseen the rebrand of TV3 to Virgin Media Television, he stepped down from the role last year. This week, he unveiled his new media business, BiggerStage, which aims to create content for international markets, deepen commercial partnerships and develop talent.
In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, Kiely talks about the BiggerStage business model, the mechanics of launching a company in the midst of a pandemic, and how ‘purpose’ helped him convince three industry heavy hitters to join his company. Kiely also talks about his journey in TV3 - from launching the channel to helping steer it through the financial crash to selling it to Liberty Global. He also reveals why he did not apply for the CEO role at the FAI, explains his business philosophies, and talks about his time as an adman with Saatchi & Saatchi and DDFH&B.
